Silent treatment in a relationship is when one of the partners doesn’t talk and share information with the other partner. It results in the form of disappointment, bitterness, anger, frustration, and sorrowful feelings. The silent treatment could be from your parents, spouse, friend, colleagues, or any other type of relationship. Today, we’ll discuss tips on how to deal with silent treatment in a relationship.
How to Deal with Silent Treatment – 15 Tips
Some of the main tips on how to deal with silent treatment in a relationship are as follows;
Don’t Blame Yourself
Your entire focus should be on your health and peace of mind. You should avoid beating yourself up by trying to comprehend the silence of the other person. It’s because you can’t read the minds of people, and they do things for various reasons.
The reason I said the focus on yourself is because silent treatment of your partner would cause depression and anxiety. In order to avoid such thoughts, you should perform physical exercises, meditation, yoga, and maintain a healthy diet.
Standup For Yourself
If silence is taking the form of emotional abuse, then you should stand up for yourself. If you think that the relationship is worth saving, then you should take the following steps;
- Setting boundaries in terms of the type of behavior acceptable or not
- Suggest couples therapy to resolve communication issues and work on the relationship
- Mention in clear words the consequences after breaking the boundaries
If things aren’t working out in the relationship, then it is significant to leave the relationship.
Things to Avoid
When it comes to replying to the silent treatment of your partner, some of the things that you should avoid are as follows;
- Avoid pleading or begging, it would encourage their behavior
- Not replying with anger
- Don’t apologize in order to put things to an end
- Keep on reasoning with your partner when you have already tried
- Don’t take it personally
- Avoid threatening to end or break up the relationship
Sandwich Method
The sandwich method is a constructive criticism where you apply the “I” approach to share your feelings and emotions and ask for an explanation from your partner. You should remain calm and gentle and follow the direct approach. Avoid making it all about yourself; you should analyze how it is impacting the relationship in the short and long term.
If your direct approach triggers anger in them, then you should let them speak, and listen to whatever they’re saying. You should avoid interrupting them if they’re saying something, and wait for your turn.
Go Deep into the Situation
If silent treatment is prolonged, then it would aggravate the situation and impact both partners. It is important to keep in mind that not all types of silence are manipulative. For instance, if your parents aren’t talking, then it doesn’t mean that they want to harm you emotionally or exploit you in any way.
You should be aware of the serial abuser, they go silent because they want to gain power and control over you and punish you emotionally. In such a situation, you should remind yourself that you have got the capability to deal with such situations.
Listen
The silence of your partner would trigger an angry response in you. It is possible that you would say something it would defeat the purpose of communication. Your focus should be on listening when your partner is saying something, instead of just talking and replying.
Don’t Try to Win
There is no such thing as winning in the silent treatment or the relationship. You should avoid playing the blame game, and your focus should be on resolving the issue. Both partners and couples should recognize their mistakes and wrongdoings, and avoid doing it in the future.
Let Go of Grudge
Holding and keeping grudges in your heart would jeopardize your relationship. If you or your partner is giving the silent treatment, then you should have a big heart towards forgiveness if they ask for it. You would feel much lighter after forgiving and apologizing. Try to let go of things, because keeping grudges would never let you heal. (How to Deal with Silent Treatment)
Be Strong
One way of dealing with silence is to behave like it is not affecting you; you don’t let your weak side come out. However, it is not a healthy way to deal with such a situation. The reason people become silent is to get some type of reaction in you. In short, your focus should be to remain calm, simple, and strong.
Recipients Don’t Need to Start
If you’re the one giving the cold shoulder to your partner, then it doesn’t mean that the recipient would always start the conversation and break the ice. You can do so by recollecting your thoughts and calming down yourself. Your focus should always be on establishing a healthy relationship with yourself, instead of punishing yourself or your partner with silence.
Time & Space
Some people want some time and space to clear things out from their heads. They would engage themselves in other activities until they were ready to talk. It is significant to make sure that the person who isn’t talking to you is aware of the fact that you want an explanation from them.
Resolve it Later
Sometimes, partners go back to their normal life without resolving the main reason for the silence. When things are normal, you should sit down with your partner and ask them their reason for silence. Time has the capability to lower the hostility of the situation. Therefore, it is significant to resolve this issue; if it has happened at once, it would happen again.
Ask for Advice
If it is happening in the boss and employee relationship, then you ask for advice because it would impact your performance. In such a situation, you can’t afford your work to suffer because your relationship is not good. You should reach out to your boss or colleague and ask them for being silent; it would help you to know why you’re receiving it.
Saying Goodbye
If I say that you shouldn’t take the silent treatment mentally to disturb you, then it is much easier said than done. It is because it does affect and has a very deep impact on your life. Whether it is a professional relationship or a romantic one, you should tell your partner in clear words that you can’t take it anymore. If silence keeps on going and becoming toxic and impacting your life, then you should finish things up.
Consult Therapist
If silence has taken the form of emotional abuse, and causing depression and anxiety; then you should consult a professional therapist to deal with the stress, anxiety, and toxicity of the relationship. The therapist would help you to rebuild your self-esteem, self-confidence, and your self-respect.
Conclusion: How to Deal with Silent Treatment – 15 Tips
After an in-depth study of how to deal with silent treatment; we have realized that silence could badly disturb your life. If you’re experiencing it in your life, then you should follow and practice the abovementioned tips and suggestions.
Ahsan is an accomplished researcher and has a deep insight in worldly life affairs. He goes Live 3 days a week on various social media platforms. Other than research writing, he’s a very interesting person.
