There are more people with passive aggressive behavior than you would imagine. You may be living with a passive aggressive partner and you may not know it yet. Passive aggressive behavior is not just a personality disorder. It is actually a psychological problem. A person is unable or incapable of expressing resentment, anger or disappointment, disagreement and anguish. Instead of talking about them or addressing them, the person develops certain behavioral traits that tend to express their feelings in quaint ways.
How to deal with passive aggressive behavior in your partner has some very simple steps. First, you must recognize and acknowledge that your partner has passive aggressive behavior. Does your partner procrastinate, is he or she often resorting to the silent treatment, does your partner sulk more often than not, is there never an end to the excuses which are often silly, ridiculous and not acceptable at all, is there always a sense of pretension in what your partner says or does, do you have your conversations cut off midway and shut off with whatever or fine? These are all signs of passive aggressive behavior.
Once you know that you have a partner who has passive aggressive behavior, you should accept the reality. Not accepting will be counterproductive. Acknowledge what you are dealing with and don’t get angry. The first reaction to passive aggressive behavior is often anger and aggression. If you indulge in that, then you will end up fueling the passive aggressiveness even further. Do not let your anger get hold of you. Instead, just calm down and tell yourself that the entire purpose of passive aggressiveness in your partner is to make you feel angry, worked up or anxious and to an extent miserable. Don’t let your partner win by feeling exactly like that.
You should be extremely smart when you are dealing with passive aggressive behavior in your partner. When you talk to your partner, be very precise. When you ask your partner to do something, be extremely detailed. Don’t leave any loopholes that your partner can use and get away with by expressing passive aggressive behavior. As you continue tightening the rope and all loopholes are plugged, as you stop reacting with angry yelling, as you show that your partner’s bluffs are not going to work and as your partner observes that you have become a smart handler of their passive aggressive behavior, things will really fall into place.