6 No-Nonsense Ways to Respond to Passive Aggressive Behavior

Discover the 6 no-nonsense ways to respond to passive aggressive behavior which may just save your sanity. 

Trust me I’ve been with a passive aggressive person and it can make you feel like all the happiness is being sucked out of your life. 

You can feel like you may be going insane trying to make them act civilly towards you. 

That’s why, here I’m sharing 6 REAL steps and ways to respond to passive aggressive behavior. It’s time to stop this madness once and for all. 

6 Ways to Respond to Passive Aggressive Behavior

1.    Address it 

First and foremost, let them know being passive aggressive with you is NOT the way to go. Don’t ignore it because it may make then go at it harder.

Ignoring them may also make you more miserable especially if you’re someone who can’t stand pretending that everything’s fine when it’s not.  

Try to tell them off right there and then so they can know you’ve seen and noticed them acting hurtful. You can just say, “That was pretty nasty. Please stop.”

Some PA people then apologize and all can be back to normal. But if they don’t, which is in most cases when dealing with a hard-core PA person, then you can try the following more no-nonsense ways: 

2.    Mirror Them 

It’s a natural response to try and act like them so they can see what they’re saying and doing. 

Being a smooth reflective surface can show them how horrible they are being and may make them realize that they can’t treat you that way. 

Many people who act passive aggressive ironically can’t stand being around others who are passive aggressive to THEM. So maybe they’ll stop just for their own sakes to not undergo the same torture they’re inflicting on you.

However, there is a high chance that they won’t change. Perhaps they won’t even notice that you’re being PA to them! Ugh, so frustrating. 

3.    Gray Rock Method 

When dealing with passive aggressive behavior in people like co-workers, family members or classmates psychologists recommend the gray rock method. 

Gray rock is basically when you literally become like a ‘rock’ – no talking, no reacting and no feeding their drama. If you must talk, it should be short answers like yes or no. You become emotionally non-responsive and boring to them. 

The goal is to make them lose interest in being passive aggressive to you.

It helps a person who is enduring emotional abuse to act as uninterested as possible during encounters with the abuser, so the abuser can leave them alone. 

4.    No Response 

In my personal experience, once you’ve tried all the above suggestions, the next best response to passive aggressive behavior is NO RESPONSE. 

It’s very important to not engage where possible with these staunch passive aggressive people. 

Also, let’s face it – passive aggressive people KNOW what they are doing to you.

Many people who are narcissists use passive aggressive behavior as a manipulative tactic to make you feel bad so they get a response or reaction from you. 

They WANT you to ask them things like, “Is everything okay?” And I bet you the answer will be “Nothing’s wrong.” 

They also love hearing, “Are you trying to make me feel bad?” Of course they are! Watch them feel good when you ask such questions. 

That’s why not responding can put the power in your hands instead. It’s time to stop feeling vulnerable. 

Besides, you should have no problem not engaging with anyone who is passive aggressive, because who in their right mind would want to treat their loved one with this form of cruel silent treatment? 

5.    Protect your Energy

Another one of the ways to respond to passive aggressive behaviour is to not let it affect you badly. Protect your energy at all costs.

Don’t let their passive aggressiveness affect your daily life. I know it’s easy to lose your appetite, your precious sleep and your zest for life when dealing with a PA person. 

But don’t let them steal that away from you. THEY certainly aren’t lying in bed awake thinking about how cruel they are acting. In fact, they are sleeping soundly without a thought of how their behavior is hurtful to you. 

Protect your energy – continue doing the things you love, don’t lose your appetite or spoil your health over them and also, try to sleep well. 

6.    Leave this Person 

I strongly suggest leaving this person or removing them from your life. How long can you stand this kind of behavior? Are you willing to put up with this for the rest of your life? 

I think not. 

Removing this kind of individual from your life will work like a charm in increasing your peace and happiness. 

I hope you benefitted from these no-nonsense ways to respond to passive aggressive behavior. Sometimes people take these things too far and it becomes too wounding and even dangerous for you to cope with. Protect yourself first and do what needs to be done!