Cybersex

It started out innocently. You were contacted by an old high school sweetheart on FaceBook, or you met in a chat room. First, you just got acquainted - or reacquainted. It didn't take long before the anonymity of cyberspace had you sharing on a more intimate level and maybe detailing the problems in your current relationship. Then the flirtation and innuendo began. It was exciting, and often became the highlight of your day.

That's how cybersex often begins. You can justify it because the person you're having an 'affair' with is 2,000 miles away, and you're not really doing anything wrong. Or are you?

Two of the most hurtful aspects of an affair are the secrecy and the deception. It's a betrayal of trust - and even when it's strictly confined to cyberspace, it violates the boundary around a couple's relationship. General rule: if you'd be uncomfortable with your partner reading your communications with an internet 'friend', you're probably on very shaky ground.