The Two Types Of Parents That Inflict Silent Treatment On Their Children There are two main reasons why a parent would give their child/adult child the silent treatment: their parent is a narcissist or they are emotionally immature. The narcissistic parent likes to be in control at all times.
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What happens when your mother gives you the silent treatment?
Oct 24, 2011 · Re: daughter gives silent treatment. October 18, 2011, 07:41:34 AM #3. Welcome colleen. Nothing to add but to just echo the others. Give her some space and do something for yourself. We must let go of the life we have planned, so as to accept the one that is waiting for us. -. Joseph Campbell.
Do Toxic Parents give their children the silent treatment?
Silence is the best treatment. Because what we express by telling, speaking only 20% of our views are expressed and never it gets completed in all respect. Further, speaking can attract more question, argument and ultimately the very goal of speaking gets distorted. But, silence does not invite any contradiction.
What is the silent treatment in a relationship?
Apr 30, 2019 · The silent treatment can also be part of a broader pattern of control or emotional abuse. When it’s used regularly as a power play, it can make you feel rejected or excluded. This can have a huge...
What does it mean when your boyfriend gives you the silent treatment?
I agree with Susan and Karlie. The Silent Treatment is almost always geared toward making you plead with the person for attention, which they can use to manipulate you or to criticize. The best approach is to let them sulk. It is actually a more aggressive treatment than sulking.

What is the silent treatment?
The silent treatment is one of the worst forms of emotional abuse. It’s meant as a punishment, and as such, it’s an instrument of control. The silent treatment often leads to feelings of guilt, shame, and causes obsessive thinking.
What does it mean when your toxic mother triangulates you?
For example, your toxic mother triangulates you when she uses your sibling (third party) to manipulate you. She’ll tell them to ask you to do something when it’s her who wants that done.
What is a narcissistic mother?
A narcissistic mother is a master of covert warfare. She’s so good that half the time you’re not even sure what’s going on. But you’re smart. You’re catching on. Here are 5 manipulative tactics a narcissistic mother uses to get under your skin.
What is guilt trip?
Guilt trips are a form of verbal or nonverbal communication in which a person tries to induce guilty feelings in a target, to control their behavior. As such, guilt trips are a clear form of psychological manipulation and coercion (i.e. emotional abuse ). However, we rarely think of guilt trips in such harsh terms.
Why do people use silent treatment?
But some people use the silent treatment as a tool for exerting power over someone or creating emotional distance. If you’re on the receiving end of this kind of treatment, you might feel completely ostracized.
What is silent treatment?
The silent treatment can happen in romantic relationships or any type of relationship, including between parents and children, friends, and co-workers. It can be a fleeting reaction to a situation in which one person feels angry, frustrated, or too overwhelmed to deal with a problem.
Is silent treatment always meant to inflict wounds?
The silent treatment isn’t always meant to inflict wounds. Sometimes, it’s an isolated incident that gets out of hand. You can let it slide until they come around and move on.
Is silent treatment a form of emotional abuse?
Recognizing other types of emotional abuse. The silent treatment doesn’t always relate to emotional abuse. Some people lack effective communication skills or need to retreat into themselves to work things out. To emotional abusers, though, the silent treatment is a weapon of control.
Is silent treatment a good way to communicate?
While it’s not always malicious, the silent treatment certainly isn’t a healthy way to communicate. If the silent treatment looms large in your life, there are steps you can take to improve your relationship or remove yourself from an abusive situation. Last medically reviewed on April 30, 2019.
How to deal with emotional abuse?
Make it about you. Ignore it. Offer solutions. Stand up for yourself. What not to do. Signs of emotional abuse. Get help. Takeaway. If you’ve ever found yourself in a situation where you couldn’t get someone to talk to you, or even acknowledge you, you’ve experienced the silent treatment.
Why parents use the silent treatment
In romantic relationships, the silent treatment is used to avoid conflict, inflict punishment or because that person is frozen in silence, unable to communicate.
When the silent treatment becomes emotional abuse
The silent treatment can be considered emotional abuse if it's frequent and participants are not reflective, Ms James says.
How stonewalling impacts children
When a child notices their parent not responding to them, they become anxious, insecure and stressed, Ms James says.
How childhood stonewalling affects adult relationships
Someone who has been stonewalled as a child will often use it in adult relationships when seeking security.
Family and domestic violence support services
"It stays in your mind that you suffered as a child this way. You couldn't reach your parent and you felt lonely and abandoned," Ms James says.
Breaking the stonewalling cycle
Having emotional literacy and the courage to take the risk is key to moving past using the silent treatment, Ms James says.
What is the silent treatment?
The Silent Treatment – Coping With Estrangement. Estrangement from important others is a sad fact of life for many people. One of the most painful experiences a parent can have, for example, is to be rejected by an adult child who appears to want nothing to do with them. Estrangement between siblings, in-laws, neighbors, even coworkers, ...
What does rejection mean?
Rejection is a powerful emotion that can lead to all sorts of defensive behavior, which in turn can further alienate the rejecting person. If someone has chosen to have little or no contact with you, it’s important to acknowledge any softer feelings you may have about that.
What is silent treatment?
The silent treatment is an abusive method of control, punishment, avoidance, or disempowerment (some times these four typesoverlap, sometimes not) that is a favorite tactic of narcissists, and especially thosewho have a hard time with impulse control, that is, those with more infantile tendencies. The silent treatment can be used as anabusive tactic ...
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Psych Central does not review the content that appears in our blog network (blogs.psychcentral.com) prior to publication. All opinions expressed herein are exclusively those of the author alone, and do not reflect the views of the editorial staff or management of Psych Central. Published on PsychCentral.com.
What is silent treatment?
Remember that silent treatment is emotional abuse and a manipulation tactic to get you to change, and prevent you from growing and setting healthy boundaries. Do not allow yourself to be manipulated and abused. Don’t beg them to speak to you or promise to change.
How long does silent treatment last?
Also known as stonewalling, the cold shoulder and ghosting, giving someone the silent treatment means that one person has stopped talking and communicating to another person and it can last for hours, days, weeks, months or even years. The silent treatment can include: Refusing to talk altogether. Avoiding discussions.
How to deal with toxic parents?
Set healthy boundaries with them, which might mean distancing yourself and spending less time with them. Keep the relationship at a casual level.
What does it mean when someone is emotionally immature?
Emotionally immature people struggle to express their feelings in a healthy way or look inwards which means they blame their negative feelings on others instead of taking responsibility for their actions or how they feel.