All You Need to Know About Stonewalling

Love is based on mutual respect, friendship and trust. While it’s silly to believe that everything is always rainbows and butterflies in relationships, there are some elements such as communication that can set the foundation of your association.

When a person is heard and understood, they expect empathy, love and respect from their partner. Similarly, when you feel neglected, you may be disheartened and depressed, and that is wholly justified. That’s also called stonewalling in a relationship. Let’s look at this phenomenon in detail:

What is stonewalling?

You may have heard the terms, ‘silent treatment’ and ‘freezing someone out.’ These are the different names given to stonewalling in everyday lingo.

It’s understandable that when your partner refuses to talk to you to settle a dispute, you may feel frustrated. Often, the frustration can have a negative impact on your psychological well-being and lead to feeling vulnerable and resentful.

Stonewalling is a form of abuse

Stonewalling in a relationship is a form of control that one partner exerts over the other and leads to a hostile and distant environment. While your partner sits their cold and silent, you may become more frantic about not being heard.

This can lead to an unresolved crisis in the relationship, which may be lethal for your mental health. Rest assured that often the partner giving the silent treatment knows very well what they’re doing. However, they think stonewalling gives them an upper hand in the relationship, which can be considered a form of psychological abuse.

Image filename: woman-and-man-standing-on-soil

Image alt text: A woman looking away from a man signing him with her hand to stop talking

Signs of stonewalling

Some symptoms of stonewalling include your partner being busy every time you want to have a severe decision, them not making eye contact with you, rolling their eyes at you or showing contempt whenever you start speaking or making fun of you when you manage to communicate something.

Legal help in stonewalling

Stonewalling is a narcissistic tendency that can jeopardize your relationship. If you realize that you’ve been stonewalling your partner, reach out to a counsellor to get help. However, if your partner is the one stonewalling you, ask them if they’re willing to change their behaviour.

If they answer in the negative, there’s no reason for you to live in an abusive relationship. Treat yourself right and reach out to us at Wembley Solicitors for help.

We offer all forms of legal help in matters of family law in Wembley, London. Call us at 020-3417-3700 for assistance.