How to ignore someone you love

You may be trying to ignore someone you love because they have hurt you and want to show them how much they have hurt you through ghosting them or giving them the silent treatment.

Or they have broken your trust and you are finding it hard to let go from the relationship that was toxic. 

Or you may be trying to ignore them in order to win their attention. 

Whatever your reasons are for trying to ignore them, you are at the right place. 

Ignoring someone that you love is not easy, you have to convince your brain that you want to ignore them. And you have to commit to it and constantly remind yourself to ignore them.   

Table of Contents

• How to ignore someone you love
  • Psychology of ignoring someone you love
  • How to ignore someone you love 
  • How to ignore someone you love on text
  • How to ignore someone you love and live with
  • How to ignore someone you love and see everyday
  • How to ignore someone you love on social media
  • How do you ignore someone to get their attention
  • How do you ignore someone you still love
  • What is the best way to ignore a person
  • How to deal with being ignored by someone you love

Psychology of ignoring someone you love

According to Lovepanky, when you ignore someone and say nothing, you are facing the problem in an unhealthy way. When you ignore someone you love, your actions are speaking louder than words. It means you are mad at them for something they did and you are assuming that they know why you are silent or distant. 

It could be that they have offended you but they have not apologized or you are not satisfied with their apology. Or maybe the person you love has hurt you so much and you want to block yourself from being hurt again or ignoring them is punishment for hurting you. 

Or maybe they have disappointed you and it’s your way of showing disapproval. 

But whatever it is, if you are not able to voice out your feelings because you fear that it will not be well received by your partner, it can be a sign of unhealthy communication in the relationship.

The psychology of ignoring someone that you love is that when you ignore them, they will want you even more because they feel like they are losing you. That is why you find that guys are fascinated by women who play hard to get, they chase them and don’t give up until they win. But once they win her over, they begin to relax and not give her attention like before. 

The same also applies to women. If a man chases a woman and then he ignores her, that is when a woman will show more interest in the guy. She might even initiate conversations and want to be noticed by him. 

Through silent treatment, you can get a person to do what you want, like receive an apology or agree to do what you had asked of them. However, the silent treatment can be damaging to its receiver because it makes them feel unloved, not valued, lonely, and even rejected. It can cause stress which can lead to headaches and even depression.

Read more: Psychological effects of being ignored by someone you love

How to ignore someone you love 

1. Have a good reason why you want to ignore someone you love

It is important to establish why the person that you love deserves to be ignored. Did they wrong you and you are trying to get them to apologize? 

Did they repeatedly disrespect you and you have just had enough? Are they making unreasonable demands and ignoring them is your way of refusing? Or they have ignored you before and you are trying to do the same?

Make sure your reasons for wanting to ignore them are justifiable

2. Commit that you will ignore them until certain conditions have been met

Make a firm commitment to yourself that you will ignore them until certain conditions have been met. Ignoring someone you love is not an easy task because you love them and want to talk to the person you love. But you will have to commit to sticking to the plan if you want the effects of your ignorance to be felt by the person you love.

3. Block all communication channels

If you want to ignore someone you love, you will have to be unreachable. If you do not want to block them, just do not be tempted to initiate conversations or respond to them. It means that when they call you, you will have to ignore their calls and when you receive their text, you must not respond. 

4. Keep your distance

You will have to avoid going into places where there is a high chance of meeting the person that you trying to ignore. If you go to the same club or use the same canteen, you might have to change your time slots. Or you will have to change the direction if you see them coming your way.

5. Keep busy

It can be difficult to ignore someone if you do not have something to occupy you. You will always be spying on them on social media and even try to contact them. 

If you do not have anything to keep you busy, you will miss them badly. But if you find something to keep you busy, it will help you not feel the void of not speaking to them. You will have to do a hobby, do spring cleaning, do your assignments, learn a new skill or go out with friends. 

6. Act like you don’t care

The person you are trying to ignore might do a lot of pleasant and unpleasant things in order to get to you. Some might even try to make you jealous and flirt with other people and even make sure that you see it. While others might try to flatter you with gifts or sweet words. But you will have to act like you do not care. You will have to reject the gifts and not say anything when they are trying to make you jealous.

7. Be in the company of other people

You will have to find a support structure. Be around people who love you, people who will remind you of your worth. It can be difficult to do this alone so you will need to have people who keep you distracted. If you feel lonely, it can be easy to give in.

