Reached out and received no response

[ChimneySweepLiverpool]

I reached out to a family member this week who I haven't spoken to in about six months and received no reply. I had heard of some good family news they had received so reached out hoping to be friendly, show I cared and they are in my thoughts.

I have thought for months about sending this message and I'm quite a sensitive lady (hence writing this post). Being ignored has brought up a number of insecurities and made me question why they couldn't send a polite response

We went through tension a few months ago and it seemed best for both of us at the time to stop speaking but I really miss this person

sadly, as much as you appear to be ready to build bridges, it might not be the case for the other party. they may have you blocked and not even received the message.

i am currently NC with my siblings and a part of me wishes they would reach out, but then a part of me knows it wouldn't be long before the nastiness started again so i'm better off as i am.

I can see they read the message so I'm thankfully not blocked. It was always them who reached out before so I'm a bit surprised to be ignored

My ego is hurt I suppose

They are punishing you with silence and it hurts because probably someone in your childhood like your parents would ignore you as punishment (silent treatment). Take comfort in the moto that no answer is also an answer. You've been the bigger person to offer the olive branch, at least you should feel comfort that you acted within your conscious and beliefs and now you have a definite answer, at least for now, that they don't wish to communicate with you. Feel proud of yourself for trying, this should help strengthen your no contact because you've tried again and they just didn't want to reciprocate.

Why not just send a polite reply? They either think they will be dragged into a back and forth with you (sorry, I don't know if you are likely to do this or not but some people use an opener to rehash the past and maybe they didn't want to be drawn into rehashing the past) Or they want to keep their power and continue actively punishing you with silence to make a point. They haven't blocked you because they enjoy the powerplay and drama but want it on their own terms they may even watch you from afar or want you to still be able to watch them.

If they really meant it they would have blocked you or not bothered open it up or if they forgot you could reach them would have blocked you after viewing it.

I think when you're not in touch the door seems open but when you receive no response, it feels final which is sad

You should be proud you reached out. Really :) we can't control if or how someone else responds. But you did what felt right for you. That's all we can ever do.