Solitude Day

History of Solitude Day

Solitude is often seen as something negative. It has been linked to loneliness and antisocial behavior, and it can be seen as selfish and ineffective. Indeed, too much time alone can be harmful to physical and mental health. But, the reverse is also true - a person who is always engaged in social activities can suffer from burnout. Balance is so necessary that Solitude Day is a chance to control this balance and bring more benefits.

While solitude is often difficult to find in our fast-paced world, when experienced, it can have psychological and physical benefits. Both mind and body benefit from rest and respite. It takes a lot of energy to talk and interact with others and conform to social norms. Time away provides an opportunity to recharge, helping to increase focus and think more clearly. Being solitude, concentration and productivity can be improved and increased quickly.

Solitude allows time to reorganize thoughts. It facilitates reflection of past social interactions, so it is possible to determine if they are being approached as they should be. It offers perspective and offers an opportunity to grow socially, so improvements can be made to future social interactions. Loneliness also contributes to self-discovery and finding one's own voice.

Solitude increases the ability to think deeply. When constantly engaged in activities, people cannot practice deep thinking, and if they spend all their time with other people, this is most likely the case. Productivity and creativity benefit from deep thinking, and people are also better at problem-solving if they have time when they're not distracted. Moreover, it allows the development of skills that people enjoy doing. To be able to master many hobbies, such as writing or playing an instrument, solitude is necessary. With Solitude Day, you can experience many of these benefits.

How solitude benefits you

• Solitude allows the body to catch up with the mind. In this insanely aggressive existence that most people live in, we are always leaning forward - our mind is in front of our body, thinking, analyzing, and planning ahead. Only when you stop and get out of the ruts of everyday life can your mind and body be in sync again.
• Solitude allows your brain to rest. In an overstimulated world, our minds are constantly in an overactive mode. Loneliness allows your mind to get rid of all the endless chatter from your surroundings - radio, Internet, conversation, street noise, traffic sounds, and barking dogs. Solitude activates the parasympathetic nervous system (the branch of the autonomic nervous system that calms you down). When you can take time for yourself, your muscles relax, your blood pressure drops, and your heart rate slows. Think of solitude as an adrenaline-resistance system that kicks in when there is no longer a need for the fight-or-flight response.
• Solitude prevents burnout. Burnout is what happens when you're under prolonged, intense, and unresolvable stress. You run out of physical and psychological energy, and you act disorganized, inefficient, and erratic.
• Solitude enhances creativity. Solitude helps your mind out of all the stress of everyday life and allows you to focus on anything. It allows your brain to think outside the box and come up with unique, extraordinary solutions to common problems. That's part of the reason why artists - painters, sculptors, musicians, writers - spend so much time alone.

How to celebrate Solitude Day

Solitude has a bad reputation. It is so associated with solitude that solitude has more of a negative connotation than a positive one. More and more elderly people live their days without visitors, and society paints celibacy as a miserable existence that must be avoided at all costs. So, naturally, society at large decided to create a national day for this misery. Happy Solitude Day!

Certainly, in large doses, involuntary solitude can make us feel lonely. Occasionally, the most dedicated introverts need a cup of coffee and a chat. Even if it means dressing the dog up for a tea party and having a good, long vent. But engaging in social activities for too long will leave anyone feeling exhausted. Here are a few reasons why this Solitude Day you should spend a few hours happy alone.

It cleans your head

For the social butterflies among us, being with other people may not feel like the effort. But when we integrate into society, we are putting in more effort than we realize. Talking consumes energy on its own, but subconsciously, we are also adjusting our behavior to conform to unwritten social norms. This causes some people to lose more energy than others (am I an anxiety sufferer?), but in the end, this effort will bring us down.

Having some alone time and perhaps some silence will give you a chance to relax and recharge. Our daily challenge is enough without neglecting our respite.

It rearranges your thoughts

Have you ever argued with someone and thought about the perfect return a few hours later? Thanks for the alone time for that little chestnut. When we're alone, we reassess our most recent social interactions in our heads, sometimes with eye-popping details (another shouted at my anxious siblings.) We consider what we said and did and the outcome of the conversation (or confrontation) could have been different if we had said something different.

By looking back at our social interactions after they have happened, we grow socially in figuring out the best ways to socialize. Sure, we learn best by doing, but without time for reflection, it's harder to grow.

It allows us to fulfill ourselves

Hobbies are what feed the soul. Not only do they make us feel comfortable, but they bring out the best in us, developing the skills we love to use the most. The most creative hobbies like painting, writing, and playing musical instruments require a lot of alone time to improve and develop your passion. Just stopping for an hour in our busy days to devote to a solitary hobby, creative or otherwise, gives us a sense of accomplishment and growth.

As with everything in life, socializing and solitude is a balance to keep and a different scale for everyone. If you're not used to having some time to yourself, use this Independence Day as an opportunity to give yourself the self-care and self-love you need to stay healthy and fulfilled. To the rest of you curled up under blankets with a torch and a book, we salute you and hope one day we can spend some time to ourselves your way.