How silent treatment can end a relationship and how to deal with it
The silent treatment is a widely used technique to establish your stance in a relationship if the two of you reach an impasse and do not seem to come to a conclusion.
The silent treatment is a psychological punishment that is used to manipulate us and many of us agree that we have been on both ends of it; giving and receiving it. The silent treatment has been a globally used technique to establish your stance in a relationship if the two of you cannot reach a conclusion.
The silent treatment is a psychological punishment that is used to manipulate us and many of us agree that we have been on both ends of it; giving and receiving it. The silent treatment has been a globally used technique to establish your stance in a relationship if the two of you cannot reach a conclusion.
There might be a situation where the two of you are in an intense argument and your partner shouts you out and it is at this point. This is when you realize that the discussion is not headed anywhere and the conversation is over. Shutting down and not responding to any communication can hurt you because they are ignoring you while you attempt to continue the conversation.
In a simplified sense, it is one of the four causes that might have negative impacts on a relationship. This cannot be accounted as a method of showing affection or a strategy to make your point, but it is a straight disrespect for the other person's feelings. Well, here are # ways the silent treatment can hurt your relationship.
1. It causes emotional turmoil
There is an influx of multiple emotions of a person who is ignored, which are overwhelming in nature. If you are on the receiving end, you would feel agitated, frustrated, guilty, restlessness in the mind and in some cases, you might feel bitter and betrayed.
The silent treatment disregards the other person's emotions entirely and makes them feel unloved, inadequate, and devalued. This instills a feeling of isolation and there is a subtle sign that their feelings are rejected. Well, this is like when you have an old couch and toss it out without any consideration because you have no room for it.
There is an influx of multiple emotions of a person who is ignored, which are overwhelming in nature. If you are on the receiving end, you would feel agitated, frustrated, guilty, restlessness in the mind and in some cases, you might feel bitter and betrayed.
The silent treatment disregards the other person's emotions entirely and makes them feel unloved, inadequate, and devalued. This instills a feeling of isolation and there is a subtle sign that their feelings are rejected. Well, this is like when you have an old couch and toss it out without any consideration because you have no room for it.
2. It causes mental stress
The silent treatment can be related to ostracism, which is excluding or avoid someone. This has close links to ostracizing. Since this is a form of psychological manipulation and for some a mind game to get things done their way. As a victim, it is an emotional rollercoaster that would destroy their self-worth, confidence, and esteem.
It would lead to a rising in stress level that would ignite feelings of grief, loss, abandonment, and you might end up feeling like you have lost all control. The longer the treatment continues the greater the impact and the more retentive are the psychological outcomes, mainly on children.
The silent treatment can be related to ostracism, which is excluding or avoid someone. This has close links to ostracizing. Since this is a form of psychological manipulation and for some a mind game to get things done their way. As a victim, it is an emotional rollercoaster that would destroy their self-worth, confidence, and esteem.
It would lead to a rising in stress level that would ignite feelings of grief, loss, abandonment, and you might end up feeling like you have lost all control. The longer the treatment continues the greater the impact and the more retentive are the psychological outcomes, mainly on children.
3. It may have serious physical side-effects
The anterior cingulate cortex is a part of your brain that is specifically crafted to detect different magnitudes of pain. Well, this part of the brain activates when someone is ignored or receiving the silent treatment. The brain sends a signal that you are in physical pain when you are receiving the silent treatment or being ignored.
The symptoms of pain are not outright injuries but are internal manifesting as external pain. Symptoms include stomach pains, insomnia, diarrhea or constipation, and fatigue. In addition, with an increased amount of emotional stress the physical pains magnify and can lead to heart disorders, eating disorders high blood pressure, urinary and bowel problems, and cancer in some of the extreme cases.
The anterior cingulate cortex is a part of your brain that is specifically crafted to detect different magnitudes of pain. Well, this part of the brain activates when someone is ignored or receiving the silent treatment. The brain sends a signal that you are in physical pain when you are receiving the silent treatment or being ignored.
