Are There Times You Want to Be Alone?

[HappyKoi]

I was reading a great article (http://blogs.psychcentral.com/single-at-heart/2016/09/are-there-times-when-you-want-to-be-alone-but-no-one-understands/) and it got me thinking about "alone time".  Not like when you're depressed and isolating, or anxious and people scare you, but just quiet time to be alone with yourself and your thoughts, to do your own thing and enjoy your own company.  Sometimes society says that we have to be with other people to feel happy, and yes, it is nice to socialize with people we care about.  I get strange looks from some people when I say I want to do something or go somewhere alone.  It's very different than being lonely, or being afraid.  Does anyone else value their "alone time", or is this something that makes your uncomfortable?

 

[Alex]

I do enjoy my alone time, but I am also very independent so have never really needed people around me even as a child. I do think it is good to have space, but there are people who feel lonely without people around them.


Being alone with your thoughts is healthy, because you aren't  influenced by others or it's  limited. Sometimes your own company can be the best company.

 

[111kg]

I think that it's important to do things on your own. I see a lot of times couples who do everything together and get bored in that relationship after a couple of years. Having alone time is concentrating on yourself, on getting in touch with your inner thoughts. Many people are afraid of this because they are self sabotaging and thing negative thoughts, when this should be used more as a way to find ways to stay sane and improve your life.

 

[Panic57]

I've never had an issue explaining to the people closest to me why I like alone time.  I think it was completely rude of the writer's friend to ask to stay the extra two days when she made it clear what days they were invited to stay.  For all her friend knew, she was meeting someone for business or renting the last two days.  Either way, those two days were none of her business.  I kind of get parents coming when they want, especially when you don't see them often.  I would have regretted the lost day but I would have been okay with it.  I don't feel guilty about needing my alone time, I'm nicer as a whole when I have.  It's better for everyone if I get alone time even if they never understand it.

 

[Choochoo]

I do enjoy alone time as my activities and interests are not very common or popular especially among the people here so I just enjoy it by myself most of the time and I do have fun doing that. If I could choose to have some people around me who I can share it with I would love it as well, so I guess being alone in this case is not entirely by choice, but at the same time I also do think that even when I get some fellow hobbyists that like what I like, eventually I'd also miss just enjoying it on my own. 

 

[Surrender]

I have always enjoyed having time alone with myself, but after having kids, for the first time ever I experience loneliness when everyone is gone. It's weird because I alway want everyone out of my hair so I can have time alone, it rarely happens, and now when it does it's not the same gratifying "alone" feeling I had prior to having kids. 


I think it is normal and healthy to want time alone and also to be able to spend time alone without wishing for companionship. I think people who can't stand being alone - well, there is something going on there that would be good for them to uncover.  For myself included, I have probably lost too much of myself to my family. 

 

[beautifullybree]

I spend a lot of my time alone. I choose to because I find peace in myself. Spending a few hours drawing or writing with no Interruptions soothes the soul. My bf often asks me why I like to be to myself so much and I try to tell him its nothing personal. 

 

[DylanRowan]

Yep. I don't mind being alone. Sometimes it makes me happier since I don't have to worry about the people around me. But there are times when I really want to be someone. Most of the time, I won't mind having a little time for myself. Also, I don't think other people will mind that you want to be alone. Everyone has necessities.

 

[x0xLikeMex0x]

I think that alone time is really really important. You get a certain doze of social interaction every day and sometimes it gets too much. You need time to recover from it. Right now I don't need as much alone time as I usually do when I'm not on sick leave and have to work with clients almost every day. But when I do have to work (as a sales advisor in a known retail company), all that social interaction tires me out by the end of the day. And if I don't get my alone time, I'll become mentally unstable. If I'm lucky I do get alone time, but mostly I don't because I share an apartment with 2 other people and I share a room with one of them. So I usually get my alone time while the others are at work or at night when they are asleep. It's a snowball effect really. 

 

[kelden]

Everyone needs some time alone, is healthy for the sake of sanity. Anyone in their house needs to look for their own privacy space for themselves, otherwise, they will be found quite stressful to living in there. Some people like reading and relax themselves; while silence is almost absolute, without interruptions, others like loneliness to work on their projects in peace or practice a skill like playing instruments. Others just want to jerk off or give a speech to themselves or anything. But my point is, loneliness time is important for anyone. 

 

[sidney]

Oh I actually love being alone with my thoughts or being physically alone. I do know a couple of people that said to me that they feel "sad" when they are left alone at home or if they have no company, but not me. I find it odd when people seem to have the need to be active or have company all the time. I see it as being a bit too dependent on human contact.

 

[Laneorexorcist]

I don't spend too much time alone, and when I'm by myself, Iimmediately try to do something relatively productive that distracts me from that weird feeling, I think that no matter how hard I try to convince myself that I like to be alone, at the end of the day if I'm just doing things by myself just like going to watch a movie or even traveling, I end up feeling lonely. I think that I need to learn to be by my own and actually enjoy that undeniable part of me that I like to hide. 

 

[Aree Wongwanlee]

Yes, I need time to be alone. There are a lot of things which I do alone. When I work online, I have to be alone. I need to concentrate on my work and I don't need a buddy to distract me. When I am studying I have to be alone. I need to concentrate on my lesson and I don't need anyone to disturb me. Do I feel lonesome? No, I don't. Why should I? Those things which I do alone are best done alone. There are things which are best done with company and I do it with other people.

 

[MandyMarieB]

Oh, absolutely. I prefer to be alone more than with people for the most part. (Though I do have times where I'm just so lonely it hurts.) But I need my space, and I need my quiet. I need to feel like people aren't around me judging me. I need to feel safe. And it's just better for everyone, because when I get stressed out/overstimulated, I get snippy. And I hate hurting the few people I do have in my life.

 

[WorkAtHomeGal]

I love being alone, and crave it more then anything else. I love my boyfriend very much but there have been points in our relationship where one of us was between jobs and home to much. During those times I sometimes long for my privacy. We will be working opposite shifts soon so how much we are around each other will decrease a bit. I probably have hurt people before with wanting to be alone. For instance being alone to much or avoiding hanging out to be alone. I am not sure if that is a bad thing though...