Summarize:

Especially if the person uses the silent treatment often, recognize that this is a form of emotional abuse. Emotional abuse may go less detected than physical abuse, but it is still damaging and can affect your self-esteem, sense of self, and self-worth. If you feel isolated or humiliated as a result of the silent treatment, the person may be using it as a form of emotional abuse. Be firm in addressing the silence. Say, "This is abusive and I won't stand for it." You cannot change someone. If the person has promised to change yet no progress has been made, take some steps to deal with emotional abuse on your own terms. Involve the support of other people. You may need to leave the relationship. Consider if this is a pattern or a one-time occurrence. If it happens often, then it may be abuse. If it happens just one time, they you may want to have a follow-up conversation with the person to make sure it doesn't happen again. It's likely the person doesn't practice healthy boundaries, so it's up to you to create some. Start by identifying your physical, emotional, spiritual, and mental limits. Think about what makes you feel upset or stressed and what you feel is intolerable in your relationships. Let the person know your boundaries and when they cross them. Be assertive in enforcing your boundaries. Say, "I refuse to engage in the silent treatment. Either you need to use a different approach or I can't be a part of this any longer." You can also say, "You might use the silent treatment, but I don't. We must discuss this." Ultimately, you can't change the other person, no matter how hard you try to make things better. If the relationship is abusive and harmful for you, consider walking away. Tell them you need to move on. Your well-being is more important than spending time around someone who has no qualms about emotionally abusing you. Don't accept emotional abuse in your life. You deserve relationships with people who are willing and capable of communicating in a mature and healthy manner. People who have long histories of this behavior aren't likely to be "fixed" for your friendship or relationship. In the end, you will be happier and have more time and space in your life for others who are ready for your friendship or love. The silent treatment is a form of attention, power, and control over another person and is a passive-aggressive approach in communication. Someone might use the silent treatment as a way to avoid conflict or deflect responsibility. At times, people use the silent treatment as a way to punish another person. Ultimately, the person lacks the ability to communicate their feelings appropriately. For example, a person may want to shift blame onto you instead of owning their faults. Or, they want to magnify your faults instead of recognizing their own. Whatever it is, the silent treatment makes you feel guilty or at fault instead of them.
Deal with abuse. Set boundaries. End the relationship. Consider what causes silent treatment.