[Honeybun]

Just wondering if anyone has sessions of almost complete silence...not resistance but communication through the eyes and silence.

[CantExplain]

Five minutes at most. I have too much to say!

[healed84]

Originally Posted by CantExplain

Five minutes at most. I have too much to say!

Yeap, this is me exactly. We do have our moments where no one talks.. T looks like he is pondering something, but I suspect he is waiting for me to say something.. Then we move on.

t used to let the silences last,, now about a minute and he starts yammering... which is a good thing cause i can get sooo lost in my head

[Asiablue]

omg i HATE the silences, i want to run from the room when there's silence......

[Chopin99]

There is never any silence...if I'm not talking, T starts yammering away.

I have an 8 year old alter that doesn't talk at all. She is very sweet, but silent. She and T seem to have really good sessions with comfortable silence, T says they do a lot of good work, so something positive must be going on with the silence.

[faith1983]

I hate silence too but we spent many session in silence but I have to have my eyes close to be confortable. I could speak whenever I wanted too but often, I end up not talking at all but those were my best session ever where I felt so connected with t... but there's no way I could do it eyes open!

[CantExplain]

Originally Posted by Chopin99

There is never any silence...if I'm not talking, T starts yammering away.

Interesting. Your T doesn't seem to know the power of silence.

[Nelliecat]

I am so not in a place where the silence feels good or beneficial. It makes me absolutely squirm in my seat.

[granite1]

i spend most of my sessions in total silence.i use to go months without saying anything.now my T makes me at least say hello. three years later i am doing a bit better and will talk some.but i do still have my times believe me.have patients the words will come in time.i doesnt happen overnight.

[elliemay]

Originally Posted by Honeybun

Just wondering if anyone has sessions of almost complete silence...not resistance but communication through the eyes and silence.

Sounds very idyllic. I do wonder though, what was communicated?

[Honeybun]

Originally Posted by elliemay

Sounds very idyllic. I do wonder though, what was communicated?

Love, acceptance, fear, comfort, closeness, distance, longing, desire, curiosity, happiness, sadness. With no words! It is an experience like no other.

[Towanda]

I feel very uncomfortable with silence. T will look straight at me like he is waiting for me to say something that I haven't revealed yet and it makes me uncomfortable so I tend to start jabbering. It's a bad habit - I try to just let the silence flow but it does make me uncomfortable. Usually when I can let it be, he'll ask me, "What's going on?" and it usually turns out to be something really interesting. Should try it more often.

[critterlady]

When my previous T would first let us sit in silence, I hated it. It felt awkward and I thought there was pressure for me to come up with something profound during it. Once I relaxed into it, I came to really like that time to just sit and be. It gave me an opportunity to reflect on what we'd just talked about or what I might want to talk about next. There were no expectations of me, although if my facial expression changed, T would often ask about it.

My current T isn't as comfortable with silence. He tends to "rescue" me by making a comment on what I last said. At some point, I may ask him for a few minutes to reflect.

[Chopin99]

Originally Posted by CantExplain

Interesting. Your T doesn't seem to know the power of silence.

She's just a talkative sort; I've heard her talking to other T's, clients, and receptionists the same way. I have a feeling her H must be the strong, silent type.

[CantExplain]

Originally Posted by Chopin99

She's just a talkative sort; I've heard her talking to other T's, clients, and receptionists the same way. I have a feeling her H must be the strong, silent type.

Maybe you should go to him!

[pbutton]

There is often silence in my sessions. Generally when I don't feel like answering something. I have learned that I can outlast T though. He will eventually say something if I wait long enough.

[growlycat]

Silence in person can be kind of nice sometimes. When T and I are meeting in person, we go for walks if it is nice out. A portion of the walk is sometimes in silence.

During phone sessions, silence is awful. Is he checking his email? Reading a magazine? I feel lost with phone silence.

[SoupDragon]

Yes we have a lot of silence - actually the other week when I was struggling with all sorts of life pressures, T asked if I wanted an extra session just to sit with him.