Signs you are receiving the silent treatment

From being punished by silence to getting ignored, here are a few signs that we are receiving silent treatment.

Be it a relationship or a friendship, sometimes we come across situations where we feel sidelined by the silent treatment of others. This can happen due to various reasons – from anger to the result of a conflict. However, it can emotionally and mentally impact us, especially the feeling of not knowing what is causing such behavior. "Silent treatment is a refusal to verbally communicate with someone and is often used as a means to punish or control. ⁣There is nothing wrong with setting healthy boundaries and expressing the need to take some space or a break, but this is very different from using the silent treatment," wrote Therapist Allyson Kellum-Aguirre as she explained how silent treatment can affect us.

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"This negative and controlling form of communication can become abusive if changes do not occur,” Allyson further added as she shared the signs that denote that we are receiving silent treatment from others. Take a look at the signs here:

Ignorance: We often see that the people we want to spend time with ignore us. From refusing to talk to us to turning a deaf ear and going away, these actions of ignorance can vary.

Punished by silence: Sometimes silence is comforting, and sometimes it is not. Silence from our loved ones for a prolonged period of time without understanding what is causing it can lead to the feeling of being punished by them.

Converse with others but not with us: We receive the silent treatment of being pushed to a side when they start to pick up and behave nicely with others but choose to stay silent and maintain a distance with us.

Walking on eggshells: We feel that we are not feeling safe about their reactions towards us. Hence, we start to walk on eggshells around them and hope for the best.

We attempt to talk but in vain: We also make conscious efforts in speaking to them and clearing out things, but they choose to stay away and refuse to speak to us.

Act busy: We feel that we are being tuned out – they start to act busy around us to stay away from a conversation.