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Have you ever been given a non-response in a conflict? How silent treatment among families is weaponized to drive a wedge.
Nothing’s worse than silent treatment among families, where the air is so thick, and everyone can hear a pin drop. It is a horrifying torture that only a few can endure, especially when living under the same roof. How does silent treatment impact the ability of families to communicate with each other?
Experiencing silent treatment up close can feel like standing out in the cold of winter. Ostracizing has been a common punishment for a long time, and it managed to creep its way into households. Some may think that at least it’s not as bad as physical or verbal conflict, but how do we approach this situation?
We must realize that silent treatment among families is just as bad as every other type of conflict. When an overwhelming silence envelops your family, you build walls around each other, which may continue indefinitely. That is why we need a book that teaches us how to cultivate healthy relationships with family members.
Principio Nuevo: The foundation of a healthy family
A healthy family is built on love, trust, and communication. Those three principles are crucial to laying a solid foundation in every home. Occasional winds and rainstorms come, but a healthy family will surely withstand them all.
Talking about family is complex and sensitive since not everyone grew up in a good and loving home. With that issue in mind, a book about a beautiful family by Max Teran was written to address the problem that has plagued families for generations.
The long-term effects of the silent treatment
People mistakenly think that silent treatment among families won’t be an issue since they are not “hurting anybody” by not saying anything. But don’t you know it’s potentially worse than actually inflicting something?
You inflict emotional damage by refusing to talk to your family instead of actively solving issues with them. After all, humans are wired to socialize, and being unable to interact with anyone puts us in a difficult position. It often results in the inability to express ourselves, especially in precarious situations where you’re in a silent war with your family.
Why is it that silence can be a lethal weapon in family conflicts?
Not being on speaking terms with your family, whether they’re near or far, can become a long-standing cold war (a different one). The pain of family members withdrawing in these situations can be too much to bear. Such instances can cause an extra sting to those who once forged a bond with them.
The silent treatment being weaponized can enable the following:
- Avoidance– When people want to avoid conflict, some do it by not saying or doing anything. In a tense conversation, those at a loss for words and reactions automatically avoid everything and stay silent instead.
- Poor communication– The difficulty of expressing emotions can be summed up by someone who uses silent treatment as a convenient excuse. However, they still want to communicate their point by ironically not saying a word.
- Form of punishment– People who use silence on others may be a way to punish them for whatever they did wrong. Again, it leads back to the main problem of poor communication, where non-confrontation is an option in dealing with conflict. However, this may be a form of abuse that must be addressed directly.
Is silent treatment among families a form of abuse?
Abuse can be hard to detect, especially when done by someone closest to you. A lot of the worst parts include being inflicted unintentionally. If you’re a recipient of this silent treatment among families, here are some signs that you should look out for:
- They use silence to hurt other people.
- The period of silence lasts too long.
- They single out one person and talk to everybody else but them.
- They willingly end the silent treatment when they feel like it.
- They often seek others except for the object of their resentment.
- They use silence to make the other person feel guilty and at fault.
- They are manipulating others into thinking that silent treatment is a way to teach a lesson.
Final thoughts
While humans need silence occasionally, it becomes problematic when silent treatment among families becomes abuse. This behavior has to stop perpetrating into the lives of families to live harmoniously and love genuinely. Procreating a healthy family is not simple, but it doesn’t mean it’s impossible.