Ghosted? How to get over the silence

Understanding why that happens is better than turning to chatbots

The sadness and hurt of being ghosted can linger because of the lack of explanation and closure.

Published Sep 26, 2026, 03:00 PM

Updated Sep 26, 2026, 03:00 PM

As a practising psychiatrist, I have had patients whom I have been seeing regularly, sometimes for years, who simply stop coming. An appointment is missed, then another. Calls or messages from the clinic go unanswered. The uncertainty can be unsettling.

In the absence of an explanation, conjectures rush to fill the gap. Did the patient recover and decide that treatment was no longer necessary? Were they dissatisfied with me? Did I say something that upset them? Or – one of my biggest worries – did something terrible happen to them as their condition took a turn for the worse? Had I somehow been unhelpful, incompetent or even harmful?

Behaviour/Psychology

Dating/Relationships

了解其发生原因比求助于聊天机器人更好。

被“冷落”的悲伤和伤害可能会持续很久，因为缺乏解释和了结。

发布于2026年9月26日下午3:00

更新于2026年9月26日下午3:00

作为一名执业精神科医生，我遇到过一些病人，他们我一直定期接诊，有的甚至长达数年，但后来却突然停止了就诊。他们错过一次预约，然后又错过下一次。诊所打来的电话或发来的信息也无人回复。这种不确定性令人不安。

在缺乏解释的情况下，各种猜测便会涌上心头。病人是否康复了，并认为不再需要治疗？他们是否对我不满？我是否说了什么让他们不高兴的话？或者——这是我最担心的事——他们的病情恶化时是否发生了什么可怕的事情？我是否在某种程度上帮不上忙、能力不足，甚至对他们造成了伤害？

行为学/心理学

约会/恋爱关系