We’ve all been in a situation where we felt that the only way to get back at someone was to ignore them. Whether it’s because they were getting on your nerves, or making you feel uncomfortable, the silent treatment is always a go-to for those looking for a way to show someone just how much they care about themselves. It’s when one partner in a relationship refuses to speak to the other until they apologize for something specific and unreasonable.Giving someone the silent treatment speaks volumes about your character. Your motives might be trying to protect yourself from an impending argument, or you might just want your partner to show some understanding of your feelings. So what happens when you give a narcissist the silent treatment is that the tactic may backfire on you. Narcissists will likely become more aggressive and turn your silence into a power struggle.
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How to deal with Narcissists?
If they happen to pass your way, then you can politely but firmly inform them that you aren’t interested in what they have to say. However, to get rid of them once and for all, you’ll have to resort to the silent treatment, a classic method of control. The best way to deal with a narcissist in this manner is to simply make yourself disappear. While this is a difficult thing to do, there is one thing you can do to make it easier: learn to meditate.
What happens when you stand up to a narcissist?
They will try to make you feel like you are in the wrong for standing up for yourself, but remember that the only thing they care about is how you make them look. If you have a narcissist in your life, there is a good chance they have been making you feel victimized for a while. They might use threats and other things to keep you from standing up against them. What would happen when you stop reaching out to a narcissist.
Psychology behind silent treatment
For one thing, their power over you would diminish.
You will have to learn how to protect yourself from manipulation, emotional abuse, and gaslighting because your narcissist will try to belittle all your attempts. They may try to ignore you so what happens when ignoring a narcissist who ignores you.
You’ll probably feel that you have to fight on behalf of yourself. You’ll feel like you have to fight on behalf of others who are abused.
When you feel like this, your fear of letting go is so powerful, you’ll fight like hell to hold on to your sense of self.
Be forewarned, if you follow these steps, you’re in for a series of highs and lows. With each high, you have to learn to cope with the high—and figure out how to get back to the lows.
What Happens When You Give a Narcissist the Silent Treatment?
This technique works because it makes the narcissist feel ignored and insignificant. This, in turn, will make them seek attention from someone else. The only downside to this is that you have to do it for a long time before it has any effect on the narcissist. The reason for this is that narcissist is so self-absorbed in themselves that they won’t even notice that they’re being ignored until they get bored of being alone. To ensure that this doesn’t happen, you have to completely ignore them without letting any thoughts about them cross your mind.
Why Silent Treatment Is Effective against Narcissists?
“This way of silencing people is classic narcissistic and vengeful behavior. The narcissist’s need to control and dominate people extends to how they treat those around them, including what they say and do.” –Psychology Today
- First, narcissists aren’t shy about showing their power and dominance in their relationships. To show that you’re not going to be intimidated by them, you might decide to ignore them or turn down any attempts to connect.
- Second, you’re essentially trying to use your silence to make the other person feel like they’re not worthy of your time.
How to Deal with a Narcissist That Uses The Silent Treatment
What to do when a narcissist is giving you the silent treatment?
Why narcissist go silent?
Sometimes Narcissist needs time to regenerate their false sense of self.
Whether you’re dealing with an individual that you’re deeply in love with or someone you just met, the idea of walking away from a conversation that’s going nowhere can be daunting. But it doesn’t need to be. You can be assertive and say what you want instead of letting them dominate the conversation. This is the first step to addressing this problem. You want to stop letting them keep the conversation going, and instead, say that you’re not interested in continuing it. Saying this may feel like your voice isn’t heard, but you’re doing the right thing by being assertive. Say: “I feel like you aren’t listening to what I’m saying”
What does narcissist do when you ignore them?
