Why We Fear Silence

Silence is not empty. That is what makes it uncomfortable. When the noise stops, you hear yourself — your worries, your doubts, the questions you have been drowning out with podcasts and notifications and background television.

But here is the thing about those worries: they were there the whole time. The noise did not make them go away. It just postponed the conversation.

Silence is not the problem. Silence is the room where you finally get to sit down with whatever has been following you. And usually, once you sit with it, it turns out to be smaller than it sounded from the hallway.