Why I Compulsively Avoid Silence, and What Changed When I Stopped | Voice Notes

I listen to something almost every waking minute. YouTube in the car, a podcast while I cook, the Office every single night to fall asleep. I've done that for years.

This week God asked me for intentional silence, and I genuinely did not want to do it.

I aimed for an hour a day. Realistically it was more like 30 to 45 minutes, and never all at once. The 30 minute drive home after school dropoff. A 10 minute shower. Cooking dinner. And the first couple of minutes, every single time, were almost physically uncomfortable.

Then on the way to the pharmacy I pulled up to a stoplight, noticed the leaves starting to turn, and cracked my window for a little autumn breeze. The peepers filled the car. I never would have rolled that window down if something had been playing. I wouldn't have even thought to.

Why does an ADHD brain compulsively avoid silence in the first place? What actually happens to your overall noise level after a week of this? And why is this a teeny tiny action step instead of a whole lifestyle overhaul?

Here's the thing about noise canceling headphones in a loud restaurant. The room gets quieter. And you can hear your friend even less.

Takeaways:

Noise isn't only auditory. For some people it's visual, and the same principle appliesConstant background stimuli pauses the spinning. It doesn't process itThe discomfort is front-loaded. The first couple of minutes are the hard part, not the whole stretchYou don't need to schedule it. Attach it to a task you already do - one drive, one shower, one mealStart at 5 minutes. This is a teeny tiny action step, not a silence practiceYour brain needs a break in order to process. The silence is what lets it defrag

If time with Jesus keeps losing to the noise, you're not failing at faith. You're doing faith with chaotic or even ADHD brain, in a world built for neurotypicals.

One Hour to Quiet the Noise is a free guided journal. You'll find what's actually draining you, and walk away with one teeny tiny plan to clear it. One hour. That's the whole ask.

Get the free Noise Journal