Being ghosted by someone you love or care for is an awfully painful experience, but the worst thing is that those ghosts tend to return into our lives out of the blue. Why? Why do ghosters always go back to their victims?
Is it because they have regrets for everything they’ve done, or is it simply because they feel lonely and want to have some more fun? Unfortunately, in most cases, it’s the latter.
I’ve always wondered why ghosters do that. What the actual purpose of ghosting is… I looked into this phenomenon, and my research led me to the following conclusions.
Ghosters are narcissists in disguise who simply don’t care for others’ feelings.
They’re also cowards who don’t have the guts to face their problems, and they prefer to sweep them under the rug or simply run away from them.
Their most significant trait is their indecisiveness which doesn’t allow them to have and maintain a serious relationship with another human being. They simply don’t know what they want.
Why Ghosters Always Come Back: 11 Common Reasons
If this is the first time your ghost has come back, it’s perfectly normal that you’re riding an emotional rollercoaster right now.
You couldn’t understand why they left the way they did, and now you simply can’t understand why they came back after everything.
It’s all too confusing and messed up, I know. Actually, that’s exactly how these kinds of people are; truly messed up.
Below is a list of some common reasons why ghosters always come back, and I hope it’ll help you realize why your ghost reappeared.
They’re simply bored and lonely
So, this is the most common reason why ghosters always come back. They disappear when they get bored of you, and they reappear when they start to feel lonely.
That’s a sick game to play with a person who has romantic feelings for them. Also, that’s exactly why they never want to end things with that person in the “right way.”
The thing is that a person who was ghosting you for an amount of time never had any sincere feelings for you in the first place. You’re simply a toy to them, a toy they think they can always take and play with.
They think you’ll always welcome them back
It’s not always so great to be a nice person. People see you as a toy then can play, have fun with, and ditch whenever they get bored.
There are some very cruel people who’ll take advantage of your kindness and hurt you in the most painful ways.
The truth is, our ghosts from the past are one of those people. Just because you’re always nice to them, they see it as a chance to treat you any way they want because they simply think that the door to your life will always be open to them.
If you keep giving them second chances and if you let them go in and out of your life whenever they want, it’ll simply give them the right to keep breaking your heart, piece by piece.
They need an ego boost
Your ghost keeps coming back to you because you’re their ego boost. They’ve probably experienced disappointments in their dating life, and they’ve come back to you to feed their ego.
So, basically, you’re only food for their fragile ego. They’re breadcrumbing you because they simply need you to help them build and maintain their confidence.
The thing is that if you let them keep ghosting and reappearing in your life, you’ll lose your confidence. That’s the worst feeling because it’ll lead you to lose yourself and your identity by the time they’re done with you.
Before you even notice it, you’ll go into hiding from yourself and lose touch with real life and other people. You’ll also be left unable to build and maintain a healthy, serious relationship with another person.
They want to prove they can have you whenever they want
As much as they need you to boost their ego, they also want to use you to prove to you and the rest of the world that they can have you whenever they want.
Last year I met a nice guy and very soon, we became friends. We talked about our dating lives, and he admitted to me that he was ghosting his ex-girlfriend and that it wasn’t the first time he was doing it.
He would ghost her for several weeks, but he would always go back to her in the end. He would simply return, and the next day, they would restart their relationship as if nothing had happened.
I was really fascinated with their relationship and that entire situation.
I asked him, “why do guys ghost people, and what’s the purpose of ghosting someone you obviously don’t have any serious intentions with?”
He was completely honest (even though it has changed my opinion about him being a nice guy).
He admitted that he was doing it only to prove to his ex-girlfriend and their mutual friends that he could be with her whenever and wherever he wants.
They’ve reappeared for another hookup
In most cases, they return only because they want to have some more fun. They simply want to enjoy a no-strings-attached-relationship some more, and then, they will probably disappear again.
The truth is, they’ll keep coming for casual hookups as long as you allow them to. They’ll keep inviting you to Netflix and chill as long as you keep accepting the invitation.
Don’t let your mind go the wrong way… Yes, being ghosted hurts, but it’ll hurt even more if you aren’t able to come to terms with the fact that your ghost doesn’t love you the way you love them.
They see you just as a casual hookup, and that’s the reason why they end things the way they do each time. Maybe they aren’t even aware of your feelings, and they think that regular hookups are okay for you too.
