 Hey Psych2Goers and welcome back to another video. Thank you so much for your love and support, enabling us to send your way another wealth of everyday psychology. Let's explore. Have you ever given someone the silent treatment? Or maybe you've been on the receiving end of someone's silent treatment. It feels uncomfortable, right? Stifling even. George Bernard Shaw once said, the worst sin to our fellow creatures is not to hate them, but to be indifferent to them. That is the essence of inhumanity. There are many psychological reasons to explain why you may feel that way, but even more that shows how harmful giving someone the cold shoulder can be. Many people believe that giving the silent treatment is a dignified response to an argument, but it's not. The silent treatment is a form of ostracism. The perpetrator often deflects, evades, subverts, or rejects your input, thus freezing you out completely. Their withdrawal leaves you feeling confused and hurt until you eventually get used to it. According to the professor of psychology, Kipling William at Purdue University, it's a form of passive abuse. It's employed with the intent to punish someone and thus yields harmful repercussions. Here are six reasons why the silent treatment can harm you. Number one, it dehumanizes the other person. Did you know early civilizations equated ostracization to death because it was interpreted as exulsion from humanity and even exulsion from oneself? We are social beings designed to form and maintain relationships. Social ostracizing via silent treatment frustrates these relationships. According to a 1976 study, treating people as less than human also tends to dehumanize the perpetrator. Therefore, being ostracized leads to people feeling less human and seeing the person alienating them as less human as well. Number two, it emotionally manipulates the other person. If you've been a victim of the silent treatment, have you ever begun to doubt your own understanding of reality? Many psychologists classify the silent treatment as a form of manipulation. It's a way for the perpetrator to maintain control over the conversation or argument. The silent treatment is equivalent to gaslighting in the sense that it makes the person receiving the treatment question what they did wrong. Hence, it's a form of emotional abuse. Number three, it denotes rejection. Do you hesitate to reach out for their hand? Does it feel like there's a good chance of being turned away or even made to feel ashamed of the effort? During an argument, it's easy to justify your cold shoulder. It might seem like a good de-escalation tactic, but in reality, it's exacerbating the problem. The silent treatment serves to deny partners basic communicative needs and therefore the person on the receiving end may feel rejected, especially if there is a physical aspect to the ostracization. Withholding of physical content from a spouse or partner can make the partner doubt the stability of your relationship. Number four, it instills self-esteem issues. Have you begun to constantly criticize yourself? Are you apologizing for every little thing? A cold shoulder is a very active way of demeaning someone and telling them that they're worthless, regardless of the intention. It invalidates their opinions, thoughts, and emotions. This in turn can produce anxiety and reduce self-esteem. A study from the University of Sydney shows that repeated ostracization can lead to the development of depression, eating disorders, and even suicide. Number five, it produces physical pain. Do you often feel physical discomfort? Scientists have shown that when you experience the silent treatment, the anterior cingulate cortex, a region that distinguishes levels of pain, becomes activated. As a result of someone's cold shoulder, you may experience digestive issues, headaches, or aches in your back or joints. And number six, it destroys relationships. Communication has been called the fuel that keeps the fire of your relationship burning. The silent treatment often denotes an inability to communicate and low emotional intelligence. Emotional intelligence lends a relationship with the sensitivity to figure out when something is wrong and resolve it, rather than climbing the high horse of the silent treatment. As a result, many of those who perpetrate it are not aware of its own harm. Repeated ostracization closes lines of communication and subsequently destroys a relationship. Whether you're the receiver or the perpetrator, trying to find a way to talk is always a good place to start. When feeling too overwhelmed or heated during an argument, just cool down. You can say something like, I don't wanna talk right now, but we can discuss this later. And actually, talking to that person later does the trick. Don't let it be lip service, making sure that you keep the lines of communication open and avoiding using accusatory phrases can help in talking your problems out. We hope we were able to give you insight into some of the ways the silent treatment can harm you. Do any of these describe your experiences? Or did any of these points describe you? Leave a comment down below about your encounter with it if you'd like. Please feel free to share any thoughts you have as well. If you found this video helpful, be sure to hit the like button and share it with those out there being served in the silent treatment. Don't forget to subscribe to Psych2Go and hit the notification bell for more new videos. Thanks for watching and we'll see you soon.