lovingpet
Posts: 4270
Joined: 6/19/2005 Status: offline
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I treat stuff like this the same way I would in a professional setting. Any conversation with me is in the strictest of confidence. The only caveat to that is when the person is demonstrating some kind of significant risk to themselves or others. By significant, I mean that the risks could endanger their health, safety, or place them in legal jeopardy. I don't, however, consider hurt feelings and such to be a significant risk. That is life. If there are no such risks, then this is a friend trying to deal with some poor decisions and wanting some help sorting it all out. That's what friends do. And they do it not only when things are pleasant, but when times are dark and not so pretty. I have a huge problem with cheating and lies and most people know that about me. If a friend came to me and talked about such things, then I would be safe to guess that they are not proud of it and are hurting and need some support and help. These things from me would be limited due to the fact that they made their own bed and have a lot of owning up and paying of consequences to do, but I am there for a friend even when they are showing me they can suck as a person at times. If this aspect of me was not clear to the person, I would likely not want to hear it and even be suspect of their motivations for telling me. Some people like to bond to someone new through adversities like this. They will say things like, "No one else understands me, but you do." That isn't an automatic red flag, but it is something to be wary of. Due to my concerns over the person's motives and not having any interest in coddling a cheater and a liar, I would pretend I was never told and be done with any further dealings of that nature. I might likely be done with the person and the relationship as well. Even at that, unless that risk of harm is there, I am not saying a word. It simply isn't my place. lovingpet
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If you put your head into more, you'd have to put your back into less. ~Me 10 Fluffy pts.
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