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The Secret Behind “Heart Manifesting” (Video)
The Silent Treatment: What To Do When Someone Is Ignoring You
We’ve all experienced the confusion, insecurity, and uncertainty that comes with feeling ignored.
Maybe you keep sending messages to a friend who has stopped replying. Or, perhaps you’ve heard nothing after what felt like a successful date.
No matter the context, you’re left with a slew of unanswered questions and uncomfortable emotions. But what should you do when this type of problem arises?
7 Steps To Take When Someone Is Ignoring You
Each time you feel ignored by someone, the causes, and potential solutions will be slightly different. In some cases, it may not be possible to get a full picture of what has happened.
However, regardless of the person you’re dealing with and the extent of the history you have with them, there’s a methodical approach you can take that will boost your understanding and help to regulate your behavior.
Try to walk through these seven steps in turn, all of which tackle both emotional regulation and relationship reparation.
Self-reflection is important throughout, as is reflecting on the dynamic you have with the other person.
1. Give The Person Space
If you feel the urge to bombard the other person with questions and demands, you’re not alone! It’s common to want to get to the bottom of the problem right away and to seek reassurance.
However, one of the most unproductive things you can do is to send them constant messages, keep calling them, or try to meet them without their consent.
It could not only annoy the person further but also overwhelm them, making the situation worse.
Instead, take a deep breath and give the person time to cool off, reflect and consider whatever has caused them to ignore you. Look at the situation with an objective eye.
Next, try to find other things to occupy your time and attention!
This cooling off period is just as important for your well-being as it is for the other person. You both need ample time to consider what actually happened, rather than simply jumping into a difficult conversation when one or both of you is still feeling raw.
If a resolution is possible, it’s much more likely after a break.
2. Make Sure That The Person Is Really Ignoring You
This particular point may sound obvious at first glance, but you’d be surprised at how many people assume they’re being ignored when in fact they are not! Think about whether this might be true of you.
For example, have you been hurt often in the past, leaving you with a fear that everyone will eventually abandon you?
Alternatively, are you so worried about what this specific person thinks of you that you’re likely to be paranoid about their behavior?
When assessing whether you’re really being ignored, think about other explanations.
Could the person be especially busy, or going through something stressful?
If not, could they be in a bad mood and ignoring everyone?
In this latter case, there’s no reason to think there’s a real problem in your relationship. However, if you establish that you are the only person involved, it’s time to look at more personal explanations for what’s going on.
3. Think About Why The Person Could Be Mad At You
So, you’ve established that this individual really is ignoring you at the moment. In the majority of cases, this suggests they might be angry at you. What might have caused this anger?
In some scenarios, the answer might come to you immediately.
For example, you might easily remember an argument that you had recently. Or, there was a time you didn’t invite the person to a group event.
Alternatively, maybe a guilty moment when you gossiped about them behind their back. Think about your behavior and actions towards the person recently.
Once you think you know why the person is angry, you can begin to work out how to talk to them about it.
Don’t forget to put yourself in this person’s shoes.
You may not have done something objectively bad, so think about how they might have read too much into your actions or how they could have been over-sensitive about a conversation topic.
Remember that even if you don’t think the anger is justified, understanding it will still help the relationship.
4. Avoid Overreacting
When you know for sure that someone is ignoring you, it’s so easy to jump to all kinds of dramatic conclusions.
For example, you might assume that a friend will never speak to you again, that a potential partner has replaced you with someone else, or that a colleague is going to ask for a transfer out of your department.
In the majority of cases, being ignored is temporary and doesn’t mean that something awful is going to occur. And, in fact, you can reduce the likelihood of a bad outcome by ensuring that you don’t overreact.
This advice applies both externally and internally, so try to avoid lashing out as well as stewing in your negative emotions.
Reason with yourself, reminding your mind that many such situations get resolved peacefully, and deliberately recall times when you have felt similarly yet have ended up mending fences with the person.
5. Don’t Let It Consume You
When it comes to internal overreactions, the aforementioned advice to stay busy will certainly help. Devote extra time to your favorite hobbies, and to the things that you know you find relaxing.
Journaling or talking to a sympathetic friend can also be useful. It can help you release pent-up emotions that might otherwise explode.
Take time to socialize with other people you feel comfortable around.
Whatever you do, the important thing is to avoid letting this difficult situation consume you.
Not only is it bad for your mental well-being, but it will also increase the chances of handing things badly when you do speak to the person again.
One thing that might help is to limit the time you’re allowed to spend on thinking about the situation. You might tell yourself that you can reflect on it, write about it or discuss it for half an hour, but that you will then move onto other topics and not return to thoughts about this conflict again until tomorrow.
6. Meet Face To Face
Eventually, though not in all cases, you’ll probably end up talking to the person who has been ignoring you.
They might suggest talking on the phone or exchanging messages via text or online, or perhaps you might even think you’d prefer one of these modes of communication.
However, be aware that they come with serious downsides.
In particular, you can’t assess body language or offer your own reassuring body language. This means it’s more likely that there will be a misunderstanding or that one of you will imagine the other is angrier than they really are.
Whenever you can, make the conversation happen face-to-face. The other person might refuse, in which case less personal options are better than nothing.
To make the suggestion of an in-person meeting more palatable and less intimidating, suggest a public place (such as in a coffee shop) and make the time boundaries clear (e.g. scheduling a meeting from 2-3pm).
7. Apologize If Necessary
Finally, if you’re dealing with someone who has been ignoring you because they’re hurt or angry about something you’ve done, it’s often the case that an apology is the quickest way to move on.
Assuming you really do believe that you’ve played a part in causing things to go wrong, offer a sincere and explicit apology that stresses your understanding of what you did. This proves you’re serious and not just lazily doling out a token apology.
In the event that you don’t really think you’ve done anything wrong, you can, of course, apologize just to mend the relationship. However, you’ll need to reflect on what this means for the future.
Are you setting yourself up for a dynamic where you’re blamed and are constantly in a submissive position?
If that seems likely, it may be more sensible to stick to your guns, even if this means it takes longer to reach a resolution.
And if you want to clear negativity entirely from your life, take the next step today.
There is one little-known technique that’s creating MASSIVE results for those who use it. It’s called the ‘Intention Point’ mechanism which harnesses your body’s natural energy to connect with the Universe.
In particular, this process is centered around your heart which is actually more powerful than your brain – 5,000 times to be exact. To start amplifying your manifestation results exponentially, go watch this video now.
The Secret Behind “Heart Manifesting” (Video)
