| | You don’t know what you did, but you know you did something — and your partner is pissed. Their anger isn’t the main problem. Rather, it’s the way they’re handling it. Instead of communicating about your transgression, they’re not saying a thing. Maybe they’re stomping around or sighing heavily, but they certainly aren’t speaking to you. Ah, the silent treatment. Now you’re walking on eggshells, hoping the ice will melt quickly so you two can get back to normal.
The silent treatment is a common game of emotional chicken, a manipulative tactic that works to inflict emotional pain on someone for a mistake. Effective? It sure can be! But it’s also an immature (and hard to break!) habit that’s extremely debilitating to a relationship. Whether it’s a rare occurrence in your relationship or a go-to defense mechanism for one partner or both, here’s how you can break through the invisible wall, address the real issue in the short term, and work together to make silent treatment a thing of the past. |
| | |
|
|
