How to Ignore Someone You Don’t Want To Be With Anymore

It’s hard to ignore someone who has upset you, because it can only make you suffer more. It will be even more difficult when that person is someone you have to deal with every day at school, work or some family event. However, you can keep your distance from negative people, replace them with optimists and help others to maintain happiness and stability in life.

Table of Contents

Keep your distance from that person

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Stay away from places where you know the person is going. The easiest way to avoid a person is to avoid seeing that person completely. You can reduce the number of times you run into that person by chance by staying away from places you’ve been to together, or places you know for sure they frequent.

Look for new restaurants, cafes and bars. These must be places outside the area where the person lives or works.
Go shopping at stores away from the person’s home (if you know where they live).
If a mutual friend asks you to go somewhere, ask if the person you need to avoid is coming along. Then you can decide.

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Limit communication with that person. Limiting communication with a person is a good way to ignore them without forcing them out of your life. Breaking off completely with one person can be very difficult if you are related or often run into each other in the same places. However, you can avoid frequent contact with them, so you will feel better. ^{[1] X Research Source}

Quick chat. Respond briefly and without emotion. Don’t expand on what you say and don’t ask questions in return. Be brief and polite, but also show that you don’t feel like talking further. Make a polite excuse to cut the conversation short.

Say something like, “I’m fine, but I have to go back to work” or “I have an appointment in a few minutes.” Be polite but firm when you say you have to go.
Avoid saying impolite or hurtful words. Saying those words will only make things worse. You can vent your anger later with a trusted friend, otherwise, always relax and be polite to the other person.

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Avoid all attempts to contact the person. Whether the two of you are co-workers, have a mutual friend, or simply travel together often, you need to reject any attempt to manipulate conversation from that person. You can do that by ignoring them when they want to talk to you. ^{[2] X Research Source}

No eye contact. Often, keeping eye contact is seen as a friendly sign when wanting to talk. By avoiding eye contact, you can subtly show that you don’t want to interact.
Ignore hurtful or passive-aggressive comments. If the person is rude or impolite, either overtly or implicitly, avoid reacting. You can think about what you’re doing or distract yourself with something else to show them that they can’t influence you.
Share your thoughts instead of reacting to theirs. If you must respond to that person now, share your thoughts and feelings instead of directly interacting with them. Say things like “I think…” or “Actually, I think…”

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Take a friend with you if you absolutely must talk to that person. If you can’t avoid meeting the person at work or a social event, it helps to have a friend with you. This friend will “take bullets” for you when you encounter someone you don’t like. They can keep things within appropriate limits and direct the conversation to general topics if the other person is trying to be offensive.

Let the friend know what you need them to do.

Make sure they feel comfortable performing the role so they don’t feel taken advantage of or confused later.
Make some gesture signs

so you can both retreat if you’re in a hurry to go somewhere.

Stop communicating through electronic devices

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Block contacts with people you don’t like. If you want to cut ties with someone you don’t like, you can block their phone number so they can’t text or call you anymore. It’s also not necessary if you don’t have regular contact with the person, but if you want, you should.

To block calls on iPhone, find their name in your contacts and select “Block This Caller”. To block messages, go to the message section, select the person you want to block, then select “Details” then “Info”, then “Block Contact”. ^{[6] X Research Source}
To block calls/messages on Android phones, go to Call Settings, select “Call Rejection”, then you will be taken to “Auto Reject List” (Auto-reject list). From there, you can find and select the phone number to block.
To block calls/messages on Windows phones, go to Settings and select “Call + SMS filer” then turn off “Block Calls”. ). Then, hold down the phone number you want to block, select “Block Number” and press OK.
If you use a BlackBerry device, you’ll need to have your carrier block the phone number of someone you don’t want to contact.

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Cut off contact on social networking sites. Even if you try to avoid the person, they may continue to contact you through social media sites. If you’re friends or following someone on social media, that person may know what you’re doing or where you’re going, and they may threaten or insult you via text messages. ^{[7] X Research Sources}

If you have friended or followed the person, you can
unfriend or follow them.

