Note:
It can take some time to adjust to being in solitude and silence, just as this writer describes the adjustment period a backpacker or camper needs to break away from the tyranny of the hectic city life. This adjustment period really could argue against taking short silent retreats, only a weekend long or so. It will probably take that long just to settle down and start to empty all the accumulated noise out of your head.

Quote:
“The thoughts that run in people’s heads about being late for work and what to have for dinner and what’s on TV that night, those go away in about four days to two weeks of being in the wilderness,” Douglas said. “Then you develop a more intuitive and emotional communication in your head. You eat when you’re hungry, sleep when you’re tired, and you’re mindful of weather changes.”

Source: The Bangor Daily News, 10 April 2013, an article titled “‘Hermit’ burglar compound littered with batteries, ‘tons and tons’ of propane tanks.” I no longer have the author’s name, but the person quoted here was Michael Douglas, adult programs director at Maine Primitive Skills School based in Augusta, Maine.