5 signs you are Passive Aggressive
Have you ever found yourself struggling to express your true feelings and resorting to subtle behaviors instead?
“Passive Aggressive Behaviour is a deliberate and masked way of expressing covert feelings of anger (Long, Long & Whitson, 2008) that occurs among both men and women, in all civilized cultures, and at every socioeconomic level.”
Warning signs of passive-aggressive behavior.
- Sarcasm and Backhanded Comments: Instead of addressing your concerns directly, you may use sarcasm or backhanded compliments to convey your true feelings in a disguised manner.
- Avoiding Confrontations: You tend to avoid direct confrontations and discussions about your feelings, choosing to bottle them up or vent indirectly.
- Procrastination and Deliberate Inefficiency: You might procrastinate or deliberately perform tasks inefficiently as a way to express your frustration or resistance.
- The Silent Treatment: When upset or annoyed, you might resort to giving the silent treatment, shutting down communication as a form of passive resistance.
- Indirect Complaints and Gossip: Rather than addressing issues directly, you may express your dissatisfaction through indirect complaints or gossip to others.
Why People Restore to Passive Aggressive Behaviour?
- Anger is socially inacceptable and passive aggression is easy to justify.
- It’s a way of getting back at someone in a position of power when you cannot fight with them openly.
- Its easier to play a victim than to assert oneself and risk retaliation.
So what’s the problem?
Passive Aggressive Behaviour is a coping mechanism, which helps you avoid facing conflicts directly, and seems easier than assertive communication. But in the long term it can lead to
- Low self-esteem
- Victimhood
- Self-Sabotage
- Dysfunctional relationships in personal and professional life.
Break the Cycle of Passive-Aggressiveness
It is important to identify and address the root causes of your frustrations to prevent passive-aggressive behavior from surfacing.
Inner Child therapy combined with Mindset Coaching helps to resolve the core negative beliefs and dysfunctional coping mechanisms leading to passive aggressive behaviours.
Breaking free from passive-aggressive patterns opens the door to healthier relationships, fosters personal growth, and creates a positive work environment where open communication thrives.