They will try to humiliate you:
In most cases, they don’t mean to be hurtful. Many narcissists genuinely don’t think they’re doing anything wrong. They’re just so obsessed with their own needs that they never think about anyone else’s. So what happens when you give a narcissist the silent treatment.When they think you are ignoring them, they can’t control their temper, so they tend to lash out more easily. A person with high levels of narcissism will either get more aggressive with the silent treatment, or even worse, get into a screaming argument, and push their power away.
For more information read my other post on What Do Narcissists Do When You Ignore Them?
Why The Silent Treatment Works?
The silence is important for two main reasons. Firstly, it stops the narcissist from being “the center of the universe.” By controlling what they can control, you’re able to get back at them for their behavior.
The second reason is that it reminds them that they’re still humans and that they’re still being thought of by others. They feel so ignored and insignificant that they feel like they’re nothing. By continuing to send them texts or emails, you’re reminding them that their name is still being thrown in conversation. They won’t feel important if you continue to give them the silent treatment. The idea behind the silent treatment is that you don’t say anything until you want to say something.
How To Give The Silent Treatment?
If you’re in a relationship with a narcissist, make sure that you say something nice and sweet to them before you give them the silent treatment. If your partner is a petty narcissist, they’ll probably respond with an even more petty response if you start this way. It might happen that if you are lucky enough you may get the silent narcissist. The silence is the narcissists favorite weapon.
The Downside of Giving the Silent Treatment
As strange as it sounds, the negative effects that this technique has aren’t anything to be concerned about. Even if you ignore a narcissist, he or she will eventually get bored and seek attention from someone else. So what happens when you give a narcissist the silent treatment? There aren’t many consequences of silent treatment. That’s because the narcissist isn’t very good at processing information and if you completely ignore them, then they won’t notice that they’re being ignored. This is why it’s okay to give a narcissist the silent treatment as long as you can make sure that the issue isn’t something serious. Giving a narcissist the silent treatment is one of the easiest ways to get revenge on a narcissist.
Do narcissists come back after silent treatment
As it’s not a confrontation — no matter how much they want you to think about them. When you avoid communicating with them, you aren’t allowing them to defend themselves or explain anything — unless they are 100 percent sure you’re their number one fan. Instead, it leaves the other person to guess what you think and they might quickly assume the worst. For example, let’s say your friend suggests you go for a walk, but you say you just can’t because you are sick. Your friend might assume that you don’t like the place they took you and that’s why you left.
Also read Do borderlines come back after discard?https://www.healthoplane.com/do-borderlines-come-back-after-discard/
Conclusion about what happens when you give a narcissist the silent treatment
There are many types of a narcissist, some of which will behave a lot better than others. Others will have to be managed with strong leadership and advice. Some will be so controlling that they will need to be restrained to make sure that they don’t run things themselves. The key thing to remember is that you must stick with your task, remain firm, and allow nothing to distract you from completing it. Even if the narcissist is polite, they will not be ready to discuss what they are doing. They will just expect you to accept that they are doing something with little thought to the repercussions that this might have on your life. We may not be able to read a narcissist but we can be careful about giving them the silent treatment. In the end, you might just find that it’s a lot easier said than done to ignore someone when they have been with you in the room all day long, especially during lockdowns in this pandemic.
Common FAQs on what happens when you give a narcissist the silent treatment
How do narcissists react when ignored?
The said narcissist may try to gaslight manipulate or threaten to self harm when they realize that they are being ignored.
What happens when you don’t give a narcissist attention?
The moment the narcissist realise they are losing their power over you they may try to text you and get nervous on getting no desired reaction from you.
What happens when you give a narcissist boundaries?
The narcissist would never follow any boundaries or rule you set. at first they will do so politely later they will throw tantrums and finally crash through them just to weild their power.
Does no contact work on narcissist?
Absolutely narcissists crave attention and admiration. By not giving them their supply you are making them feel like a loser. Their inflated ego and self esteem takes a huge blow.
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Dr Amit Sharma is a Doctor and writer with a particular interest in mental health. He helps individuals by combining practical advice with emotional support.