Solitude
Solitude is the lack of contact with people. Solitude has positive and negative effects on people.
Positive effects
[change | change source]Solitude is the pleasure of being alone. It allows people to focus and make good decisions.[1] Solitude allows people to think deeply and to pray. Prayer in solitude gives many people a sense of peace.[2]
Many writers, musicians, and artists create in solitude. Songwriters and poets often write about solitude. Poetry gives comfort to people who feel alone.[3] Poems give positive perspectives on being alone.[3] Shakespeare, Samuel Taylor Coleridge, Octavio Paz, Giannina Braschi, Donald Hall, and Anne Sexton wrote poems about solitude. Philosophers who encouraged solitude include Lao Tzu, Friedrich Nietzsche, Ralph Waldo Emerson, and Virginia Woolf. Woolf wrote a famous essay called "A Room of One's Own" about writing in solitude and privacy.[4] and privacy.
Negative effects
[change | change source]Too much solitude can cause feelings of loneliness. Social isolation creates health problems, such as dementia, depression, anxiety, and suicide.[5] People who suffer from chronic loneliness can get help from medical professionals, including doctors, psychologists, and spiritual leaders.[6][7]
Related pages
[change | change source]References
[change | change source]- ↑ "6 Reasons You Should Spend More Time Alone". Psychology Today. Retrieved 2020-10-16.
- ↑ Crane, Brent (2017-03-30). "Being Alone Can Be Good for Your Mental Health". The Atlantic. Retrieved 2020-10-16.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 "Poems about Loneliness and Solitude". Poetry Foundation. 2020-10-16. Retrieved 2020-10-16.
Poetry offers solace for the lonely and a positive perspective on being alone.
- ↑ Rothman, Joshua. "Virginia Woolf's Idea of Privacy". The New Yorker. Retrieved 2020-10-16.
- ↑ "Loneliness and Social Isolation Linked to Serious Health Conditions". www.cdc.gov. 2020-05-26. Retrieved 2020-10-16.
- ↑ "Why lonely people visit the doctor more often". Psychlopaedia. 2018-11-15. Retrieved 2020-10-16.
- ↑ "Solitude as Medicine". Psychology Today. Retrieved 2020-10-16.