- First, kudos to the author for this honest reporting.

- Second, you do deserve your pain being acknowledged.

Pain is a real AND subjective experience: that means some people may not understand your pain (it being subjective and personal); but it’s nevertheless real FOR YOU.

People dismissing your pain just reveal THEIR limitations.

Of course, when it’s a therapist doing that, it means it’s not a great therapist (s/he should express empathy first and foremost).

- Lastly, people think being faithful is normal and cheating is abnormal / weird.

The reverse is true: human beings are not made for monogamy (in the long term, at least), hence the temptation of cheating comes naturally to most.

This doesn’t mean cheating it’s fine: it’s still a betrayal.

It just means that someone cheating is, most of the time, not a terrible person; just a weak or needful human being.