Got Ghosted? See How This Seemingly Harmless Activity Can Affect Your Mental Health

The phenomenon is similar to social rejection and has been observed to activate the same pain pathways in the brain as it happens in physical pain

Psychological stress is our body’s reaction to the environment we experience daily. For example, stress is a response to a stressor. Stressors can be missing a deadline at work, losing your life partner or loud construction noises that lead to a headache. Doctors have repeatedly said that prolonged stress can primarily affect the quality of life. Stress can also become the root of many other conditions or worsen underlying conditions. With hustle culture in practice, we are prone to internal or external factors that may cause stress.

Suddenly ending a conversation without any explanation is an emerging form of social rejection. The behaviour has gained some trajectory in the online dating world and is not restricted to romantic relationships alone. It has extended to other areas including one's professional life. Seemingly harmless phenomenon has been observed to cause psychological distress among people who experience it and psychologists across the globe are interested in knowing the root cause of it.

As per a report, a psychology professor recruited 76 college students through social media for a study ( most of them females). The research aimed at understanding the causes of ghosting and its psychological impact on the people being ghosted. During the research, students were divided into focus groups and long extended sessions were held on understanding their experiences of they ghosting others or being ghosted. The study showed that the subjects ghosted others when they were lacking the necessary communication skills to have an honest conversation.

Ghosting can cause pain

Studies have shown that ghosting can cause emotional stress in people ghosted on these virtual platforms. People are wired to regulate their emotions with the social cues they receive from others. The phenomenon is similar to social rejection and has been observed to activate the same pain pathways in the brain as in physical pain. Many studies have examined the overlapping neural network between physical and psychological pain. Studies have also shown that both sensory and affective stimuli can activate physical pain.

Ghosting creates ambiguity

Ghosting creates mental ambiguity or uncertainty as the cause of it is unknown to the one ghosted. It gives a person no social cue for how to react. It might put the one ghosted into a spiral of thoughts where the person might try to make some logical sense of it. If the person's self-esteem is already poor, then such a state might facilitate more negative attribution of oneself. The act of ghosting is also comparable to silent treatment that leaves you powerless to seek any explanation and prevents you from having a healthy closure in a conversation or a not working relationship. It can also trigger deeply-rooted fear of abandonment.

It is different from bread crumbing

A study Psychological Correlates of Ghosting and Bread crumbing Experiences: A Preliminary Study among Adults shows that participants who experienced ghosting along with a phenomenon called bread crumbing reported less satisfaction with life, helplessness and self-perceived loneliness. Unlike ghosting which means the abrupt disappearance of conversation, bread crumbing is the act of sending non-commital messages and trying to create a false sense of rapport, which at times might appear real for the ones affected by it. This further can confuse individuals looking for a genuine connection and might keep them in a painful psychological loop.

How to help yourself if you were ghosted

Ghosting is far more common these days than we can imagine. As users of these virtual chatting apps are connected to multiple people online simultaneously, one or more than one becomes a victim of this phenomenon. Here are a few things you can do to protect your mental well-being if you have been ghosted-

1. Do not try to engage yourself in the self-blame spiral

2. Try not to contact the ghoster again

3. Talk about your feelings of rejection with others

4. Walk yourself toward acceptance

5. Seek out mental health support if you are in need

6. Don't repeat the behaviour with others in the future.

Last word

We must remember that the quality of our relationships is the biggest predictor of longevity and good health. Quality intimate relationships are associated with fewer mental health problems, less likelihood of suffering from depression and overall good health.