It conveys contempt and communicates that you are not worth the manipulator’s acknowledgement of your existence, let alone his or her time, love, attention or consideration, according to Steve Becker, LCSW. He writes, “The silencer's aim is, above all, to silence communication. More specifically, it is to render the other invisible and, in so doing, induce feelings of powerlessness and shame.” Becker says the silent treatment "is a technique of torture. This may sound hyperbolic, but human beings need (on the most basic level) recognition of their existence.
