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The Sound of Silence
The Silent Treatment is the Narcissists’ Most Dehumanizing Weapon
Silence can be weaponized in the most soul crushing way imaginable. It is used as a method of torment and punishment and used without mercy. People with narcissistic personality disorder (NPD) commonly use this technique to nullify, render non-existent, erase, expunge, cause pain, and get revenge for perceived maltreatment or narcissistic injury.
When the partner disagrees with the narcissist, asserts healthy boundaries, questions or doubts them, or criticizes, the narcissist deploys an arsenal of abuse tactics.
Research has found that the people who receive the silent treatment experience a threat to their most basic needs that create a meaningful existence. It reinforces the feeling that someone we care about wants nothing to do with us. It can feel as though you don’t exist. The silent treatment creates an atmosphere of anxiety, fear, and sadness that takes away any sense of safety. It causes psychological harm that can lead to feelings of anger, abandonment, rejection, and distress.
During devaluation, the silent treatment is can be used to make the victim feel confused, invisible, unworthy, guilty, ashamed, or unstable enough so that they do what the narcissist wants. After the discard, the narcissist disappears to…
