This time spent alone creates space for you to come up with your own perspectives and ideas and how you think and feel about the things that are happening in your life and relationships. Read on to learn more about how spending time alone actually makes your life more enjoyable and positive.
Spending time alone can be a chance to focus on your mental health. If you are struggling with anxiety or depression, it can be a chance to work on your self-care. Mental health is just as important as physical health and deserves just as much attention. Improve your mood with some solitude.
Solitude improves psychological well-being.
Learning how to be comfortable by yourself may take some getting used to. But solitary skills could be help you become mentally stronger.
Being Alone Allows Our Brains to Recharge
Dr. Sherrie Bourg Carter explains, “Constantly being 'on' doesn't give your brain a chance to rest and replenish itself. Being by yourself with no distractions gives you the chance to clear your mind, focus, and think more clearly.
Introverts rely on alone time to recharge their social batteries, self-reflect, and process the experiences they have with others. Without proper amounts of alone time, introverts can begin to experience irritability, fatigue, poor sleep, and trouble concentrating.
"Loneliness can change the neurochemistry of the brain, turning off the dopamine neurons, which trigger the reward response, and causing some degeneration in the brain when the reward response is not activated," says Katherine Peters, MD, PhD, FAAN, associate professor of neurology and neurosurgery at Duke University.
Some research suggests that loneliness is associated with an increased risk of certain mental health problems, including depression, anxiety, low self-esteem, sleep problems and increased stress.
No matter what you are doing, when you are around others, your brain is always on. Even if you are not at work or school, simply being around others distracts your mind. Your brain is not able to think clearly. Being alone gives your brain time to clear itself, focus, and think clearly.
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.
Being alone can be rewarding because it gives a person time to invest in themselves and their interests. People might choose to spend time alone because they are introverts energized by the quiet. Others may prefer being alone because they feel overstimulated when around others.
A person who is socially isolated is approximately 50% more likely to get dementia. Loneliness can disrupt sleep, raise blood pressure, and increase stress levels. A person who is socially isolated, has poor social relationships, or is lonely has a 32% increased risk of stroke and a 29% increased risk of heart disease.
Seeking power is what makes a man lonely and it can be cured with a human connection that comes from giving your power to others and treating them extremely well.
Being alone can be a very positive thing for your mental health and can provide people with the opportunity to explore their passions in their own leisurely way. Many people are scared of being alone because they think it means they must be lonely. However, this is not the case.
There are different types of loneliness: emotional, and social and existential loneliness.
Living alone gives you the opportunity to explore your true self and develop a sense of being comfortable in your own skin. This might be the simple act of being comfortable in your own company. Or being able to spot what triggers negative feelings and (most importantly) what you can do to counteract them.
Research has shown that chronic social isolation increases the risk of mental health issues like depression, anxiety and substance abuse, as well as chronic conditions like high blood pressure, heart disease and diabetes. It also raises the risk of dementia in older adults.
Although humans are social creatures by nature for survival, that does not mean we were all meant to pair up for life, or at all. There are some people who are just meant to be alone, and that is okay.
Humans evolved to be social creatures. All of us can feel disconnected from others, miss interacting with people in person, and experience loneliness.
Many studies have pointed out that living alone can have a significant effect on mental health. It can trigger symptoms of depression and other mental conditions the longer a person lives alone.
Reasons People Self-Isolate
“being embarrassed” “not feeling understood, or feeling different or disconnected from others” “feelings of worthlessness, self-doubt, and helplessness” “prominent fear and anxiety (phobia) or stress”
On the general scale, women have reported having higher levels of loneliness than men. Except for one category: single men are the lonelier group compared to single women. Women are more socially minded and are therefore able to better maintain close relationships than men.
If you've experienced ongoing feelings of loneliness, it can have negative effects on your physical health. It could lead to weight gain, sleep deprivation, poor heart health, and a weakened immune system. Loneliness can also put your body under more stress than normal.
Don't dismiss someone's feelings of loneliness.
Even if they seem like the strongest, most extraverted and friendly person you know, they still may feel alone and disconnected. Statements such as “But you have so many friends” or “I wish I was lonely – I am just so busy” may make feelings of self-doubt worse.