The symptoms of pain are not outright injuries but are internal manifesting as external pain. Symptoms include stomach pains, insomnia, diarrhea or constipation, and fatigue. In addition, with an increased amount of emotional stress the physical pains magnify and can lead to heart disorders, eating disorders high blood pressure, urinary and bowel problems, and cancer in some of the extreme cases.
4. Behavioral Changes
Self-doubt is the first thought and behavioral change that sparks while being ignored or being on the receiving end of the silent treatment. You begin to doubting yourself and second-guessing every action. In addition, you lash out at others because of the mental stir. As a mental consequence, you think that you are being too needy or bothering someone.
This might transform you into a different person, which is completely unlike your true personality. This could build a sense of guilt and make you feel like you have lost control, which is heightened by the fight or flight response. The uncertainty of not acting like yourself can initiate a sense of threat to your survival.
Self-doubt is the first thought and behavioral change that sparks while being ignored or being on the receiving end of the silent treatment. You begin to doubting yourself and second-guessing every action. In addition, you lash out at others because of the mental stir. As a mental consequence, you think that you are being too needy or bothering someone.
This might transform you into a different person, which is completely unlike your true personality. This could build a sense of guilt and make you feel like you have lost control, which is heightened by the fight or flight response. The uncertainty of not acting like yourself can initiate a sense of threat to your survival.
5. Destroy the relationships
This is the worst outcome of the silent treatment, which is an outcome of bad communication between the two of you. Irrespective of the causing factor of the silent-treatment, it would create distance between the two of you. Each of you might blame the cause of the problem on each other rather than have an open dialogue by admitting and taking responsibility for the problems.
The common misunderstanding is that you are sparing your partner by not talking to him/her and at this moment, you only care about being right with no consideration of the relationship. This amplifies the mental impacts by reducing the intimacy and results in anxiety and aggressive behavior. In addition, if this tends to become a pattern then communication is non-existent in the relationship, which hinders their ability to make their point heard.
This is the worst outcome of the silent treatment, which is an outcome of bad communication between the two of you. Irrespective of the causing factor of the silent-treatment, it would create distance between the two of you. Each of you might blame the cause of the problem on each other rather than have an open dialogue by admitting and taking responsibility for the problems.
The common misunderstanding is that you are sparing your partner by not talking to him/her and at this moment, you only care about being right with no consideration of the relationship. This amplifies the mental impacts by reducing the intimacy and results in anxiety and aggressive behavior. In addition, if this tends to become a pattern then communication is non-existent in the relationship, which hinders their ability to make their point heard.
6. Lack of emotional intelligence or maturity
Holding on to the problem and refusing to solve the problem is childish behavior and shows lack of maturity. While adults resolve issues by working through conflicts and coming to a middle ground, on the other immature people avoid confrontations as they fear conflicts.
Putting your partner through the silent treatment is like spending time in solitary confinement, which has disastrous mental impacts. This would make your partner regret getting into the relationship because there is not understanding and his/her thoughts and feelings are not welcomed. This would eventually destroy the dynamic and lead to the end of the relationship by making a permanent scar that is beyond healing.
Holding on to the problem and refusing to solve the problem is childish behavior and shows lack of maturity. While adults resolve issues by working through conflicts and coming to a middle ground, on the other immature people avoid confrontations as they fear conflicts.
Putting your partner through the silent treatment is like spending time in solitary confinement, which has disastrous mental impacts. This would make your partner regret getting into the relationship because there is not understanding and his/her thoughts and feelings are not welcomed. This would eventually destroy the dynamic and lead to the end of the relationship by making a permanent scar that is beyond healing.
In order to deal with this situation, you need to deal with it like an adult by putting aside your ego and anger. Just apologizing can bring peace to your partner's mind and increases the chances of the both of you having a proper dialogue to sort it out.
Finding out the root cause of the problem and discussing it calmly and maturely can help your relationship survive all odds.
Finding out the root cause of the problem and discussing it calmly and maturely can help your relationship survive all odds.
This highlights the importance of communication, talking about things rather than punishing your partner like a child would just negatively impact the relationship. The relationship is more important than being right, which would help you come to a middle ground to resolve the matter. Being aware of the negative effects can help tackle the situation in a better way without anyone getting emotionally, physically and mentally harmed.
Source: The dailynet
Source: The dailynet
