When Your Partner Goes Silent: Here’s Why — and How to Handle It
I once had a relationship where every big fight we had ultimately ended with me shutting down and going silent on him. I didn’t do this out of a malicious attempt to give him the silent treatment. Sometimes people shut down and walk away for valid reasons.
I have been on the other side of this as well, where I had someone shut down on me, and these were the things that I did to restore peace with him.
Why I go silent
Let me break this down. Every time I have gone silent on a man, something significant always happens right before I go silent. I made my feelings clear. I conveyed that I am upset, disappointed, or hurt. And then the blow comes:
I get shut down.
Meaning, my love has said or done something to convey dismissal of my feelings. If I express my feelings and a man gets defensive, annoyed, or disregards what I said, you can guarantee I will stop talking altogether.
If I don’t feel heard, what’s the point of speaking at all?
