Hi Hangin' in.
I have lived in this dilemna. It is sort of... well not sort of... it's a personality trait of mine to clam up when things are troubling me. Add "detachment" to it, and I got to the point where I absolutely never said what was on my mind. However, all the dead air was a pretty clear indicator that something was wrong... at least wrong in my mind. And I also was thinking "Why say anything? You'll just invite a lie." It made a lot of days kind of dank and murky around here.
Would it have helped Dino to be open if I had been open about what was going on in my thoughts? I doubt it. But it would have gotten the gremlin out of the moldy basement of my mind. We can't expect to change what they do or think with our honesty. We don't need to be forthcoming for them. However, if we're bottling it up... who are we doing that for? Is it because we're trying not to disturb their recovery? If so... phooey. Whether you choose to open up or refrain... do it for you. We don't have to protect them from our doubts. And keeping a doubt silent doesn't kill it anyway.
Hugs,
Smoke