Happy and healthy relationships don’t just magically maintain themselves. They require consistent effort, including lots of open communication and mutual respect. If, instead of that, you’re serving passive-aggressive behavior and controlling tendencies, you might raise some eyebrows as a couple.
The internet weighed in on a bizarre situation that one woman shared about a dinner with friends gone wrong. According to the author of the viral post, her husband pinched her and then got mad at her reaction to his behavior. You’ll find the full story below, alongside various netizens’ pieces of advice for the upset woman.
Good communication lies at the core of happy relationships. When it's missing, things start falling apart
Image credits: cookie_studio/Freepik (not the actual photo)
A woman asked the internet for advice after her husband's behavior at a dinner party with friends left her feeling very upset
Image credits: Little_Trash7299
Image credits: Little_Trash7299
Controlling relationships aren't just about outright domination. There are lots of subtle behaviors to keep an eye out for
Image credits: Alex Green/Pexels (not the actual photo)
It seems like there’s a lot of underlying tension in the woman’s relationship with her husband. Not only does his behavior feel passive-aggressive, but it also seems like he may be a bit too controlling.
On top of that, it’s clear that he’s holding onto some grudges, and he has a hard time communicating in a healthy and respectful way. The vast majority of the people commenting on the woman’s post were on her side. Many folks were shocked by her husband’s behavior and called him out for it.
Controlling behavior can be both overt and much more subtle. Usually, controlling relationships are based on a power imbalance, where one person dominates the other through various means, WebMD explains.
These can be physical, emotional, intimate, financial, or psychological, meant to make the other person feel guilty, insecure, intimidated, powerless, scared, or mistrusted.
Some major red flags of controlling behavior include things like ignoring your boundaries, constantly criticizing you, undermining your confidence, blaming you for your emotions, gaslighting you, and being overly jealous.
Other big indicators that you’re stuck in a controlling relationship are that your partner shames you for spending time with your family or friends, hates being excluded from your plans, doesn’t respect your need for time alone, and constantly tries to check where you are and who you’re with. They might also go as far as checking your messages, calls, emails, social media, or belongings without your permission.
Passive-aggressive individuals tend to be very difficult to deal with because they are overly sensitive to any criticism
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Meanwhile, the Couple’s Institute points out that passive-aggressive individuals tend to be very difficult to change because they are typically hypersensitive to real or perceived criticism.
As per Verywell Mind, passive-aggressive individuals might give you backhanded compliments, give you the ‘silent treatment,’ indirectly refuse your requests, and make excuses instead of saying what’s on their mind.
They also tend to ‘ghost’ others, procrastinate when asked to do something, respond to your requests with either sarcasm or subtle digs, and claim that they’re not angry when they clearly are.
“In denying what they are feeling and refusing to be emotionally open, they shut down further communication and refuse to discuss the issue.”
What advice would you give the woman who turned to the internet for help? What would you do if you were in her shoes?
How would you react if your significant other started behaving in passive-aggressive ways? Let us know.
Some internet users wanted a bit more context about what happened
Meanwhile, here's what other readers told the woman
Some folks offered another perspective
