Synopses & Reviews
A psychologist uses post-traumatic stress disorder as a model for the wounded partner to explore rage and emotional pain and learn the secrets of recovery.The discovery of a partner's infidelity is heart-wrenching and traumatic. In TRANSCENDING POST-INFIDELITY STRESS DISORDER (PISD), Dennis Ortman likens the psychological aftermath of sexual betrayal to post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in its origin and symptoms, including anxiety, irritability, rage, emotional numbing, and flashbacks. Using PTSD treatment as a model, Dr. Ortman presents steps to recovery from the pain of infidelity. With the author's PISD system, readers will find a structure to help them categorize emotions, face their rage, make important life decisions, and find wholeness, peace, and forgiveness.
About the Author
DENNIS ORTMAN is a psychologist in private practice in Detroit, Michigan. A Catholic priest for fourteen years, Dr. Ortman has been married for nineteen years. He is the author of
The Dually Diagnosed and
The Dual Diagnosis Recovery Sourcebook.THE AUTHOR SCOOP
If you had to boil the message of Transcending Post-Infidelity Stress Disorder down to one sentence, what would it be?
If you have suffered from an infidelity and are consumed by rage, read this book to find relief, forgiveness, and new life.
Who is your hero?
If I could spend a day talking with anyone, living or dead, it would be Abraham Lincoln. I admire him as a man who displayed steadfastness and wisdom guiding our country in its most trying time.
Have you ever met a famous person?
I spent five years studying in Rome and met many Church dignitaries, bishops, cardinals, and even the Pope. But none impressed me more than Mother Teresa. Her love, gentleness, and determination radiated from her tiny sub-five foot frame.
What's the farthest you've ever traveled?
I spent a summer in India working in the slums of Calcutta. That was my longest journey geographically, emotionally, and spiritually. Surprisingly, what impressed me most was not the desperate poverty, but the deep contentment and spirituality of many of the people I met.
Where were you when you found out that Transcending Post-Infidelity Stress Disorder would be published?
I was on a golf course in Florida when I received the call that my manuscript was accepted. After that, my golf game went south, and my buddies won some money.
If you were alone on a desert island, what book would you take?
If I were alone on a desert island, I would choose the Bible as my constant companion because of the inexhaustible wisdom it contains. A second book would be The Complete Works of William Shakespeare because of their poetic elegance and astute psychological perceptiveness.
Table of Contents
CONTENTS
Acknowledgments ix
Preface xi
Introduction 1
Part One. Infidelity as Trauma 11
1. Symptoms of Post-Infidelity Stress Disorder (PISD) 12
Imprisoned in Hurt and Rage
2. Differing Responses of Men and Women to Infidelity 30
The Many Faces of PISD
3. Those Most Vulnerable to Trauma 40
A Heart Close to Breaking
4. Adult Children of Unfaithful Parents 55
The Pain Goes On
Part Two. Steps to Recovery from the Trauma 67
5. Stage 1: Calming the Emotional Storm
Finding a Safe Haven within Yourself 68
6. Stage 2: Understanding Your Unfaithful Partner
Why? . . . Why Me? 90
7. Stage 3: Seeking Self-Understanding
The Truth Will Set You Free 113
8. Stage 4: Making a Wise Decision
To Be or Not to Be . . . with Your Partner 138
9. Stage 5: Embracing Self-Forgiveness
Freeing Yourself to Love Again 163
10. Stage 6: Forgiving Your Unfaithful Partner
A Healing Journey 183
Epilogue. A Broken Heart Becomes an Open Heart 209
Appendix. Eight Exercises to Deepen Recovery 219
Notes 229
Suggested Reading 233
Index 236