ALONE TIME IS IMPORTANT FOR YOUR MENTAL HEALTH
Mental Health Vibe
I have always read how alone time is important to ones mental health and when I took some alone time from a Thursday night to Monday morning, I got to know the importance of always creating some alone for my mental health.
We humans are social in nature and research has also shown that being social is good for our physical and even emotional health. Although being social has its advantages, it also causes us stress. You tend to change your behavior to fit into the group and you also become worried about what people think of you. Therefore, some of these challenges show that some alone time is important for your mental health. Having some alone time allows you to tap into your genuine feelings and thoughts whilst allowing you to break free from the social pressure.
COVID-19 has shown us both the challenges of loneliness and the lack of enough alone time. Some people have struggled with feeling lonely and isolated, whereas others have found themselves lacking enough alone time because now they have to spend so much of their time at home with family, partners or even roommates. People have struggled to get alone time due to the blurred work-life balance that has come with the pandemic as some have had to work at home, and some spend longer hours at home due the curfews imposed as a result of the pandemic [1].
Why is Alone Time Important?
- Alone time helps you build mental strength
Although we are social in nature and having strong social connections with other people is good, having alone time is equally important. Studies have shown that spending some time alone can increase your happiness and satisfaction in life. People who enjoy alone time are also less likely to be depressed.
- Alone time sparks creativity
We have heard time and time again that artists and writers always want to go out of the city for some quiet time in the cabin to work. Having some alone quiet time allows your brain to wonder thus helping you to become more creative in your thoughts.
- Alone time helps you know yourself
Spending time by yourself helps you to become more comfortable with yourself. Being by yourself helps you make choices that are solely yours without the outside influence of people around you. This therefore helps you to develop more insight into who you are as a person.
- Alone time gives you an opportunity to plan your life
Spending time alone gives you a chance to ensure that all the hard work and hustling that you do has a purpose that aligns to your goals. When you spend some alone time in a quiet space, you get the opportunity to critically think about your goals, progress made, challenges experienced and the direction you want to take in your life.
Signs You Need Some Alone Time
Here are some of the signs to watch out for:
- Losing interest quickly in doing things with other people or by being in a social setting
- Feeling short-tempered
- Finding it difficult to concentrate
- Feeling anxious about spending time with people
- Getting easily irritated by small things
Birditt et al. showed in their study that people who reported that they spend about 11% of their time alone generally had fewer negative feelings in social situations or settings [2].
Should you have any additions to this article, please leave a comment.
Lots of Love,
Marylyn Ochillo
Sources
- Pietrabissa, Giada, and Susan G. Simpson. "Psychological consequences of social isolation during COVID-19 outbreak." Frontiers in Psychology 11 (2020): 2201. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7513674/ .
- Birditt, Kira S., Jasmine A. Manalel, Heidi Sommers, Gloria Luong, and Karen L. Fingerman. "Better off alone: Daily solitude is associated with lower negative affect in more conflictual social networks." The Gerontologist59, no. 6 (2019): 1152-1161. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6858825/ .