In most cases, they aren’t even aware of their mistake
Unfortunately, this is also a very common scenario. I already mentioned it in the last sentence of the previous paragraph.
Some men simply think that you don’t share any feelings for them either and that you’re perfectly okay with hooking up from time to time. It’s possible they aren’t even aware that they’re hurting you with their ghostings and returns.
The more you allow them to come and go from your life in this way, the more they’ll be convinced that you see it all as just a casual fling too.
That’s why you need to be direct and honest with them the first time they return and tell them how the land lies.
They’ve been ditched
While they were ghosting you, they probably moved on with their dating life. If this is the case, they’ll return to you when their new partner dumps their lame ass.
They will come back to you to seek comfort and to use you to forget about their breakup. I know that it particularly hurts to hear this, but this is also one of the most common reasons why ghosters always come back.
They’re keeping you on the back burner
You were being ghosted by someone, and that person has continued with their dating life. After an amount of time, when they get dumped, they return to you. What’s this telling you?
Does it mean they regret leaving you, or does it means that you were their backup plan all along? I think that the answer is pretty obvious here, right?
This is precisely why these kinds of people don’t end things the way they should, why they don’t end the relationship directly. Ghosting is simply just another version of a back-burner relationship.
They don’t want you to move on
Do ghosters come back? Yes, the moment they see that you’ve moved on, they’ll instantly appear in your life again. Why do ghosters always come back? Simply because they don’t want to allow you to move on with your life.
They’re narcissists in disguise who simply don’t want you to be happy. They’ll keep showing up unannounced in your life, trying to prevent you from moving on.
Every time they hear you’ve met someone else, they’ll immediately reach out and bounce back into your life. I know it’s confusing and very difficult to understand, but these people are just like that, too hard to understand and deal with.
Maybe they miss you?
I assume you get why I put this reason at the very end of my list. Of course, it’s because these last two reasons are least probable of all.
To be sincere, they may have returned to your life because they’ve realized that they made a mistake and want to make things right. However, it’s a scenario that isn’t often seen.
If they’ve ghosted you for less than three days, then it’s possible that they’ve come back because they want to repent for what they did. They may have returned because they miss you, but I wouldn’t get my hopes up if I were you.
Or MAYBE they realized that the grass wasn’t really greener on the other side after all?!
As I already said, maybe it’s possible that they’ve understood what they did and that the way they end things with you is unfair.
You know that karma is a bitch. Maybe they’ve met someone else who hurt them, and it made them feel guilty for hurting your feelings. Or perhaps that person has made them realize that the grass isn’t greener on the other side after all.
This could be true, but the point is that they shouldn’t have needed another person to point it out to them. They should have realized it on their own, and they should never hurt you the way they did.
I agree that we all deserve a second chance, but some things are intolerable and unforgivable.
SEE ALSO: This Is What It Means If He Hasn’t Contacted You In A Month
How To Respond To Their Comebacks
If you’re struggling with a ghost who keeps coming back into your life unannounced, here are some efficient tips that will help you deal with those unwanted returns.
• Allow yourself to feel your feelings
Your feelings are all over the place, and that’s perfectly okay. Just try to gather them up and be more understanding towards yourself.
It’s okay to feel anger because you’re in a situation where you have every right to be pissed off. It’s also perfectly fine to be happy because the person you care for has returned into your life, begging for another chance.
I know that there are so many things on your mind right now. I know you’re thinking about what you should do and how you should deal with your ghost’s sudden comeback.
But, I honestly advise you to stop that thought process right now and simply focus on your emotions. Forget about your mind right now and focus on your heart; try to hear what it’s telling you.
• Always remember HOW things ended between you
Your ghost has returned before you even had time to heal and move on. I know that your heart is telling you right now that you should forgive them and forget about their ghosting.
However, you should always remind yourself of everything you had to go through while they were ghosting you. You should always keep in mind that they intentionally ignored, neglected, and hurt your feelings.
• However, don’t revenge-ghost them
When your ghost returns, I know that the first thing that comes to mind is that it’s time to start ghosting them right back. However, that would be a terrible thing to do.
The truth is that the best revenge for these kinds of people is to simply move on.
Just because someone treats you badly, just because they’re a bad person, doesn’t mean that you should behave the same way towards them. You should always try to respond peacefully to their sudden returns.
