Communication is something Millennials have gotten really bad at. Most of them communicate through their devices than they talk in person, so when they do talk in person they often struggle with grasping the feelings.
One of the most misinterpreted is silence. Most relationships have moments of silence, but silence isn’t a bad thing. It happens.
Sometimes, one or both partners are busy or tired or just don’t feel like talking, and that’s completely OK. It is often said that a healthy relationship will have plenty of comfortable silences.
Sometimes, it’s nice to just sit there quietly and listen to music together or read or whatever you choose to do besides talk.
That being said, some types of silence can signal deeper issues. Below are four types of silence that most commonly have a negative impact on relationships.
1. You give each other the silent treatment
You’ve fought and you’re still mad so you’re not talking. You think that by avoiding the other person and avoiding the situation, it will either blow over or it will make things better. It won’t.
The silent treatment is never a good thing. This type of silence makes your partner wonder, causes confusion and stretches out a negative circumstance. You are not only punishing your partner by giving them the silent treatment, you are punishing yourself.
2. There is nothing left to say
This type of silence likely can spell the end of your relationship. When you get home from work and you sit down for dinner and the two of you have nothing to say to one another, that can be a sign that you’ve lost your spark.
3. You’re both shutting down
There are times in a disagreement where nothing is getting accomplished, no common ground exists and you’ve reached the point where you’re beating a dead horse. This is the point where you retreat. You shut down and close off.
You start to agree with them, just to shut them up or just completely go cold all together. This is the point where you are not at all open to continuing the conversation and that’s OK, but you need to express that properly.
4. You’re not responding to text messages for an extended amount of time
It’s normal if you’re not able to keep bantering over text while you’re at work, studying in the library, working out, or otherwise occupied. But if you get an incoming text from your partner and simply have no desire to write back, your silence might speak volumes.
Silence is the most misunderstood and misinterpreted type of human interaction, but it’s easy to understand and accept if we communicate ahead of time.
