The Silent Treatment - a double edged sword

DRAFT -  I chose to publish this draft even though I have not finished the article because in the end it needs to fit the sequence in this spot.   


In modern day psychology, the silent treatment in a relationship is simply a person's way of exacting control over another person. The person giving the cold shoulder has all the power and creates a situation wherein all the attention is focused on him (or her), and what he perceives as being wrong. The silent treatment is often given as a form of punishment in a relationship and psychologists consider the silent treatment as a form of abuse.
Silent treatment is abuse because:¹

• It is passive-aggressive behavior intended to hurt the other person
• It shows a lack of caring, a lack of respect and a lack of value
• It can hurt the other person more than anything else you do, depending on the other person
• It can contribute to depression, anxiety and low self-esteem

For many people, the silent treatment is the worst form of emotional abuse.

 http://www.healthyplace.com/abuse/emotional-psychological-abuse/the-silent-treatment-are-you-getting-the-cold-shoulder/