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Solitude is a state of seclusion or isolation, meaning lack of
socialisation In sociology, socialization or socialisation (see spelling differences) is the process of internalizing the norms and ideologies of society. Socialization encompasses both learning and teaching and is thus "the means by which social and cul ...
. Effects can be either positive or negative, depending on the situation. Short-term solitude is often valued as a time when one may work, think, or rest without disturbance. It may be desired for the sake of privacy. Undesirable long-term solitude may stem from soured relationships, loss of loved ones, deliberate choice,
infectious disease An infection is the invasion of tissues by pathogens, their multiplication, and the reaction of host tissues to the infectious agent and the toxins they produce. An infectious disease, also known as a transmissible disease or communicable di ...
,
mental disorder A mental disorder, also referred to as a mental illness or psychiatric disorder, is a behavioral or mental pattern that causes significant distress or impairment of personal functioning. Such features may be persistent, relapsing and remitti ...
s, neurological disorders such as circadian rhythm sleep disorder, or circumstances of employment or situation. A distinction has been made between solitude and loneliness. In this sense, these two words refer, respectively, to the joy and the pain of being alone.


Health effects

Symptoms from complete isolation, called sensory deprivation, may include
anxiety Anxiety is an emotion which is characterized by an unpleasant state of inner turmoil and includes feelings of dread over anticipated events. Anxiety is different than fear in that the former is defined as the anticipation of a future threat wh ...
, sensory illusions, or distortions of
time Time is the continued sequence of existence and event (philosophy), events that occurs in an apparently irreversible process, irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various me ...
and perception. However, this is the case when there is no stimulation of the
sensory systems The sensory nervous system is a part of the nervous system responsible for processing sensory information. A sensory system consists of sensory neurons (including the sensory receptor cells), neural pathways, and parts of the brain involve ...
at all and not just lack of contact with people. Thus, this can be avoided by having other things to keep one's mind busy. Long-term solitude is often seen as undesirable, causing loneliness or reclusion resulting from inability to establish relationships. Furthermore, it might lead to
clinical depression Major depressive disorder (MDD), also known as clinical depression, is a mental disorder characterized by at least two weeks of pervasive low mood, low self-esteem, and loss of interest or pleasure in normally enjoyable activities. Intro ...
, although some people do not react to it negatively.
Monk A monk (, from el, μοναχός, ''monachos'', "single, solitary" via Latin ) is a person who practices religious asceticism by monastic living, either alone or with any number of other monks. A monk may be a person who decides to dedic ...
s regard long-term solitude as a means of
spiritual enlightenment Used in a religious sense, enlightenment translates several Buddhist terms and concepts, most notably '' bodhi'', '' kensho,'' and '' satori''. Related terms from Asian religions are '' kaivalya'' and ''moksha'' (liberation) in Hinduism, '' Ke ...
.
Marooned Marooned may refer to: * Marooning, the intentional act of abandoning someone in an uninhabited area Film and television * ''Marooned'' (1933 film), a British drama film * ''Marooned'' (1969 film), an American science-fiction film * ''Marooned ...
people have been left in solitude for years without any report of psychological symptoms afterwards. Some psychological conditions (such as
schizophrenia Schizophrenia is a mental disorder characterized by continuous or relapsing episodes of psychosis. Major symptoms include hallucinations (typically hearing voices), delusions, and disorganized thinking. Other symptoms include social w ...
and schizoid personality disorder) are strongly linked to a tendency to seek solitude. Enforced loneliness (solitary confinement) has been a punishment method throughout history. It is often considered a form of torture. Emotional isolation is a state of isolation where one feels emotionally separated from others despite having a well-functioning
social network A social network is a social structure made up of a set of social actors (such as individuals or organizations), sets of dyadic ties, and other social interactions between actors. The social network perspective provides a set of methods fo ...
. Researchers, including Robert J. Coplan and Julie C. Bowker, have rejected the notion that solitary practices and solitude are inherently dysfunctional and undesirable. In their 2013 book ''A Handbook of Solitude'', the authors note how solitude can allow for enhancements in self-esteem, generates clarity, and can be highly therapeutic. In the edited work, Coplan and Bowker invite not only fellow psychology colleagues to chime in on this issue but also a variety of other faculty from different disciplines to address the issue. Fong's chapter offers an alternative view on how solitude is more than just a personal trajectory for one to take inventory on life; it also yields a variety of important sociological cues that allow the protagonist to navigate through society, even highly politicized societies. In the process, political prisoners in solitary confinement were examined to see how they concluded their views on society. Thus Fong, Coplan, and Bowker conclude that a person's experienced solitude generates immanent and personal content as well as collective and sociological content, depending on context.


