Living in Social Isolation

[InannaM]

Even with billions of people in the world and several social media platforms, it is possible to find oneself shut off from the world and living in what amounts to social exile. You might be someone who shuns interacting with others or may be shunned by them. You may have cut off contact with family and have no friends for whatever reason. In many cases, this could lead to despair born of loneliness or depression, but what if you decided to use the time alone for introspection, and for improving yourself from the inside out? Instead of focusing on the lack of social interaction, you could benefit from this time alone as an opportunity to work on becoming the very best version of yourself. Working out, meditation, reading self improvement books, practicing or learning a skill, or developing a new hobby are just some of the things that you could be doing during this time that will not only distract you from the feelings of loneliness, but also serve to make you a more interesting person with much to offer for when the time comes that you come out of isolation, you no longer have to worry about falling back into the patterns that led to the situation of social isolation in the first place.

[Raja33]

The most curious thing about social isolation is that it happens mostly in big cities around the world, especially in Western culture. This fact is telling us that social isolation is not due to 'lack of people' on a physical level, but it is rather a mental state caused by the sensation of 'feeling alone'.  

[a_quiet_bunny]

Some people have a much harder time finding people that they can trust.  It's not simply 'feeling alone'.  A person can feel alone in the middle of family.  If you don't have someone that accepts you, it's easy to feel alone.  Without acceptance, mutual trust, and affection, you are alone.  Some people are much more sensitive to that feeling than others.  

[ReaperCat]

Whatever the reasons for the isolation, total seclusion can be very difficult to manage, psychologically. I once knew of a Buddhist monk who had to removed from his seclusion by ambulance after a year and half without contact with the outside world. Though he was medically healthy, the seclusion was very hard on his mind, even with meditation and introspection available to him. He eventually returned to his practice so, evidently, one can train themselves to overcome the difficulties associated with isolation. I realize this is just my personal anecdote but I found it interesting.