Infidelity Kills?

It's a problem, for health.

The Frontier Psychiatrists is a health-themed publication. We talk about “social determinants of health” in medicine as if they were a rounding error. In most people’s lives, “what is happening in our lives” is the “whole show.” The social determinants are the life. The health status is supporting cast.

Marriages and other long-term pair bonds are the bedrock of our lives. Monogamy is the most common assumption, although more and more individuals are discussing non-monogamous relationship models. However, no matter what relationship model one subscribes to, none of those relationship models make breaking your partner’s heart by lying to them fit in well. And yet, people cheat on each other.

This happens all the time. As a therapist, I came up with a term for this category of behavior, which I referred to as f*cked up people sh*t (FUPS). When other individuals would say, "How could he possibly do that?” But it was the kind of thing that happens all the time because people relia…