8. Be unavailable

If you are trying to ignore someone that you love, you will have to be unavailable. When they want to see you or meet up with you, tell them that you already have plans. Let them see that you have a life that does not revolve around them. 

9. Hear them out

It is worth noting that ignoring someone has great psychological effects and you should not overdo it. If they are concerned about why they are being ignored, hear them out. Express your feelings and tell them why you are behaving in this way.

10. Don’t overdo it

If the effects of ignoring someone do not seem to be working, you will have to try a different strategy. If you still want a relationship with them, the person you are trying to ignore can interpret it as a sign that you have moved on, and they will try to do the same. And by the time you want to reach out to them, it can be too late. So do not ignore them for too long. 

11. Work on addressing the poor communication in the relationship

According to Healthline, giving silent treatment is one of the signs of poor communication and the article also provides great tips for better communication.

Read more: 15 Signs of an unhealthy relationship

How to ignore someone you love on text

1. Don’t initiate any conversations

If you want to ignore someone you love on text, you should not initiate any conversations. Never be the first one to text them.

2. Don’t respond to their texts right away

When they text you, ignore the text or delay responding.

3. Don’t ask follow up questions

You should not be engaged or show much interest in the chat. If they tell you about something that happened to them, just give a brief response like “okay” or “sorry to hear” but do not ask any follow-up questions. 

4. Give brief responses

If they ask you a question, do not answer in detail, just give brief responses. For example, if someone asks how your day was, just say that it was ok; do not give too much details about what happened.

5. Do not respond to some of the texts

It is not all the texts that you should respond to when you are trying to ignore someone you love. If they say “I miss you” just bluetick them, do not respond to it.

6. Block them

You might have to block them so that you do not receive any of their texts.

7. Be online but do not chat to them

You should be online but not chatting to them.

8. Resolve the conflict or part ways

You will have to find a way to resolve the conflict or express your feelings. If a solution cannot be found, it means that you will have to formally end the relationship and move on from someone you love.

Read more: 18 Signs you should break up now

How to ignore someone you love and live with

Ignoring someone that you live with can be a bit difficult because you share so much with this person and you cannot keep your distance for too long. If you live together, it means that you are already sharing tasks, bills, belongings and maybe you even have kids together. But it is still possible to do it and this is how to effectively ignore someone you live with:

1. Keep your interactions with them brief

It is important to talk to the person you are trying to ignore only when it is necessary. When they ask you a question, answer in one or two words; do not say much. 

Do not initiate any conversation or share any jokes with them, keep it to yourself. Also don’t even laugh at any of their jokes. 

2. Keep yourself busy

It is important to keep yourself busy so that you limit the amount of time that you spend around them. Find a hobby, play a sport, binge watch your favorite series, meet up with friends and family.

3. Cut back on your service offerings

If you used to cook for them and clean up after them, you will have to pause it. And if you were intimate with them, it will also have to stop until the issues are resolved.

4. Keep your distance

Be in a different room if the house you are in has more than one room. If they are in the bedroom it means you should be in the sitting room and vice versa. 

5. Change your routine

If you effectively want to ignore someone you live with, you will have to change your routine. If you used to come back home earlier, you might have to go home later. Or if you went to sleep at the same time, you might have to sleep earlier or later. 

6. Resolve the conflict

It is not healthy for people who live together not to talk. You will eventually need to open up about your feelings, get a third party to intervene, or part ways if the relationship is not working. 

How to ignore someone you love and see everyday

The person that you are trying to ignore might be someone that you are guaranteed to see at work, bus, or church, or gym. And here are some tips on how to ignore someone you love and see everyday:

1. Keep your distance

You should try not to be at the same place at the same time. For instance, try not to sit next to them at a meeting, sit next to other people. If you see them coming in your direction, try to avoid them and use a different route. 

2. Change your schedule

When you know that you will bump into them at the gym at 6h30 am, try to go to gym in the afternoon. If they take their coffee break at 10am, try to take yours at 10h30am. If they are on the 6h30 bus, use the 6h00 bus.

3. Keep conversations short

You will have to keep your interactions with them short and straight to the point. Only ask or respond when it is necessary.

4. Be in the company of other people or find other things to do

If you used to take lunch with them, it means that you now have to find a lunch buddy or keep yourself busy with other tasks during lunch.

