Living alone may be harmful to one's mental health, especially among older people. Previous research has found that persons who live alone have poorer mental health and a lower quality of life than those who live with others. Additionally, loneliness can contribute to depression (8).
"Lacking encouragement from family or friends, those who are lonely may slide into unhealthy habits," Valtorta says. "In addition, loneliness has been found to raise levels of stress, impede sleep and, in turn, harm the body. Loneliness can also augment depression or anxiety."
Your mental health increases
Solitude makes you feel better because it gives you the space to just exist without the normal expectations that come with work, family or friends. Studies suggest that time alone and showing self-compassion can decrease anxiety and depressive thoughts.
As mentioned, some people may choose to live alone because they feel that way they can better manage their anxiety. However, it's important to consider that this, alone, isn't really managing the problem. Instead, it is simply avoiding exposing yourself to any situations in which you might become anxious.
New research shows that living alone, compared to living with others, increases the risk of depression by 42 percent. Effective and available psychological, pharmacological, and self-help interventions can reduce loneliness, social isolation, and depression.
First, unmarried people who live alone are relatively happy, and generally appear among the better off of the groups surveyed. Second, people who've recently gotten divorced or become widows are less happy than most others.
People become more satisfied with being single around age 40. There's a common misconception that older singles are the least happy with their relationship status. But actually, MacDonald's research suggests that starting around age 40, singletons become more satisfied with their solo lives.
Social connection
But, she stresses, "You must talk to someone at least daily, and get out of your house at least once a week. Any less could have a negative impact on your health and well-being." Start by arranging a daily phone call with a family member or friend, even if you're the one who calls.
We have increasingly negative and illogical thoughts about what could happen if we went out and put ourselves in a social situation. So we stay alone at home where it feels safer. It often gets really lonely if you have social anxiety. It's not that you don't want to have someone to talk to, or feel loved.
Too much time alone is bad for our physical health. Studies have found that social isolation and loneliness can increase the likelihood of mortality by up to 30%.
“Being alone helps you become more comfortable in your own skin,” Morins tells Forbes. “When you're by yourself, you can make choices without outside influences. And that will help you develop more insight into who you are as a person.” Holding this degree of self-awareness and resilience is key to a happier life.
One of the greatest benefits of spending time alone is how it helps you develop a better understanding of who you are. The more you know and understand yourself the more likely you are to do things that you love, learn things that interest you and spend time with people who make you feel good.
Humans are social animals. We might define ourselves as introverts, but the survival of our species rests on safety in community. Loneliness unleashes excess stress hormones, causing an elevated heart rate, and increased blood pressure and blood sugar levels.
Some research suggests that loneliness can increase stress. It's also associated with an increased risk of certain mental health problems. For example, depression, anxiety, low self-esteem and sleep problems. My anxiety and depression isolates me from people and stops me from being able to do the things I'd like to do.
If you are spending time alone because that's what you want, then that will probably be a psychologically healthy experience. If instead you are home alone feeling despondent because you really want to be with other people, that's much more problematic.
And yet, the appeal of living alone can run much deeper than that. People feel more authentic when they are alone than when they are with other people. Those who are drawn to solo living for positive reasons are unlikely to feel lonely. They are not afraid of having time to themselves; they flourish in solitude.
Isolation is a result of anxiety and depression in that some individuals use it as a self-induced coping mechanism to deal with excessive worry and avoid human interaction.
Research has linked social isolation and loneliness to higher risks for a variety of physical and mental conditions: high blood pressure, heart disease, obesity, a weakened immune system, anxiety, depression, cognitive decline, Alzheimer's disease, and even death.
Living alone gives you that freedom, of course, but it also brings with it the ability to be actively independent. Anyone can be independent (even when living as a couple), but living alone brings with it authentic independence and self-discipline like nothing else.
It's better for your health to be alone than trapped in an unhappy relationship. It's been the punchline of many a best man's speech over the years but now it's official. Experts say it is better to be single than be involved in a poor-quality relationship.
"Living alone, especially if it's for the first time or even after a transition, can be a very emotional experience," she previously told mbg. "There may be feelings of sadness or loneliness, but living alone can also be a time of learning to love yourself."
If you have a roommate, you'll probably feel less lonely. But if you crave solo time and really need to be alone to relax and recharge, living with someone else can cramp your style and may even cause stress — even if there are no particular problems between you and your roommate.
A major study raises concerns, and urgency.
New research shows that living alone, compared to living with others, increases the risk of depression by 42 percent. Effective and available psychological, pharmacological, and self-help interventions can reduce loneliness, social isolation, and depression.