What Is Passive Aggressive Behavior.pdf

Passive aggressive people are often at risk of hurting others. Let's study common passive aggressive examples and crucial signs of passive aggressive behavior

1. What Is Passive Aggressive Behavior [explained]
Austin February 23, 2022 no Comments

Passive aggressiveness is a type of behavior that we often come across in
our daily lives. We can often hear someone saying, “that person was acting
very passive aggressive”.
Passive aggressive behavior is often a sign o f some sort of mental illness
but on its own, it is not considered to be a mental disease. But that does
not mean it can not interfere with friendships and relationships. In case
you are confused whether or someone you know might have passive
aggressive behavior, read our guide to the peculiar trait to know more
about it:
What is Passive Aggressive Meaning?
Passive-aggressive behavior can be defined as the pattern characterized by
the indirect expression of negative feelings instead of choosing to address

2. them openly. In a passive aggressive person, you can notice a disconnection
between his or her behavior a nd what he or she does.
Passive Aggressive Examples
Let’s study some examples of this trait to understand it better:
Passive-aggressive behavior can manifest in several ways such as someone
might keep making excuses every time to avoid some people showing them
they are angry with them or do not like them.
Another surprising thing is that a passive aggressive person will repeatedly
make the claim that he or she is not angry and is rather fine when they are
actually mad at you and you can see it quite well. W hen such a person
denies what is going on in their mind and refuses to be emotionally open
to others, they shut down any chances of further communication and refuse
to communicate their issue.
Another example of passive aggressive behavior is intentionally
procrastinating. And when they are confronted about the tasks they start
showing passive aggressiveness.
What Are Some Causes of Passive Aggressive Behavior?
Psychological experts often say that passive aggressiveness is something
that you learn and the l earning process often begins during childhood.
However, experts have not found a specific cause for such behavior yet,
here are some factors that can contribute to people behaving passive
aggressively:
1. Family Dynamic and Parenting Method

3. People who are not allowed to question their parents as kids or say no to
them, often end up learning other ways of challenging commands that they
think are unjust or unfair. How does this help them? Being passive
aggressive allows them to come up with a way that lets th em obey others
while still being able to resist them.
2. Fear of Rejection
People who have gone through rejection, hatred, neglect, or abuse from
people close to them during their childhood or romantic companionship try
to keep everyone satisfied and happy with them to protect themselves. This
engraves the habit of accommodating others by agreeing to them in their
minds. And when they want to disagree with them, they let out their
frustration indirectly because they are afraid of rejection if they express
their emotions directly.
3. An Uncontrollable Need to Be in Control
Every person has to do something in his or her life that he or she does not
necessarily agree to. These situations can feel very frustrating and can put
people in unwanted situations. When passive aggressive people cannot
avoid unpleasant situations at work, home, or school, they try to regain
control over their lives by acting out weirdly.
4. Scared of Conflict
You will meet plenty of people in your life who find it overwhelming to deal
with stressful situations like some sort of fight, conflict, and tension in
their personal, social, and professional relationships and friendships. Such
people are often frightened that talking about their feelings openly might
damage or negatively impact the ir relationships and friendships. To stay
away from any such criticism, they prefer to keep their opinions to
themselves.

4. 5. Difficulty Showing True Emotions
No person is equal as some can express their thoughts without any
difficulty while others have a h ard time recognizing and expressing their
emotions ( the unwanted and unpleasant ones in particular). Such
individuals might want to push back their feelings just because they find it
hard to share and identify them or if they think that doing so can chang e
the perception others have of them. However, what they fail to understand
is that even if they avoid expressing their irritation, sadness, or anger
directly, these emotions still become quite visible in their behavior and
mood.
What Are Some Signs Of Passive Aggressive Behavior
That Can Be Used For Its Identification?
One thing that needs to be established is that passive aggressive behavior
can sometimes also be unintentional or unconscious. A majority of people
behave a bit passive-aggressively from time to time as it offers them a way
to say no to someone indirectly.
• Some of the ways that people in a relationship may use to show
passive aggressive include snapping at their significant others for
very insignificant things such as leaving the toilet seat up, canceling
important get-togethers by showing up late or not showing up at all,
ignoring their phone when they get a call or text from their partner,
or pulling away from them when they try to show any form of
affection.
• In other words, passive-aggressive people cannot connect their
words with their actions and that frustrates others around them
who like to accept works at face value.
• Another way to understand is to consider the example of someone
who is asked by their colleague to help them with an urgent task

