My SW life is adversely affecting my health. How do you compartmentalize?

I found ep ( which was a site similar to this one, and where many of us started out) by accident as an unhappy person nearing the end of my marriage almost 5 years ago. Within the 'I am lonely', 'I crave intimacy' etc. groups I quickly found many like minded people willing to validate all the pain my circumstances were causing me. Rather than hit up the spouse to deal with what I was feeling (because I knew he wasn't listening anyway) I became friends and shared with people here. Without ever intending it to happen I soon fell in love with someone online. This evolved into a real life physical affair. Eventually that was discovered.

The marriage was already in death rattle, but naturally the affair hurt a lot of people and because it literally changed who I was, it played a role in the end, and I paid a price for it. I should have waited until the marriage ended to follow my heart, but it was already gone. Who thinks straight when falling in love?

This is a place to connect and gain support from others, but if you have an interest in staying married,escaping online is not a good idea. Ask yourself why you must be on an anonymous site to be yourself, and face the answer quickly. Escaping is okay for a while, but you know how it is. If you have to do it in hiding, you should probably not be doing it.
I recommend taking frequent breaks, yes that's right, at least a week or two. It's a hard habit to break, but it's positive to see what else comes along to fill your time in the real world. You can always come back.
This is not everyone's story, but you did ask for input.