THE PSYCHOLOGY OF SOLITUDE

We have all heard that in our life: “Isolating yourself in your room is not good for your mental health”. The sentence seems quite logical. It’s quite true if you spend too much time alone. However, the greatest changes within yourself are when you spend time with yourself. As I always say:-

TO TRULY KNOW YOURSELF, YOU GOT TO BE WITH YOURSELF — H.E

There are many benefits to spending time alone. Freedom is considered to be one of the benefits of solitude; the constraints of others will not have any effect on a person who is spending time in solitude, therefore giving the person more of a scope to their actions. With increased freedom, a person’s choices are less likely to be affected by exchanges with others.

“Solitude helps the mind to see itself clearly as in a mirror, and to free itself from the vain endeavor of ambition with all it’s complexities, fears, and frustrations, which are the outcome of self-centered activities.”- Jiddu Krishnamurti

A person’s creativity can be sparked when given freedom. Solitude can increase freedom and moreover, freedom from distractions has the potential to spark creativity. In 1994, psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi found that adolescents who cannot bear to be alone often stop enhancing creative talents. People like Shakespeare and Leonardo da Vinci had no movies, radio, and TV but were very creative because they were able to tap into their creativity through the process of being alone.

Another proven benefit to time given in solitude is the development of self. When a person spends time in solitude from others, they may experience changes to their self-concept. This can also help a person to form or discover their identity without any outside distractions. Solitude also provides time for contemplation, growth in personal spirituality, and self-examination. In these situations, loneliness can be avoided as long as the person in solitude knows that they have meaningful relations with others.

Moreover, Solitude helps you to realize new things through the process of meditation and thinking. This is where some small changes happen but in the long term, those small changes will have a drastic impact on who you are. Life resolutions are likely to take place.

Solitude allows you to reboot your brain and unwind. Solitude helps to improve concentration and increase productivity. Solitude allows you to discover yourself and find your voice.
Furthermore, Solitude gives mind stability, a constancy which is not to be measured in terms of time. Such clarity is Character.

Also, with the solitude, you come to appreciate humanity more. If we learn in our loneliness, we will have a sharpened sensitivity to humanity. For the total development of the human being solitude as a means of cultivating sensitivity becomes a necessity.
Try to balance your social life with your time of being alone with yourself. We must all fix ourselves first, change ourselves before trying to change the world.

Hurry Emmanuel, the peace seeker.