5. Don’t fall for their compliments

If they happen to compliment you about the nice dress that you are wearing, just say thank you and keep going or doing other tasks. 

How to ignore someone you love on social media

We live in a world where it is easy to ignore someone in person, but difficult to ignore them on social media. This is how you can ignore someone you love on social media

1. Mute them

If you want to ignore someone you love on social media, you will have to mute them. For example, you can mute them on Whatsaap so that you are not notified when they send you a message. You can also mute their statuses so that they do not appear under your recent updates.

2. Unfollow them

You might have to unfollow them (without unfriending them). e.g. On Facebook, you can unfollow someone so that their posts do not appear on your feed. 

3. Do not comment or like any of their posts

When you ignore someone you love on social media, you should not comment or like their posts. In other words, act like you did not see it. 

4. Be online but do not chat to them

Continue going online, post your pictures, thoughts, or quotes, but just do not chat to them. Even if they like or comment, just do not say anything, or you can say thanks and leave it there.

5. Do not respond

If they send you a message or try to video call you, do not respond.

6. Delay the response

When they send you a message, you can delay the response, you can respond after a couple of hours. 

7. Block them or unfriend them

As a last resort, you can block them or unfriend them so you do not see anything about them and so that they will not be able to reach you.

How do you ignore someone to get their attention

Distance makes the heart grow fonder, but too much distance can make them lose interest in you or replace you. When someone feels like they can’t have you or they are losing you, they will chase after you. But you need to strike a balance because if you ignore them too much, you might lose even the little attention that you were receiving from them. 

1. Ignore their texts

If they text you, do not be too quick to respond. And it should not be all the messages that you respond to. However, you need to use the delay tactic rather than ignoring them completely because if you repeatedly ignore the texts, it can be interpreted as a sign that you are not interested in them.

2. Do not be too quick to answer their calls

When they call you, do not be too quick to answer. You should let some of the calls be missed calls and then you text them later and apologise for missing their calls and say you were busy. 

3. Ignore them on social media

When they post something on their feed or status, do not like or comment; just act like you never saw it. Also, try not to let him see that you have been spying on him.

4. Don’t always be available for him

When he suggests meeting up with you, tell him that you are unavailable. But the next time when he suggests that you should meet up, you should agree, but it should be on your terms. 

You should make it seem like you have a very hectic schedule and you are trying to do him a favor by making time for him.

5. Live your life

You should have activities and people that keep your life busy. Pursue a hobby, further your schooling, and look your best. Also, surround yourself with family and friends. If possible, also have male friends because their presence can work in your favour. It will make him think that he should act fast since there are other guys who also want you. 

6. Don’t get physical

If you really want to win his or her attention, then you should not get physical. When someone feels like they cannot have you, that is when they want you even more. This means that you should not let him touch you, or kiss you or even sleep with him until you have the upper hand in the relationship.

7. Keep your distance

You will have to keep your distance. If they are familiar with your routine and they know where to find you, you might have to change it. If they do not see you for some time, they will be concerned and want to know what’s up. If you are attending the same event, avoid seating at the same table as them. Be in the company of other people, do not go to where they are.

Read more: 12 ways to get him to commit to a serious relationship with you

How do you ignore someone you still love

Think of this: does the person that you are trying to ignore love you back or you are in a one-sided relationship? Or are you are hoping that things will change?

If you want to ignore them because you are convinced that the relationship is over then you will have to keep your distance, block their contact and keep yourself very busy. 

But if you still want a relationship with them, you will just have to delay responding to their texts and calls and when you do respond be brief, give one- or two-word answers.

What is the best way to ignore a person

The best way to ignore a person is to avoid everything that links you to them. Don’t go to places where there is a high chance of bumping into them. Also, don’t answer their calls, texts, or even entertain them on social media. You also need to commit to ignoring them because if you don’t, you will talk to them again.

How to deal with being ignored by someone you love

1. Don’t seem too desperate for their attention

Do not call or text them too many times because you might push them further away since you are not giving them a chance to miss you. 

2. Find a distraction

You will have to keep yourself busy so that you distract yourself from thinking about them. Pursue your goals, do a hobby and spend time with other people.

3. Find the real reason why you are being ignored by someone you love

Try to find the root cause of what is it that you could have done to make someone want to ignore you. Ensure that you use the right words which will ensure that they respond to you and you iron out your issues. Read these tips on how to deal with being ignored by someone you love.