Overview
Stonewalling is the fourth of Gottman's Four Horsemen, involving complete withdrawal from conflict interaction. Often a defensive response to emotional flooding, it creates a demand-withdraw cycle particularly damaging with anxious-avoidant pairings. Structured timeouts with explicit return commitments are the recommended alternative. The underlying mechanism and coping strategies are covered in depth in the article Stonewalling - The Psychology of Silent Withdrawal and How to Address It.