Why do men cheat on their wives?

Ask Dr Gaylen ^

[Hillary's Lovely Legs]

do  Why Do Men Cheat on Their Wives?

QUESTION:  

My husband is very much a flirt. Because of this as well as numerous other reasons, I think my husband is having an affair. I don?t think I am lust being paranoid. Please give me some help in understanding why men cheat, because I don?t think it is just me.   

  ANSWER:  

Your dilemma is one that is all too common. You are probably right when you say that it is not ?just me.?  It takes two to make a marriage or break a   marriage, and it takes two to have an affair. The fact that he has always been ?a flirt? suggests that, at one time, he was that way with you. You probably responded in a way that made him feel special, wanted, and needed, and reinforced his flirting behavior. This ties in with

 the first and main reason why men have affairs: to feed  their ego. The problem with us males is that feeling good about ourselves, or meeting our ?ego needs,? is our primary goal in life. Therefore, the first reason why men get involved in affairs is that it feeds their egos.

   The second reason is what we call ?misplaced anger.? For example lets consider the husband who is really mad at his wife for whatever reason. He may have an affair with some other woman as a way of making his wife ?pay. ? Instead of directing his anger toward her (which he may be afraid to do), or expressing the anger in a way that will help the relationship change, he just has sex with some other woman This action then feeds his ego (because someone else wants him), so he now feels good (physically and emotionally) and he doesn?t feel as angry with his wife. In his anger, he has made her pay.

   The third reason why men have affairs is boredom. The Bible (Proverbs 9:1 7) tells us  ?stolen melons are the sweetest,  stolen apples taste the best.?  In modem times this means that the ?grass is greener on the other side of the fence.? ?If I don?t have enough excitement in my life, I will create some.?

5 Reasons Why Men Cheat
on Their Wives

       1.  LOSS OF EGO
             A man?s primary need is to feel good about
             himself.  When he doesn?t he finds ways to
             meet this primary goal .

       2.   MISPLACED ANGER
              He may be angry at his wife but, rather
              than  deal with problem, he has an affair to
              ? make her pay?  

        3.   BOREDOM 
              Affairs are rarely boring; they tend to be
              exciting and full of life. Even the fear of
              getting caught causes excitement.  

        4.   ESCAPE FROM EMOTIONAL PAIN  
              The male sex drive provides a distraction
               or ?vacation? from emotional pain.  

      5.   NEED FOR NURTURE & INTIMACY
               If these needs are being met, men have
               no need to look elsewhere

 Children who are raised in alcoholic homes, for example, become what we refer to as ?adult children of alcoholics.? One key characteristic is that they become easily bored with life should it become too ?stable.?  
Children in alcoholic homes are raised with nothing being stable. As adults, they are then more comfortable in an unstable environment than in a stable one. This is why they become ?bored? and actually create chaos - because it is what is most familiar or comfortable to them. We all tend to repeat our past, whether that is a positive past or a negative past. If it was unstable then, we feel most comfortable in creating an unstable one now. 

The fourth reason why men have affairs is to escape emotional pain. Our sex drive is the second strongest drive within us -second only to self-preservation. Sex therefore can easily be used as a strong distraction from some emotional pain we do not want to feel. Few things in life are more intense than fulfilling this sex drive with a climax or orgasm. For this reason, a man can use sex as a way to distract him from emotional pain, like problems at home or work. It feels good to him physically, and he gets a vacation from the rest of his feelings of hurt and pain. This is why pornography is a multi-billion dollar industry. He can receive instant gratification just by looking at a magazine, the Internet, a video, etc., and have a secondary benefit of taking a vacation from some internalized emotional pain. 

The fifth reason is the desire for nurture and intimacy. A recent study from the Florida State University found that premature babies who were massaged by their mothers on a regular daily basis developed physically 60% faster than those who did not receive this extra ?touching.? We all need human touch. It is a special form of nurture. When men don?t feel nurtured and cared for by their wives, they will seek it elsewhere. Everyone, males and females need to be nurtured with touch.

[cactmh]

Ok dude! Like I said, sorry bout that.

[soccermom]

hee hee!

[habs4ever]

Dr Gaylen doesn't know the first thing about what a man's primary goal in life is.To say its to feel good about ourselves is garbage, and may reflect his values and no one else's.So to chase skirts to boost our ego's is liberal claptrap.This guy is a maroon.

[soccermom]

Hee hee!

[AmishDude]

I asked a friend if he was getting any on the side.

He said it'd been so long since he got any that he didn't know they'd moved it.

Oh, yeah. Just go to where it says "Over 99 billion served" and tell my ex I said `hi'.

[cactmh]

LOL. Your secret is safe with me. (kidding aside, you didn't mary a Yankee, did you!?)

[WhyisaTexasgirlinPA]

Certainly not, Sir!

[Gabz]

Once again, Gabz, you have hit the nail right on the head.

Thank you my friend - and my detractors continue to insist I am a one issue FReeper!!!

FRegards - it's been awhile since I've seen you.

[JRandomFreeper]

You're nuts.

Not only that, it is gone.

/john

[Dec31,1999]

Oh, I don't know. You're right.

BTW, which is the brightest planet?

[cactmh]

You're right on all counts. It is a natural desire, though many can overcome it. I expect loyalty from my friends and I give my loyalty. Same goes for my woman.

[WhyisaTexasgirlinPA]

I guess to be completely PC, I should give you a second answer to your question....

"You didn't marry a Yankee did you?"

Not yet.... (lol)

[Dawgsquat]

Hey! I'm serious. She'd kill me! LOL!!!

[koba]

Actually, in India, some percentage of men do have affairs and in many cases their wives know about it. The wives explain it away by saying they are "growing old".

[StolarStorm]

Why are you harrasing this lady? Obviously there is a scientific explaination for all this.... but you don't have to rub her face in it. Please stop being a jerk.

[1 FELLOW FREEPER]

I NEVER MET A PSYCHOLOGIST, OR PSYCHIATRIST THAT DIDN'T NEED ONE!!!!

[FITZ]

Humankind is NOT a monogamous species

Since the ratio of males to females is about 1:1, and the raising of young takes so many years, it would imply humans are meant to be monogamous. Marriage is really for raising a family, a woman will know her children if she's monogamous or not but the only way a man could hope to know his own children was to convince a woman to live in a monogamous relationship.

[AmishDude]

I have a question, since I'm storing up monogamy right now, can I use it as a credit toward the future?

[RedBloodedAmerican]

Why do men cheat on their wives?

Because it's there?