Silent treatment can be an immature way of dealing with situations and its practice should not be made a habit of. Imagine you have upset your loved one for some reason and they are angry with you.
The silent treatment might be employed by passive personality types to avoid conflict and confrontation, while strong personality types use it to punish or control. Some people may not even consciously choose it at all.
Silent Treatment – What It is and What It's Not
But here's the thing about blatantly ignoring someone: not only is it rude, immature, inconsiderate, cruel, and petty, it's downright emotionally (and sometimes physically) damaging. Ignoring someone is not an act of love. In fact, silent treatment qualifies as abuse.
Using the silent treatment is an unproductive way of communicating within a relationship. It can sometimes be a form of self-protection, but at other times, it indicates emotional abuse. People who regularly use or experience the silent treatment should take steps to address it.
While using silence sometimes is just a short-term way to cool down, the silent treatment becomes a problem when it's used as a deliberate strategy to inflict pain and establish control. That treatment is never okay.
If someone displays unmanageable emotions and easily flies off the handle, this is a serious red flag. Responding with uncontrollable rage or the "silent treatment" could point to abusive (physical or emotional) behavior in the future, says Trombetti.
The silent treatment is a manipulative tactic that can be used in order to control a situation or person. It is often used as a way to punish someone for something that they have done in order to get them to change their behaviour.
Clearly, silent treatment creates an atmosphere of anxiety, fear, and sadness that preclude an underlying sense of safety. As such, it causes unhappiness and psychological harm that most often heightens conflict in a relationship. It can lead one to feel anger, abandonment, rejection, and overall distress.
By establishing boundaries, enforcing consequences if necessary, sharing emotions with others, and speaking up for yourself; you will take away their power, thus protecting yourself from the narcissist's silent treatment.
' The ability to detect ostracism is hardwired in us – it doesn't matter if you're being ignored by a group or a person you can't stand, the pain still registers. The silent treatment, even if it's brief, activates the anterior cingulate cortex – the part of the brain that detects physical pain.
If you didn't know already, the silent treatment is when someone refuses to communicate verbally and/or electronically with someone who is willing to communicate. A narcissist's silent treatment can last for hours, days, weeks, or even months.
On one hand, prolonged silent treatment could lead to emotional abuse and is said to be as lethal as physical abuse having long-term psychological effects, and on the other, it is often regarded as an effective tool for conflict resolution.
1 In abusive relationships, the silent treatment is used to manipulate the other person and to establish power over them. Silence is used as a weapon to cut off meaningful conversations, stop the flow of information, and ultimately hurt the other person.
With all of the constant noise you hear on a day-to-day basis, embracing silence can help stimulate your brain and help you process information. It can also help you become more self-aware and relieve stress. Embracing silence may also help you settle into the present moment and quiet any racing thoughts.
Narcissistic silent treatment is a type of narcissistic manipulation and narcissistic abuse. Narcissists may use the silent treatment to communicate they are unhappy with you, to control you, or as a form of punishment.
Studies show that feeling ignored in a relationship by a significant person activates the same brain region associated with physical pain. This reinforces the notion that using blackballing as a way of punishing someone in a relationship says a lot about one's character. Research also corroborates this postulation.
When you give someone the silent treatment, you are showing them that they are insignificant, unworthy and unlovable. It can greatly deplete their self-esteem, leaving serious consequences. It can cause physical issues as well.
No matter how it's being used, the silent treatment can be perceived by the recipient as a form of rejection and ostracization. This will wound the person experiencing it and can cause irreparable damage to the relationship.
Being ignored is especially difficult for a person who is isolated by abuse and coercive control, and depends on the abuser's approval to feel worthwhile and safe. Many abuse survivors say they hated the silent treatment more than the insults or yelling.
Like gaslighting, the end goal of the silent treatment is to punish the recipient by blocking or withdrawing information to gain control. The motives of gaslighting are consistent with power and control struggles.
Silence speaks volumes
The best revenge is no reaction. Believe it, the silence and zero reaction really bothers your ex, and they consider it as the best served revenge. Nothing creates more curiosity than silence. Your ex would expect a vent or an angry rant from you, but don't give in.
The silent treatment puts a man in heightened anticipation. It shows you aren't afraid of little distance or break in a relationship. He doesn't know your whereabouts or how you feel. As a result, he realizes what he has lost.
Many guys hate failing and feeling inadequate. They often don't have the speed of words to compete with their partner in a conflict. Men's emotional processing capacity is often much slower than their partner. Whilst being silent is a sign of a man's need to process it is also a way to avoid the feelings of defeat.
They will have a violent, excessive, and disorderly reaction to the rejection. In a nutshell, they want and will try to create a scene. Simply put, narcissists hate being ignored. They probably want to make you feel ashamed, regretful, and rattled.