Why are we afraid of silence?

You get into the car and turn on the radio. You get home and turn on the TV. You play music on your phone while you shower, sing, or think. Silence scares us and we demonstrate it in a thousand ways. The emptiness suggested by the absence of noise torments us; and with this fear we lose important opportunities. And perhaps, if we knew the value of silence, we would stop fleeing from it as from an enemy.

When was the last time you were silent?When did you experience the complete absence of external and internal stimuli? For most people this is almost a utopia, a state impossible to achieve and sustain. It is also, in his view, something dangerous and disturbing. But why does this happen to us? and what can we do about it?

Silence scares us

Maybe you have already realized that this widespread trend exists in our society or maybe not. You may have even detected this fear of silence in yourself, although you don’t know exactly why it is.. The reality is that every day we show signs of this phenomenon.

We surround ourselves with all kinds of technological devices that provide us with visual and auditory stimulation. And we not only do it as a form of entertainment in our leisure time, but we resort to them in any daily activity. While we cook, clean or play sports, external noise accompanies us.

The same thing happens when we spend time with colleagues, friends or family. Even if we bump into a neighbor in the elevator, we prefer to start a banal and condescending conversation than to remain silent. Many times we don’t have something to say, and yet we make the effort to fill those terrifying gaps with words.

But Even when we are in apparent silence, with no external noise to overwhelm our senses, we resort to our internal resources to escape.. Has it ever happened to you that, when you go to sleep, in the stillness of the night, your mind seems to accelerate, taking you from the past to the future in constant rumination? These are nothing more than mechanisms to avoid the silence of the present.

Why are we afraid of silence?

Because we don’t know each other

Silence scares us because it implies coming into contact with ourselves. We flee from him because we flee from ourselves. It is a fear of being alone with a part of our being that we refuse to see, with the fears and wounds that we have been ignoring. We are terrified of hearing our own voice, an inner cry that we have buried for years under other people’s voices and outside noises.

We don’t know each other because we have never been alone. We don’t know each other and we are afraid to do so. When silence appears it brings with it the sounds of our shadows, of those dark parts that we do not recognize as our own when they are. Where does that anxiety come from, that feeling of loneliness and emptiness, that contained anger that arises when we are silent? All of this is us, even though we have refused to see each other for decades.

Because we are not used to it

However, not all the fault is ours. We were born and live immersed in a society that does not teach us to connect or listen to each other, but it constantly occupies us and distracts us.

Self-knowledge, personal development, meditation… all these practices seem reserved for a minority that suffers and needs repair, when in reality we should all practice them.

Silence is stigmatized and we are taught to see it as something negative, as a sign that the quiet person is angry, offended, sad or absent. Silence evokes loneliness and emptiness, shyness and negative emotions, when this should not be the case.

Start practicing silence

Practicing silence helps us connect with our fears, wounds and desires.. It allows us to know ourselves, heal ourselves and return to ourselves. It offers us the opportunity to discover our desires and opinions, to recover our strength and our voice. When you know and accept yourself, when you learn to love yourself and be with yourself, there is no other comparable place in the world.

Only you can fill your voids, heal your wounds and overcome your fears. Only you can work for your dreams and goals. So why are you afraid to be with you? Give yourself a chance, you’ll discover how much you’ve missed it all this time.

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