Have you ever experienced a sudden abrupt ending of all contact in one of your relationships? This is known as ghosting. A term that originally was used to describe an unexpected sudden ending in a dating relationship. The term is now being used to include friendships and other relationships.
Ghosting is becoming a more common way to end relationships because the person who wants out of the relationship does not have to experience the painful reaction of the person they are leaving. Two studies done in 2019 one by You Gov in which it was found that 30% of those surveyed said that they had ghosted a romantic partner or friend and Credit Loan’s survey which found women were more likely than men to ghost in their relationships.
There are many reasons why people choose to ghost as their way to end a relationship. Often there is a history of poor communication in their relationships where they don’t know how to discuss their desire to leave, or they don’t want to discuss their feelings that the relationship is not working for them. In some cases, they have started dating someone else and it is easier for them to avoid letting you know by ending all contact.
No matter the reason, it can profoundly affect the person who wanted the relationship to continue. It can cause them confusion and self-doubt and a sense of rejection and abandonment particularly if the relationship was long in duration.
It is important to know how to handle ghosting so you can move on in your life. To learn the four steps click on the listen tab of this website to hear podcast episode #21 How to handle ghosting in a relationship.
I am Michelle Castelli, an author, speaker, and relationship coach. I help people grow stronger and healthier relationships in these key areas of their life journey: Self, God/Spiritual, Dating, Marriage/family and Friends/co-workers.
I offer the empowering tool of personal coaching, and an insightful and life-changing podcast, blog, book, and relationship courses.
