That was really well said. It is exactly what I did when I was being cheated on. I was not ready to leave that relationship for a whole bunch of reasons, but in the meanwhile I bolstered myself and made myself stronger every way I could. Slowly I realized how resilient I really was, and my self-esteem grew and grew.

At the end of the day, that relationship did not last. My ex-husband simply couldn't (or wouldn't) do the work that needed to be done to rebuild trust. But by the time the relationship actually ended I was well on the road to strength and recovery.