User:Sugarandcream/Treason complex

The Treason complex, in psychoanalytic theory, is an emerging concept which describes the largely unconscious ideas and feelings which result from repressing the guilt of breaking the trust in a relationship by having an affair. The mechanism was first detailed in the 2006 book "Depois do Escorpão" (After the Scorpion) by brazilian author Samantha Moraes. The treason complex is different from other similar concepts such as adultery and affair as it centers on the process of transfering guilt and responsability to the cheated partner in order to protect self-esteem and justify one's actions and even increase self-value in the eyes of the new partner, friends and family.

Theory of the Treason complex
In the chapter "Psychology of Treason" of her book "After the Scorpion", author Samantha Moraes describes the process as follows:

Seeking an extra-matrimonial affair unconditionally leads to guilt when genuine love is felt toward the cheated spouse. More that betraying the spouse, having an affair betrays the confidence and all the mutually agreed-upon rules with the spouse, and the priciple itself of an intimate relationship. Self-confidence in the capacity of maintaining a relationship with anyone is shattered. The suffering is so intense than the conflict can result in a breakup if admitting having betrayed the trust is impossible.

This process also leads to a transfer of feelings: love felt for the spouse is transferred to the lover in order to compensate for the loss of the intimate relationship. The cheating partner attempts to create deep feelings toward the lover even when they don't exist, unconsciously seeking to preserve what was destroyed.

The lover is turned into a confident by the cheating partner who's seeking complicity and approval. A grotesque picture of the cheated spouse and of that relationship is then created by omissions and lies, which then serve to justify the treason for both. All that is held in high esteem by the lover become the pseudo-weaknesses of the cheated spouse. For example, if the lover values financial independence, the cheated spouse is depicted as an overspender.