It took me a long time to understand and heal from falling in love with a person who had narcissism around 11 years ago. I was in the relationship for just under 4 tough years and was often subject to the silent treatment. He would throw a tantrum and walk out on me, or if I was also in an angry state which (at that stage of my wounded psychological development, expressing repressed feelings was impossible) he would also immediately walk out and not speak to me for days. I would get so terrified and triggered into my abandonment depression that I would bel literally begging for any kind of contact and to get it I had to admit how wrong and bad I was. I look back now and even writing about it is retraumatising all these years later.
It is next to impossible to explain to someone who has secure attachment how extremely annihilating and traumatising being left in this way or given the silent treatment is for someone with insecure or unstable attachment trauma is.
Anyway after he dumped me just under 8 years ago I finally got help and I was lucky enough to come across the work of Kim Saeed on this site who herself has recovered from a traumatising relationship with a narcissist and now does healing and provides information for others who suffer. Her site is well worth a look and today I am sharing this post on the effects of the silent treatment, to help anyone who is on the receiving end of it. Its also something my mother used on me more than once and left me so, so deeply fearful and insecure as a teenager and young adult.
https://letmereach.com/2014/06/09/the-deafening-brutality-of-the-narcissists-silent-treatment/
https://letmereach.com/2018/01/17/10-surprising-facts-silent-treatment/
Emerging From The Dark Night 