Why Ghosting Hurts

So anyone who has been single over the past couple of years has probably fallen foul to Ghosting “The practice of ending a personal relationship with someone by suddenly and without explanation withdrawing from all communication”

I know you have felt this and it hurts! Having someone that you really think cares about you, whether it be a friend or someone you are dating, disappear from contact without any explanation at all. No phone call or email, not even a text.

Now, Ghosting isn’t new people have long engaged in disappearing acts and still, then this kind of behavior was seen as dickish. In today’s dating culture being ghosted is a phenomenon that approximately 50 percent of men and women have experienced and an almost equal number have actually done the ghosting. You would think as common ghosting is we would be able to deal with it but the emotional effects can be devastating, and particularly damaging to those who already have fragile self-esteem.

The theory behind ghosting is that the person who is being ignored will just ‘get the hint‘ and realise their partner is not interested in dating anymore so the subject should be left alone. Anyone can be a ghoster, it’s not specific to either gender, but people sometimes find the behaviour is related to a person’s maturity and communication skills, and as we are poly positive here and talk lots about communication it shouldn’t be any of our readers 😉

Many believe that ghosting is actually better for the person they’re ignoring because they aren’t hurting their feelings by telling them they don’t want to date anymore. But often ghosting just leaves the ghosted feeling confused and upset about the subject.

Ok, but why does ghosting hurt!

Ghosting can actually have quite a serious impact on a person’s mental health, claims PsychologyToday.com The social rejection apparently can activate the same pain in the brain as physical pain, fortunately, this pain can be treated with medication but the psychological distress can be more difficult to heal. Mental health professionals argue that the silent treatment is a form of emotional cruelty as it leaves you powerless to the situation and you’re unable to find out any answers.

So, next time you’re thinking of ghosting anyone, think carefully about what you’re doing.