Yes silence. Or at least very uncomfortable with it to the extent that I MUST make a noise of some sort. Is that a fear? Is it possible to be scared of silence? Is this another sign that I am mentally unstable?
I think everybody gets nervous in silence, I know I do, as it's not natural. In the natural world there's always noise, whether it be birds singing, wind rustling things, all that kind of thing. Nowadays we isolate ourselves in houses and cut out all of that so when there's no background noise it puts us on edge. Don't worry about it meaning you're crazy, it doesn't (*hug*)
Lots of people could list lots of situations in which they're uncomfortable. Extrapolating this information with an eye towards assurance that you're mentally unstable might cause problems. Maybe you could be overanalyzing normal thoughts that you're having?
With silence if it lasts longer than about a second (thank goodness for my loud clock next to my bed for when I want to go to sleep) I get freaked out and I need something to break the silence. Or I constantly look around me for some reason.
It sounds like, yes, you are afraid of silence, and no, it's not an indication that you're insane. We all have our unusual fears. Spiders, clowns, balloons, phone calls, the possibility of being stuck in a public washroom stall forever because you locked the door wrong... You're not the only one.
I wouldn't worry about it too much. We all have stupid fears. I, for instance, am incredibly afraid of reflections. I hate them, and I try to avoid them if at all possible, but I don't let that fear slow me down. Fear can only stop you from doing things if you let it.
I can understand your fear of silence,I had one episode happen to me very recently, I went for a hour nap,I laid in bed got covered up and left the tv on,when my dog jumped on my bed nestled up tight against me,warmth like you always imagined,midday and I closed my eyes and everything went totally black,more so than ever,and the tv went slient,my heart full of peace,I thought to myself,this is weird no light shawdows,no sound,I'm about to die in my sleep,this is what death is about,then all of a sudden hands grabbed my shoulders and shook me,my eyes widened immediately and sound came to my ears of the playing tv,and my dogs snoring beside me all alone,there was no-one around me-perhaps it wasn't my time yet.but I will never forget the sound of silence again.
I think my fear also comes from an event. It was pitch black, the silence was deafining (that's the only way to describe it. Once you experience deafining silence you know exactly how horrible it is) and I had been sleepwalking. I had absolutly no idea where I was. I could only feel the ground and it felt wierd. It turned out to be the tiles of the bathroom. But the silence was so scary. I felt like there were so many things watching me.
umm...I don't know if it fits your problem and if I'm allowed to suggest you a song but try Something To Believe In by Aqualung, they make it seem so normal to be afraid of awkward silence (which is normal because people feel uncomfortable and really, everyone tries to avoid silence in a conversation, a reason a person doesn't want to be with you because you make silence -.- or it makes people think you are not interested in them since you say nothing) Your silentphobia isn't only in a conversation though,soooo I can't say anything about that