Why the silent treatment has no place in the relationship you share with your boyfriend or girlfriend.
Here are 4 reasons you shouldn’t give your partner the silent treatment in a relationship: You choose to be silent and refuse to communicate your feelings to your partner when you are wounded, dissatisfied, or discontented about something. This is what is meant by giving your relationship the silent treatment. Whether or not they were conscious of it at the time, many partners in romantic relationships have either participated in or been a victim of this form of psychological manipulation and punishment at some point in their lives.
But here’s the thing about brazenly ignoring your partner when they try to connect with you: it’s immature, inconsiderate, cruel, and it’s downright emotionally devastating. Here’s the problem: it’s immature, inconsiderate, cruel, and it’s downright emotionally hurtful.
The following are some of the most compelling arguments in favor of your not treating your partner in this manner.
1. It eliminates communication in your relationship
A partnership in which problems are never talked about is not a healthy connection, and you do not need one like that. It is preferable to tell your partner to give you some space and allow you some time as opposed to closing up shop and preventing your partner from having the opportunity to clarify circumstances.
Also, be sure that you do not allow it to go on for an excessive amount of time. Avoid allowing the communication in your relationship to be subjected to such damaging blows.
2. It causes feelings of resentment
When something goes wrong in your partnership, if you have a habit of immediately retreating into your shell, you are inadvertently conveying to your spouse the message that you do not value your ability to communicate with them.
Imagine being in a relationship with someone whose method of problem solving is to withdraw emotionally and be silent for several days at a time when something goes wrong. This kind of behavior breeds feelings of resentment. Undiscussed topics that provide fertile ground for the development of animosity.
3. This causes a decrease in the level of intimacy in your relationship
It goes without saying that the level of intimacy in a relationship will decrease if one spouse harbors resentment toward the other and the other partner refuses to interact with them.
4. It’s actually a form of emotional abuse
The behavior has been categorized in more than one way as a form of emotionally abusive behavior toward a partner. Kurt Smith, an American therapist, has written on this topic and has some interesting things to say.
“If you need to remain quiet for management of your anger, then staying silent is being smart.
“What separates the silent treatment from a good conflict management skill is the intent behind it and how long it lasts.
When it’s used to hurt or punish, then it’s bad. When it goes past a few hours, which is long enough for all of us to cool down and get past any hurt feelings, then it can become abusive.”
Disagreements are unavoidable in relationships; nevertheless, if they are managed effectively via conversation and constructive action, they can be transformed into opportunities to establish better and more robust connections.
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