Psychological effects

There are both positive and negative psychological effects of solitude. Much of the time, these effects and the longevity is determined by the amount of time a person spends in isolation. The positive effects can range anywhere from more
freedom Freedom is understood as either having the ability to act or change without constraint or to possess the power and resources to fulfill one's purposes unhindered. Freedom is often associated with liberty and autonomy in the sense of "giving one ...
to increased
spirituality The meaning of ''spirituality'' has developed and expanded over time, and various meanings can be found alongside each other. Traditionally, spirituality referred to a religious process of re-formation which "aims to recover the original shape ...
,Long, Christopher R. and Averill, James R. “Solitude: An Exploration of the Benefits of Being Alone.” ''Journal for the Theory of Social Behaviour'' 33:1 (2003): 30 September 2011. while the negative effects are socially depriving and may trigger the onset of mental illness.Kupers, Terry A. “What To Do With the Survivors? Coping With the Long-Term Effects of Isolated Confinement”. ''Criminal Justice and Behavior'' 35.8 (2008): 30 September 2011. While positive solitude is often desired, negative solitude is often involuntary or undesired at the time it occurs.


Positive effects

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 latitude in their actions. With increased freedom, a person’s choices are less likely to be affected by exchanges with others. A person's
creativity Creativity is a phenomenon whereby something new and valuable is formed. The created item may be intangible (such as an idea, a scientific theory, a musical composition, or a joke) or a physical object (such as an invention, a printed lit ...
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. Another proven benefit to time given in solitude is the development of the 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.


Negative effects

Negative effects have been observed in prisoners. The behavior of prisoners who spend extensive time in solitude may worsen. Solitude can trigger physiological responses that increase health risks. Negative effects of solitude may also depend on age. Elementary age school children who experience frequent solitude may react negatively. This is largely because often, solitude at this age is not the child's choice. Solitude in elementary-age children may occur when they are unsure of how to interact socially, so they prefer to be alone, causing shyness or social rejection. While teenagers are more likely to feel lonely or unhappy when not around others, they are also more likely to have a more enjoyable experience with others if they have had time alone first. However, teenagers who frequently spend time alone do not have as good a global adjustment as those who balance their time of solitude with their time of socialisation.


Other uses


As pleasure

Solitude does not necessarily entail feelings of loneliness, and it may in fact be one's sole source of genuine pleasure for those who choose it with deliberate intent. Some individuals seek solitude for discovering a more meaningful and vital existence. For example, in religious contexts, some saints preferred silence, finding immense pleasure in their perceived uniformity with God. Solitude is a state that can be positively modified utilizing it for
prayer Prayer is an invocation or act that seeks to activate a rapport with an object of worship through deliberate communication. In the narrow sense, the term refers to an act of supplication or intercession directed towards a deity or a deifie ...
allowing to "be alone with ourselves and with God, to put ourselves in listening to his will, but also of what moves in our hearts, let purify our relationships; solitude and silence thus become spaces inhabited by God, and ability to recover ourselves and grow in humanity." In psychology, introverted persons may require spending time alone to recharge, whereas those who are simply socially apathetic might find it a pleasurable setting in which to occupy oneself with solitary tasks. The
Buddha Siddhartha Gautama, most commonly referred to as the Buddha, was a wandering ascetic and religious teacher who lived in South Asia during the 6th or 5th century BCE and founded Buddhism. According to Buddhist tradition, he was born in L ...
attained enlightenment through uses of meditation, deprived of sensory input, bodily necessities, and external desires, including social interaction. The context of solitude is attainment of pleasure from within, but this does not necessitate complete detachment from the external world. This is well demonstrated in the writings of Edward Abbey with particular regard to '' Desert Solitaire'' where solitude focused only on isolation from other people allows for a more complete connection to the external world, as in the absence of human interaction the natural world itself takes on the role of the companion. In this context, the individual seeking solitude does so not strictly for personal gain or introspection, though this is often an unavoidable outcome, but instead in an attempt to gain an understanding of the natural world as entirely removed from the human perspective as possible, a state of mind much more readily attained in the complete absence of outside human presence.


As punishment

Isolation in the form of solitary confinement is a punishment or precaution used in many countries throughout the world for prisoners accused of serious crimes, those who may be at risk in the prison population, those who may commit suicide, or those unable to participate in the prison population due to sickness or injury. Research has found that solitary confinement does not deter inmates from committing further violence in prison.


As treatment

Psychiatric institutions may institute full or partial isolation for certain patients, particularly the violent or subversive, in order to address their particular needs and to protect the rest of the recovering population from their influence.


See also

*
Hermit A hermit, also known as an eremite ( adjectival form: hermitic or eremitic) or solitary, is a person who lives in seclusion. Eremitism plays a role in a variety of religions. Description In Christianity, the term was originally applied to a C ...
*
Hikikomori , also known as acute social withdrawal, is total withdrawal from society and seeking extreme degrees of social isolation and confinement. ''Hikikomori'' refers to both the phenomenon in general and the recluses themselves. ''Hikikomori'' ha ...
* Hitbodedut * Boredom *
Loner A loner is a person who does not seek out, or may actively avoid, interaction with other people. There are many potential reasons for their solitude. Intentional reasons include introversion, mysticism, spirituality, religion, or personal cons ...
*
Privacy regulation theory Privacy regulation theory was developed by social psychologist Irwin Altman in 1975. This theory aims to explain why people sometimes prefer staying alone but at other times like get involved in social interactions, discussing privacy as "a selec ...
* Solitude (painting)


References


External links

* Deresiewicz, William (March 2010)
Solitude and Leadership
"If you want others to follow, learn to be alone with your thoughts." '' The American Scholar'' {{Authority control Living arrangements Emotions Behavior