You can also block the person so they can no longer see your posts and contact you.
If two people are not friends or following each other, or you have unfriended that person, change the privacy settings on the social networking site so that only friends can see the post content your.

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Prevent others from sending you email. If the person you’re avoiding has your email address, you’re probably worried they’ll send you aggressive messages. You can prevent this by blocking them or filtering messages sent from that person separately (depending on what mailbox you’re using).

To filter messages in Gmail, select a message from that person by checking the small box next to the message. Click the drop-down menu, select “More”, then “Filter messages like these”, on the next page select “Delete it”. ^{[8] X Research Sources}
To block messages in Microsoft Outlook, simply right-click the person’s message, select “Junk”, followed by “Block Sender”. ^{[9] X Research Source}

Maintain your own happiness

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Learn to recognize the things that make you unhappy. There will be times when you just can’t avoid that negative person. Whether it’s a coworker, relative, or neighbor, sometimes you still have to be around (or talk to) with that person. If this happens, it’s important to recognize what’s bothering you, watch out for those triggers, and avoid becoming upset. ^{[10] X Research Source}

Make a list of the people, places, and things that make you unhappy, angry, or confused.
Consider why those people, places, and objects trigger a negative response.
Think about how those triggers appear in your daily life, and create strategies to avoid or minimize those situations.

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Try not to complain about people you don’t like. While you may want to vent your anger, doing so may alienate others from you. They may be friends with someone you don’t like, or they may get tired of hearing you speak ill of others. If you are constantly complaining about someone, your close friends and colleagues may want to stay away from you. ^{[11] X Research Source}

Instead of complaining about someone you don’t want to be around, try not to mention them when talking to other people.
Talk to others about positive things that you enjoy.

Otherwise, the person you don’t like will cost you a lot of time and energy.

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Take responsibility for your words and actions. When you blame others for your negative words and actions, it turns out that person has an influence on you and can cause you to lose control. No matter how upset that person makes you,

You always have the right to decide whether to embrace that sadness or ignore it.

What you say or do, even if you do it out of anger, is still your choice and your responsibility. ^{[12] X Research Source}

Change the way you think. Pay attention and recognize negative thoughts in your head. Notice their appearance and let them pass without taking over your thoughts.
Learn to ignore someone and ignore them. You cannot control others, but you can prevent them from influencing you. Stop wasting time and energy thinking about them, and focus instead on the things that interest you.
You have the power to create a positive life. You will always run into people you don’t like, but you have the ability to control their influence over you. Take control of your thoughts and actions, and focus on yourself, not them.

Attract optimists

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Recognize and express your best qualities. Optimists are often attracted to each other. If you want those people to be in your life, you should let them realize that you are also optimistic. You can do so subtly when you know how to bring out your best qualities. ^{[13] X Research Source}

Think about the things that make you an optimist. Do you compliment others often or always treat others wholeheartedly?
Always make an effort to engage in a variety of activities, not only to let others recognize you, but to create a positive lifestyle for yourself as well.
Let your actions express who you are and your life.

Advice

If you run into the other person at a certain store, pretend you didn’t see them. Change speed, stop or change direction. If they say something to you, tell them you’re in a hurry and have to hurry. If none of that works, it’s best to keep quiet.
Just because someone is related to you, doesn’t mean you have to put up with their negative behavior. If someone upsets or hurts you, you have the right to politely and respectfully avoid that person.
Don’t be mean or petty in response to the person. It won’t fix what they’ve done to you, and in the end, it will make you a bad person.

Warning

If you’ve decided to ignore someone for an extended period of time, you should be prepared for the possibility that the two of you will never speak to each other again.
At some point, you may decide to contact them again to resolve the conflict. Remember that it won’t always go smoothly. However, if it’s someone you are forced to see often (like a relative or colleague), you should still try doing so.
If the person is a spouse/lover and they abuse you, ignoring them will only make them more agitated. You need to seek professional help and get out of the situation right away!

Steps