Like any other manipulative tactic, it will backfire if the victim becomes aware of it and decides to set up a firm boundary. In other words, if the target of, say, a “silent treatment” decides that they're not tolerating this type of behavior and decides that the relationship, whatever it was, is over.
Over time, the use of the silent treatment can become emotionally abusive. Research has found that people who received the silent treatment experienced a threat to their needs of belonging, self-esteem, control, and meaningful existence.
This may be a given, but there is a wide variety of overwhelming emotions that come with being ignored. Feelings of loneliness, low self-esteem, and despair can occur. The effects of silent treatment as abuse can also contribute to depression, chronic fatigue syndrome, and fibromyalgia.
"Actively ignoring someone might work in the short term, but it usually backfires, because if there's mutual interest and chemistry, it will just come across as 'game-playing' and manipulation."
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 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.
The silent treatment can be used to manipulate and control the other person by making them feel guilty or ashamed. The silent treatment is often used as a form of punishment or as a way to control the conversation. It can also be used as a form of emotional blackmail.
It can cause emotional trauma.
A person who is ignored feels a wide range of confusing emotions. They may feel anger, sadness, frustration, guilt, despair, and loneliness, all at once.
A narcissist's silent treatment can last hours, days, weeks, or even months. If you are experiencing the silent treatment, it is very important that you don't give in to their manipulation and prepare yourself for the powerful manipulation tactics that they will use to end the silent treatment.
A 2012 study shows that the silent treatment stimulates the anterior cingulate cortex, which is the same area in the brain that registers pain. This means that people not only feel emotional pain when given the silent treatment but also a certain level of physical pain.
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.
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.
It can leave significant psychological and emotional repercussions on the person on the receiving end. Being left in silence can be extremely painful, as it involves the loss of connection, love, intimacy, and sometimes even family participation.
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.
You've no doubt already guessed it, but in case you haven't yet, the silent treatment is a narcissist's go-to tactic when it comes to punishing their victims and taking control of them.
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.
Communicating after the silent treatment is sensitive ground to cover, so keep it simple and state your boundaries and avoid emotional minefields. Often, the silent treatment is an indication that one or both people need a little bit of space to sort things out.
In my humble opinion, the silent treatment can be effective on an ex if you want to get them back and if you want to get over them. However, in both cases it requires you to have great emotional control and the ability to take your ex down off the pedestal you probably placed them on.
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.
She says the resulting emotional stress can impact your blood pressure, memory and self-esteem. Longer term, there's an increased risk of diabetes and heart disease, says Victoria. And avoiding emotions can also lead to problems with “memory, aggression, anxiety and depression”.
The silent treatment is widely regarded as a form of emotional manipulation and even psychological abuse.
Being silent as a form of defence
If this happens often in your relationship it is likely that your partner finds it hard to be in touch with their own feelings of vulnerability. Their inability to look at themselves becomes a shield of self-defence and protection.
Silent treatment fails to satisfy these longings and also reflects withholding and emotional abandonment. It is a cutting form of passive aggression. Additionally, engaging in silent treatment as an adult has been found to be associated with experiencing parental silent treatment (Rittenour, et.
Stonewalling is when a person in a relationship withdraws from an interaction, shuts down, and simply stops responding to their partner. Rather than confronting the issue, people who stonewall resort to evasive maneuvers.