One More Twist on Ghosting
You had been writing to someone for a while, you had met a couple of times, and it seemed like things were getting better each time. That person still snoops on your social networks, but no longer replies to your messages.
Anxiety, Depression, and Confusion
An orbeter is someone who “neither eats nor lets others eat,” in the most virtual sense of the phrase. In practice, orbiting means that a person stops responding to your private messages, your WhatsApp messages, and does not answer your calls; but continues liking or commenting on your posts.
If ghosting was already a somewhat inconsiderate practice towards the one who suffers it, orbiting takes it a step further and, according to experts, can cause anxiety, depression, and confusion. That waiting with the expectation that, at any moment, the relationship might resume, since the other person gives signs of life through the networks is the cause of these ailments.
Knowing the origin of this word will help us perfectly understand its meaning. Orbiting comes from the Spanish word “orbitar”: to move in an orbit. The orbeter, in turn, is the one who practices orbiting and is that person who moves around another, making their presence known but without interacting or having any meaningful contact.
Narcissism and Obsession
Experts in medicine and psychotherapy point out that the person who orbits around the relationship often shows a marked narcissistic profile. This makes them think about themselves as the central axis all the time and, therefore, they are unaware of the harm they are causing the other person.
Other specialists suggest that those who do orbiting intend to show themselves without actually being in a relationship, but leaving a door open in case they decide to resume it. However, they might be suffering from FOMO (fear of missing out), the fear of missing something wonderful or interesting happening to the other because they are no longer in their life.
At the other end is the person suffering from this careless attitude, the victim of orbiting, who may even become obsessed with their “stalker” and analyze their own Instagram stories to find out why the other person has been watching them.
To avoid these kinds of unhealthy and dependent reactions, experts recommend, quite simply, blocking this contact. It may be hard at first, but in this case, the end does justify the means.
