Original content by Ashley Berges
Have you ever been on the receiving end of the silent treatment? It can be an extremely sad and an unpleasant place to be.
Let’s expose 5 facts about the silent treatment that you may not be aware of.
1. The silent treatment is a passive-aggressive form of emotional abuse.
2. The silent treatment is a control mechanism.
It is very hard to argue with someone who is completely silent and not speaking to you.
3. The silent treatment is used to inflict pain without visibly hurting someone.
The silent treatment activates the anterior cingulate cortex, the part of the brain that detects pain. That is the same area of the brain that processes physical pain. Even though it’s not physical pain during the silent treatment, it affects us in the same way.
4. The silent treatment is used to gain control of you and the power in the situation.
In this type of situation, most of us argue and defend ourselves. When we are getting the silent treatment used against us we are not able to get anywhere. The other person is holding all the cards. Therefore, We can’t argue with someone who is not speaking to us.
5. The person giving the silent treatment usually had a ton of narcissistic tendencies.
Often, when someone gives us the silent treatment it blindsides us. It is difficult to understand. We do not know where it is coming from and it upsets us. Ultimately, we want to talk about it, but because of their attitude, they will not let us have closure.
In effect, when we are receiving the silent treatment, we normally try to defend ourselves, argue, or just try to have a conversation to clear the air and let things go. Unfortunately, the person initiating the silent treatment does not want that to happen. They want to keep their control and power in the situation. In the end, all the ways we would normally use to resolve a situation are futile when it comes to silent treatment.
Watch the video here:
