Infidelity Survivors and Partners of Sex Addicts: Bill of Rights

Dr. Janice Caudill PhD, CSAT-S, CCPS-S, CPTT-S, IAT, SEP

Infidelity Survivors Bill of Rights

New Year’s resolutions can be difficult in the wake of discovering betrayal in a relationship. Finding the energy to come up with a goal for picking up the pieces of a broken life, much less following through on one, can put a betrayed partner in overload. Sometimes simply reminding yourself of your list of inalienable relational bill of rights may be all you can handle.

If you need a steadier next step, read Understanding Your Trauma Triggers and Partners of Sex Addicts: Rebuilding Trust.

The following Bill of Rights was created by a community of remarkable women recovering from their spouse’s infidelity and sex addiction:

I have a right to grieve the loss of all I thought was true about our marriage!

I have a right to be changed by what you did to our marriage!

I have a right to determine my boundaries in a relationship!

I have a right to take care of myself!

I have a right to feel what I feel!

I have a right to affirm myself!

I have a right to my own thoughts!

I have a right to my own perception of reality!

I have a right to love and be loved!

I have a right to be angry!

I have a right to express my anger!

I have a right to call the shots for my life, and not feel guilty for it!

I have a right to my own opinion!

I have a right to trust my own intuition!

I have a right to refuse to carry someone else’s shame!

I have a right to have a night out with my female buddies!

I have a right to trust or not trust as I see fit!

I have a right to express myself!

I have a right to cry!

I have a right to make choices that work for me!

I have a right to take my time to have my recovery at my pace in what works for me!

I have a right to decide where “my side of the street” is.

I have a right to set healthy boundaries and it doesn’t matter if others don’t like it!

I have a right to be less than perfect!

I have a right to remember that I am an amazing woman who is not diminished by your choices!

Know your bill of right!

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