The Mental Health Benefits of Being Alone

It may not be good to be lonely all of the time as putting yourself in isolating can provide negative consequences to your mental health. But, having some alone time every once in a while can be beneficial. By setting some time where you can be alone in your thoughts, you will feel more energized and refreshed when you decide to see people again.

Unwind

You may always be around people whether it is at work, with your friends, or with your family. If you are always on the go, it will be hard for you to rest and recharge yourself. You feel like you cannot be alone in your thoughts as there is always someone there to distract you from them. If you are by yourself for a little, you will be able to clear your mind and focus on what is troubling you. By improving your mind, you are improving the rest of your health as well.

Concentration

If you are in the house with your spouse and child trying to get work done, it may be hard for you to do that if they are pestering you for something. The same can be said if you are working at a cafe or a library with a lot of people. This can send your anxiety levels up if you are dealing with a stressful task and you feel no one will leave you in peace. If you are working by yourself, you will be free of the distraction and the noise. You will notice that you can concentrate more and get more work done in a shorter amount of time.

Self-Discovery

Being with a group all of the time can prevent you from being an individual. You may feel like you have to go along with whatever your friends are saying or doing in fear of standing out too much. After a while, you tend to forget who you are and what you believe in. For example, your friends may all want to go to Mexican food for lunch, but you are too tired of Mexican food. If it was up to you, you would go get Chinese food. Being on your own can allow you to think for yourself and do whatever you feel is comfortable. You can march to the beat of your own drum.

Enhance Relationships

It is possible that you have hung out with a crowd before that is very different from you. You spend time with them because it makes you feel good that they include you in their group. Spending alone time, however, can help you think about who you are and whether the people you spend time with are right for you. It can also be that spending too much time with your friends can make you tired of them after a while. Spending some alone time will help you miss your friends enough to want to spend time with them. It will help strengthen your relationships when you give yourself space from them time after time.

Interests

Being around people all the time can make it hard for you to keep up with your hobbies. Your crowd may not have an interest in what you are interested in. Having some alone time can be a good way to get back to your hobbies. You can see that movie you have always wanted to see or go join a gym membership to help get back into shape. The point is not to let anyone hold you back from your interests. Ask yourself what you really want and go for it. 

Empowerment

If you are always around people, it can mean that you do not know how to survive being alone. By practicing to be alone once in a while, you will realize that there is a sense of empowerment to it. That you do not need to have people around you to be protected. To feel protected while being alone in the house, you can install a security camera outside of your house so that you know who is ringing the doorbell or adopt a pet that will stay with you during those lonely nights. 

Creativity

Think about the last time that you were on a deadline to come up with something creative and you could not because of all of the noise around you. You may have to come up with a business proposal or are coming up with your next art project. It is hard to come up with ideas when you have all of these distractions around you. Being alone will allow your mind to wander in a bunch of different directions to come up with ideas that would have been hard for you to think of the ongoing distractions. Some time in solitude can help you get those creative juices flowing.

How to Gain Alone Time

The best way to get moments alone can be to turn off your phone, television, and computer if you are around technology. You can also wake up half an hour earlier than everyone else in the house to be alone in your thoughts. You can also mark on your schedule times that you want to be alone to meditate, focus, relax, and enjoy yourself. While you should always want to be around people, having some time to yourself can help you get more work done and feel much happier after.

Located on the shore of Southern New Jersey, Enlightened Solutions is a recovery center that uses evidence-based therapies and holistic healing to treat addiction and mental illness. With the opportunity to learn about therapies that are keyed in to healing the human spirit and learning about new stress-reducing techniques centered around a 12-Step network, you will ensure a lasting recovery. For more information, please call us at 833-801-LIVE as we are open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.