SurvivingInfidelity.com^®

After reading more recent posts and even dealing with my own individual process of reconciliation. I noticed a lot of us touch this specific topic in response to another question, but we never really do a deep dive.

If it's a repeated post, feel free to delete or disregard it.

I'm 16 Months in reconciliation. I'm finally no longer feel anger towards WW or the situation. Nor do I feel like it has a huge control over who am as a person in some ways as I did early on. I do believe I have come to accept the affair has happened and that there's nothing I or anyone can do to undo it. Not only that, but I no longer wonder what I could have done to stop it. However, I do feel like I've started entering into a phase of putting up walls, whether it be emotional or other to protect myself from being disappointed. I know at some point I have to address that. I know someone posted something similar in another post, which led me to this post.

It seems like some more than others have had similar experiences and feelings in reconciliation. It seems like while the obvious is why we all are here and that is a core similarity. However, how we feel during the months during reconciliation varies and we all at some point feel alone and lost.

So, I was curious how did you feel and what did you go through with your spouse during the first 12 Months, 24 Months, 36 Months...etc.

Many have described year 2 as the Plane of Lethal Flatness (POLF). It’s when the shock and anger and all that adrenaline and energy dissipate. You are left with the acceptance and disappointment that this DID happen. Your spouse did this. So now what?

It does not last forever — many describe their healing to start accelerating in year three. I didn’t R, so I’ll let others speak to their experiences, but we commonly see year 2 as the POLF on here.

My 1st 3 months were awful, free fall into the abyss. Months 3-6 were a levelling off; I could see a way out of the abyss. After that, I experienced a slow return to being able to notice and feel joy. That improvement was pretty steady, but I experienced some setbacks, followed by a return to slow progress.

Two years out, my gut told me R would succeed for us, but I kept telling myself not to be over-optimistic. It wasn't until 3.5-4 years out from d-day that I declared myself to be healed enough.

I was still vulnerable to triggers, and some were pretty intense, but I was able to process them as they came. Earlier, triggers came so frequently that I could not process one before another showed up. From 3.5-4 years out on, triggers became less frequent and less intense. At this point, almost 15 years out, I don't remember the last time I triggered over infidelity.

I triggered hard yesterday because of something in the news and because of excessive stupidity and nastiness perpetrated by the manager of our condo.

Let’s see — timetable of my recovery — first 3 months were shock. Months 4-6 were a blur of emotions, but I jumped to all out anger for a month or two and then clinical depression kicked in for six months. By the end of year two, I wasn’t sure love or kindness would be enough to save us.

For whatever reason, after letting go of the outcome, the healing seemed to kick in.

It may have been me that mentioned building up some emotional walls, my IC/MC told me if I wanted to get the relationship I wanted, I would have to find a way back to vulnerable. I think the walls are something every one us retreats behind at some point, just to rest and recover. The brain protecting itself is fairly natural to me.

I can say, getting back to vulnerable is the hardest step for anyone trying to stay in the M.

Not all of us get there.

My advice? Take your time. Don’t sweat a timeline, heal at the pace you require.

I think after our world is turned upside down by someone else’s choices, the one gift in this is we get to rebuild our world how we want for however long it takes.

In my case, my wife was very patient with me, and gave me space when I needed it. She outlasted my depression and pain, which was not an easy thing to do.

Like Sisoon, I think year three felt like progress. Years four through ten, pretty damn good, all things considered.