Today, we are discussing why and how a betrayed partner's self-esteem decreases after discovery. Self-esteem is your sense of overall personal worth or value. Similar to self-respect, it describes your level of confidence in your abilities and attributes.  One of the criteria for post traumatic stress in the DSM-5 is "Persistent and exaggerated negative beliefs or expectations about oneself, others, or the world." So, it makes sense that a large percentage of betrayed wives experience this drastic drop in their confidence.