OAKLAND, CALIFORNIA, USA, August 13, 2014 /EINPresswire.com/ -- The prevailing belief that marriage is between a man and a woman has compelled many gays and lesbians to enter heterosexual marriages and even start families. Experts estimate there could be as many as two million gays and lesbians who were or still are in heterosexual marriages.

When revelations such as these occur within committed relationships, the consequence is typically one of utter devastation for the straight spouse; it’s a combination of shock, disbelief, rejection, betrayal, and above all confusion. Soon it becomes a period of mourning for who they were and how they identified themselves in relation to another person.

“Of course we’re happy when a person can finally be himself or herself, but when he or she comes out of the closet, we straight spouses go into our own closet,” says Dr. Amity Pierce Buxton. “Straight spouses must go through the same process of coming to grips with who they are as did their lesbian or gay spouses. To do so, they need to know they’re not alone and they can get through it.”

Dr. Amity Pierce Buxton is the founder of the Straight Spouse Network, a non-profit, worldwide organization that provides support to straight spouses and couples as they navigate this emotional transition, as well as research-based information for spouses, couples, families and the community at large to understand the traumatic nature of these revelations and the underlying societal causes of the crisis.

“You, the straight spouse, can’t rebuild yourself because all the pieces aren’t there anymore,” explains Dr. Buxton. “Your identity and integrity have been compromised because you were living someone else’s lie. So the first critical step is to have the courage to accept the present reality. Only when you’ve accepted reality can you take the next step toward reconfiguring your identity, your integrity and your belief system.”

Dr. Buxton first gained attention for her book The Other Side of the Closet: A Coming Out Crisis for Straight Spouses and Families, appearing as a guest on Oprah, The Phil Donahue Show and The Montel Williams Show. Her most recent book is Unseen, Unheard: Straight Spouses from Trauma to Transformation, which captures the voices of these spouses as they discover the truth, cope with their pain and figure out how to make decisions in the middle of all this emotional chaos.

“We, the Straight Spouse Network, need all the help we can to get the word out. We want every straight spouse to know we’re here,” says Dr. Buxton. “Hopefully by the next generation we’ll no longer be needed.”

Close-Up Talk Radio will feature Dr. Amity Pierce Buxton of Straight Spouse Network in a two-part interview with Jim Masters on August 15th and August 29th at 2pm EST.

Listen to the show http://www.blogtalkradio.com/closeuptalkradio. If you have a question for our guest, call (347) 996-3389.

For more information on Straight Spouse Network, visit http://www.straightspouse.org/

Lou Ceparano
Close-Up TV News
(631) 421-8500
email us here

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