Ask them directly why they're ignoring you.
Even if you have a good idea of why they've been ignoring you, ask them to explain it from their perspective. An honest and open conversation may be all it takes to get your relationship back on track.
The word for this is ostracism (exclusion, banishment). The psychology behind the silent treatment is that it can be a mind game for some people and, in some cases, can be used as a form of manipulation. Along with the emotional roller-coaster, it tears down your sense of self-esteem and sense of self-worth.
The silent treatment, or stonewalling, is a passive-aggressive form of manipulation and can be considered emotional abuse. It is a way to control another person by withholding communication, refusing to talk, or ignoring the person.
While it can be harmless in certain circumstances, it can definitely be used to gain control over another person and make them feel unworthy and unimportant. Often, people choose to ignore because they don't know how to express their feelings properly.
Being ignored creates feelings of self-doubt, feeling a lack of control, and feeling not worthy of attention. Knowing appropriate responses to people with whom you differ is helpful in managing tense relationships.
If he is not responding to your text, simply say that you are sorry if you said something wrong and then ask if he is ready to talk or to ping you once he is. This dialogue comes into play if you have done something wrong or you know what you last said or wrote may have hurt his feelings.
Here are some reasons friends might ignore you:
You might be too negative. You might be too high or low energy compared to your friend. You might talk too much about yourself. You might talk about things your friend isn't interested in.
Many people avoid others from whom they receive attention or compliments beyond friendly conversation because they are already in a romantic relationship. Others, however, are simply not interested in having one. Many people are perfectly content with their lives, family, and friends, without wanting more—from anyone.
People tend to want to avoid you when they are being dishonest or are embarrassed to talk to you. Maybe they went behind your back and did something wrong and are now feeling guilty and want to hide it from you hoping it blows over with time and you do not notice it.
If you want to know why he's been ignoring you, sending one polite but direct message and moving on if you don't get a response—or don't get the response you want—is usually best. Also, if he asks or has asked you not to contact him, it's important to respect that boundary.
Being ignored has the same effect in our brain as being rejected, according to science. However, its cause is something that you should worry about. Oscar Wilde said: “There is only one thing in life worse than being talked about, and that is not being talked about.”
I have found that the true power of ignoring someone who hurts or bothers you is that it sets you free from them, enabling you to pursue your own happiness. Freedom comes when you learn to let go. creation comes when you learn to say no. It all depends upon what type of situation exists.
Is it okay to ignore someone? It's always okay to have a personal boundary but know that you cannot control whether or not someone gets hurt. It's okay to feel bad that you're ignoring someone, as well. Choosing to ignore someone is not an easy decision, but it sometimes needs to be done.
Worse still, studies have shown that the pain of being ignored is worse than being bullied. You are experiencing social pain, which you feel when you're being ignored, overlooked or rejected. The problem being social pain is very real because it shares common neural pathways to physical pain.
Ghosting, simmering and icing are colloquial terms which describe the practice of ending all communication and contact with another person without any apparent warning or justification and ignoring any subsequent attempts to communicate.
Confront them
People who use the silent treatment to win arguments and gain control need to understand the magnitude of their immature behavior. Confrontation lets them know that you see what they are doing and you understand the tactics they use. After telling them the truth, you can laugh about it.
Most psychologists indicate that it depends on the situation. When silence, or, rather, the refusal to engage in a conversation, is used as a control tactic to exert power in a relationship, then it becomes "the silent treatment," which is toxic, unhealthy, and abusive.
In fact, some therapists call the silent treatment a form of gaslighting, used to cause personal uncertainty, and a sense of doubt when considering goals, self-views and worldviews.
Overview. Antisocial personality disorder, sometimes called sociopathy, is a mental health condition in which a person consistently shows no regard for right and wrong and ignores the rights and feelings of others.
If they don't ask for your input in friendly discussions or show any curiosity about what you're thinking, it may mean they're trying to ignore you. They may try to skip over you when asking others about their day, avoid asking you how you feel about a decision, or even ignore you when you share your perspective.