When Silence Heals More Than Talking Ever Could
- Jillian Stidd
- Dec 18, 2025
- 3 min read
We are taught that silence is a problem.
That if something matters, we should talk it out.
That if there’s distance, there must be misunderstanding.
That if communication fails, someone didn’t try hard enough.
Silence, we’re told, means avoidance.
Immaturity.
Emotional incompetence.
Silence Heals More.
But there is another truth we don’t name often enough.
Sometimes silence is not what you choose when you don’t know what to say.
Sometimes it’s what you choose because you know exactly what will happen if you do.
There are situations — and people — where words do not lead to understanding.
They lead to distortion.
Deflection.
Escalation.
Or a quiet rewriting of your reality.
In those moments, continuing to speak is not courage.
It is self-harm disguised as effort.
We’ve been conditioned to believe that if we could just explain better, soften our tone more, choose the perfect words, then connection would happen.
But communication is not a solo act.
It requires two nervous systems willing to meet in good faith.
Two people capable of repair.
Two people who can hold impact without turning it into power.
When that mutuality is missing, silence is not a breakdown.
It is discernment.
Silence says:
I see the pattern.
I trust my body.
I will not keep offering myself to a conversation that costs me more than it gives.
This kind of silence is not cold.
It is not punishment.
It is not passive-aggressive.
It is complete.
It closes the loop without needing the other person to agree.
It protects clarity when words would only invite confusion.
It preserves dignity without turning the moment into a war.
There is a difference between avoiding a conversation and opting out of a dynamic.
One comes from fear.
The other comes from wisdom.
And here is the permission we are rarely given:
You are allowed to stop talking when talking no longer heals.
You are allowed to choose quiet over being misunderstood again.
You are allowed to let silence do the work words never could.
This is not emotional failure.
It is emotional maturity.
Silence, when chosen consciously, is not the absence of communication.
It is a clear message to yourself:
I don’t need to explain my worth.
I don’t need to argue with reality.
I don’t need to stay engaged to stay whole.
Sometimes the most self-respecting thing you can do
is simply stop speaking
and let your life — not your words — answer for you.
When silence is actually more healing than talking
Silence becomes the healthier choice when:
Communication is consistently used to:
deflect
minimize
dominate
exhaust
rewrite reality
Your words are met with:
dismissal
punishment
escalation
mockery
“token apologies”
You leave conversations feeling:
smaller
confused
ashamed
dysregulated
doubting your own perception
In those situations, more talking does not create understanding.
It creates more injury.
XOXO Jillian
Founder, My Ingredient List™
Evicted On Purpose
The origin story. The philosophy. The collapse that became a map.
Evicted on Purpose began as a story of collapse — the moment everything familiar fell apart and nothing made sense. But inside the wreckage was a revelation. Every heartbreak was a coordinate. Every ending was an instruction. Every detour was a doorway. What started as one woman’s unraveling became a blueprint for awakening. This book didn’t just tell the story.
Visit our social accounts
© 2025 My Ingredient List info@MyIngredientList.com myingredientlist.com * (656)-245-6462
Comments