Severn963, That is a great question. “No contact” is useful when a person is abusive or a toxic person as you mention. A difference that comes to mind is that is for protection and not manipulation or to harm the other person. People who need to go no contact often need the support of a lawyer or other social service professionals to deal with legal issues and other responsibilities related to the relationship. People who are going no contact generally do not hinder divorce, separation of material items, legal issues impacting shared children, etc. They WANT to resolve everything so they can be free of the abuse, and if safety is really an issue they may look to a mediator, lawyer, etc to take care of the business that needs to be handled. People who ghost on the other hand continue the abuse and trauma to their former partner by hindering divorce, etc. In many cases I am aware of they hinder the divorce because they owe the partner money and don’t want a money award against them, or they still want some kind of hold on their previous partner. As mentioned in my article, I am not talking about “ghosting” after a few dates, I am really focusing on people who do this after a long relationship and years of abuse.