5. that they need to deliver by the end of the day. Even though that
person does not want to agree to it, they also do not feel like they
are capable of saying no to their colleague.
• As they go back to their seat, they start getting frustrated and they
show their anger by loudly huffing, roughly shoving papers around,
seething under their breath, and giving glares to everyone.
• Some other signs of their behavior are showing hostility or acting
with bitterness when someone requests you to do something,
intentionally making mistakes or delaying tasks, showing a stubborn
attitude or being cynical when you disagree with something or
working less-than-efficiently at work when you are not in the mood.
• Other signs include blaming other people for problems you caused
for yourself, frequently complaining about being deceived or feeling
unappreciated, forgetting about things that you do not want to do,
vaguely passing negative remarks even though they are not directed
at anyone in particular, or indirectly posting stories and posts on
social media to taunt someone who has hurt you instead of having a
talk to them in-person.
How to Cope with Passive Aggressive Behavior?
The very step to cope with passive aggressive behavior if you are the one
who is experiencing it is to recognize the signs that you are showing are of
the said behavior. For example, some signs are withdrawal, refusal, sulking,
procrastination, and backhanded compliments.
You can cope by working on your anger and trying to control it. If you really
want to confront someone, try to point out their behavior in a non -
judgmental and respectful way. Or if it is someone else who is being passive
aggressive and you want to tell them that they should not behave like that,
try to be very nice and factual, at the same time. Such people usually stay

6. in denial of their anger. When they reach this point, we suggest you take a
step back and let them work through their feelings themselves.
How To Recognize Your Behavior If You Think You Are
Passive Aggressive?
It can be easy to tell when someone else you know is being passive
aggressive, but what to do when it is you who is engaging in such behavior.
How do you recognize passive -aggressiveness in yourself? Ask yourself the
following questions:
Do you frequently sulk when you do not feel happy with someone you know?
Do you often avoid the person who has made you angry or sad or upset?
Do you stop talking to that person then? Do you put off your tasks in an
attempt to punish someone else? Do you find yourself resorting to sarcastic
language and tone to avoid a meaningful discussion?
If the answer to the above-asked questions is yes, you do not need to freak
out about it. Here are some amazing ways to solve it:
• Improve your sense of self -awareness because normally passive -
aggressive behavior is caused mainly because of not having a good
relationship with oneself. If you do not have a good understanding
of your own thoughts and what makes you upset and why you are
feeling what you are going thro ugh, then it becomes difficult to
solve your passive aggressiveness. You can work on this by paying
attention to what goes on in your mind when you react to stressful
or unwanted circumstances.
• Being patient with yourself is another thing that you need to work
on. Humans are always learning and sometimes it takes them longer
to learn some things. Therefore, give yourself time to change and
make changes. Being self -aware and recognizing that you are

7. showing passive aggressive traits is an amazing feat, howev er,
actually taking action to alter that behavior can take you a
considerable amount of time. In such a scenario remember to not
be hard on yourself by being demeaning to your mind. Be patient,
calm, and be nice to yourself.
• Try working on the way you expr ess your feelings whether they are
emotions of happiness, delight, and excitement or they are feelings
of anger, sadness, hurt, frustration, or overwhelm. Understanding
your emotions and why you feel them under stress is a great start.
Then move on to the learning phase of how to express them in a
healthy way. When you start expressing your feelings in a positive
way, your passive aggressive behavior will start to fade and it will
end, eventually.
Conclusion
Passive aggressive behavior can hurt the person w ho expresses it as well
as others present around a passive aggressive person. However, if you think
it is getting out of hand, try getting in touch with an expert of psychology
and get help.
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