Allow them to explain their actions. I’m sure they’ll give you a million reasons and excuses for what they did.
But remember, I said that you should hear them out; I didn’t say that you should immediately believe every word that comes out of their mouth.
• Practice the fine art of patience
They’ll probably give you a million excuses to justify their behavior. They’ll likely flood you with messages and calls, trying to get your forgiveness.
However, you should give yourself some time before you make any final decisions. Don’t ever react in anger or make decisions by only listening to your heart because you’ll regret them later.
• Be the bigger person and forgive
This is a situation where you should prove to them that you’re the bigger person after all and forgive them for treating you the way they did.
That way, you’ll clear your own conscience and won’t have any regrets later. No matter what a person does to you, you should always find the strength in your heart to forgive them for your own peace of mind.
• Still, forgiving them doesn’t mean you should forget what they did
The fact is that even if you decide to forgive them and leave it all behind, you’ll never be able to forget all the pain and suffering they made you go through because of their behavior.
You’ll never be able to forget how you were collecting all the broken pieces of your heart and trying to glue them back together. Even if you’re willing to forget, there will always be some scars left to remind you of the pain of being ghosted.
• It also doesn’t mean you should give them a second chance
These kinds of people tend to take your forgiveness as if it means that you’re immediately giving them a second chance.
That’s why you need to be direct with them from the very beginning and tell them the true reason for your act of forgiveness.
Being forgiving is the quality of a kind, nice person. However, giving someone too many second chances when they don’t deserve it at all is the trait of a foolish person who doesn’t value their worth.
RELATED: Read This If You Are Thinking About Giving Him A Second Chance
• Get closure once and for all
You need to confront your ghost and clear things up with them for good. You need to make a final decision and stick to it no matter what.
If you decide to give them a second chance anyway, you should set some boundaries and give them ultimatums.
Even if you choose to move on with your relationship, you should really both try to improve it and build a stronger and healthier relationship.
On the other hand, if you decide to cut your ghost from your life for good, you should confront them just to clear your conscience and get that long-needed closure.
It’s really important for both sides to get closure because you won’t be able to move on without it. You’ll both be left with emotional baggage that won’t allow you to move into a new relationship with someone else.
• Find the strength to close the ‘being ghosted’ chapter of your life
I know that being ghosted is the worst thing that your loved one can do to you. However, that’s why you need to give yourself time to heal and find the strength to leave it all behind and move the hell on.
Close all the doors for your ghost, and don’t let them come into your life ever again, no matter how hard they keep knocking.
You need to close this chapter of your life to move on. There are so many chapters in the book of your life that are waiting to be opened. There are so many beautiful stories that are waiting for you to write them.
• Look at it as a blessing in disguise
Look at it all as an incredibly important lesson God wanted to teach you. Because honestly, sometimes God wants you to experience hurtful things just to learn a lesson…
A lesson that will change your entire life, a lesson that you’ll remember forever.
You should actually be thankful for your ghost because they taught you that you should never welcome back people who left your life willingly and without good reason.
Don’t be angry at yourself because you let someone break your heart so many times. Be proud of yourself because you were so brave and endured it all.
Have pride in yourself because you gathered the strength to move on and leave this awful experience in the past.
Wrapping Up
In these modern days, with all these ‘modern relationships’ and online dating, etc., ghosting has become really popular. It’s just that with all the social media, dating apps, and so on, people have so many options to ignore someone.
Being ghosted hurts like hell. Not being able to understand why someone ghosts you can be pretty mind-blowing.
But the thing that fascinates most of us is why ghosters always come back. It’s pretty obvious that they don’t actually care for the other person, so what keeps them coming back?
I really hope my list helped you understand some of their reasons, and I hope I taught you how you should deal with these kinds of people and their unwanted reappearances in your life.
New York-based relationship expert, Francesca Hogi, says; “Ghosting is contagious. Once it happens to you, it makes it more likely you’ll do it to someone else. It might be the easy choice at the moment, but it’s bad karma for you and everyone else.”
This is why it’s important to give yourself time to grieve and heal from being ghosted. You’re riding a real emotional rollercoaster here, and you should take time to process that ride peacefully because you may be nauseous from it.
However, the fact is that you’ll have to finish the ride sooner or later. You’ll have to end things with your ghost for good and leave them in your past… And this time, it needs to be forever.