When adult children cut off contact with their parents, their silence can be excruciating. But that’s largely because of the way that silence gets interpreted.

Here are some particularly painful interpretations of silence:

• “I hate you.”
• “You’re not worth a reply.”
• “You mean nothing to me.”
• “I’m never going to talk to you again.”

No wonder it’s so painful when your child stops responding. And no wonder so many parents reach out to estranged adult children even when they’ve been asked for no contact.

But silence doesn’t always mean what you think it means. This episode presents five alternative ways to interpret your child’s silence.

These are based on Tina’s experience as a therapist working with adults who cut off their parents, and also on research into why adult children estrange themselves.

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