Many people consider the world we live in to be really noisy. Did you ever consider what the effects of this are upon us? Most of the time we just try to tolerate it, tune it out. We often can’t control our environments much, so we “get used to it”. But what does all the noise take from us on a daily basis, how is it impacting us?
Loud sounds can damage the eardrum while longer-term sounds at less intensity have the capability to damage the middle ear. Noise disturbs sleep and communication, and studies have documented cardiac, pulmonary and neurological effects of noise. Stress, high blood pressure, anger and frustration, lower resistance to disease and infection, circulatory problems, ulcers, asthma, colitis, gastrointestinal disorders and headaches have all been linked directly to exposure to noise (OSHA 1985). For reasons like these Congress passed the Noise Control Act of 1972, which lead to the establishment of the Office of Noise Control & Abatement, the Quiet Communities Act of 1978, and similar legislative measures. Please note these are not new studies; this issue has been around for quite some time.
Although there are physical health reasons to be concerned about noise, I’m primarily interested in our emotional well-being. Agreeing that noise can be a detriment to us, let’s consider it’s opposite – silence – and think about it’s positive attributes.
Silence allows us the opportunity to think our thoughts in peace, temporarily relieved from being bombarded by many different of inputs. Receiving an input requires a response from us, since an input is a stimulus. Remember stimulus and response theory? Roughly put, it tells us that every stimulus activates a response: when someone speaks, you’ll want to speak back…when you hear a noise, your attention goes to that noise. Environmental stimula drag us away from listening to and responding to our innermost thoughts. That’s why folks often say “I’m taking a break so I can think about things”…we need the silence so we can consider the deeper, more consequential issues in our lives. Without entering into silence, it’s almost impossible to get there.
Sometimes people go on a “retreat” weekend. What’s this a retreat from? From noise, external inputs, the demands of daily life…so we can wrap ourselves in silence and then deeper considerations of where life is taking us becomes possible. Retreats are often thought of as spiritual experiences; when we connect with our inner core of thinking & feeling we have the opportunity to connect with God. Is it necessary to say that in addition to physical and emotional needs, we all have spiritual needs? How are we going to meet them?
When I meet with new clients, my overarching task is to discover who they are and how they got to the place they currently find themselves in. Nobody comes to see me because they’re happy; clients come to me when they’re in trouble, so it’s imperative I can answer these two questions. Without “creating the assessment”…figuring out who they are and how they got to where they are now…we have little hope of helping them retrieve themselves from the trouble they’re in. Sure, I take good notes and cover the bases of getting an understanding of history & dynamics, both past and present, but then I have to do the more difficult task – sit quietly and think about the client. Without this, the assessment will never form up in my mind. And remember, without the assessment, we cannot determine a creative direction to go in that addresses the situation and helps the client to move toward a more satisfying life direction. The key elements: silence & consideration.
Many folks are reluctant to let themselves be silent, preferring to fill up every available moment with talking or surrounding themselves with other inputs. People have lots of support in this – our mainstream media call silent spaces in broadcasts “dead air” and strive to minimize them at all costs, believing it’s a misuse of otherwise revenue-generating noise. What the media is missing is that silence is the opportunity to consider and integrate the information they’ve been showering us with. But I digress…why do individuals shy away from engaging in silence? I believe it has to do with a fear of what they might find. Like dreams at nighttime, silence opens the door to thoughts and feelings we’ve been defending ourselves against during our noisy day. Noise intercepts and preoccupies us, getting in the way of our registering and being moved by our deeper sentiments. Sometimes it’s scary to actually sit and ponder our current situations. Many folks leave the TV on all day…”background noise” they call it. I wonder if it’s a defense against noticing what one is truly feeling…
So, as 2017 winds down and as 2018 begins to unfold in front of us, set aside some time to be in silence and consider how the last year has been for you, and think about the accomplishments you’d like to achieve in the new year., Put your fears aside, notice how you feel and set the stage for a brand new year.
Chase E. Kneeland, M.Div. LMFT 