10 Aug Does Living Alone Makes You Mentally Ill (Psychological Effects)
Does Living Alone Makes You Mentally Ill?
It can have a deep impact on your mental health?
Living alone gives you the opportunity to develop your own self and learn to feel comfortable in your own true self.
It could be as simple as enjoying your own company or pampering yourself. Living alone can also make you identify your negative traits that could harm you and how you can stay away from it. But obviously we have pros and cons for everything which includes Does Living Alone Makes You Mentally Ill too.
Likewise there are many side effects of living alone for a long time. It can cause an increase in blood pressure level, rapid weight gain, weak muscles, trouble focusing, etc.
The recurring feelings of loneliness if left untreated and may also increase the potential risk of mental health issues like anxiety and depression. Psychologists have mainly identified four types of loneliness:
- Emotional loneliness: Lack of meaningful interactions or relationships can give rise to this.
- Social lonelinesss: When a person feels there is lack of enough valuable social connections.
- Situational loneliness: It is generally caused due to shifting circumstances and at certain times only.
- Chronic loneliness: When one stays lonely for a fairly long amount of time it slowly starts affecting their state of mind, happiness and overall well-being.
Let us now understand the reasons behind mental illness
Do You Know What Causes Mental Illness?
Loneliness can be caused due to different life circumstances like physical isolation, divorce, breakups, etc.
The loss of a loved one creates a deep void inside the mind and heart of a person. Moreover, loneliness can also be caused due to an underlying mental condition depression.
Depressed people often tend to withdraw themselves from different social situations. Sometimes this withdrawal can lead to physical and social isolation. As per research, loneliness can contribute and become a triggering point of depression.
The feeling of loneliness can also be brought by inner consciousness like low self-esteem. Most of the time, lack of confidence can also result in loneliness in the long run.
As people with low self esteem think that they are not qualified or deserving enough for either respect or enough attention. It is also likely that a changed personality or different characteristics of personality determine loneliness.
For example: Introverts feel it difficult to make new bonds and social connections. Hence, it can further increase the feelings of loneliness.
Is living alone bad for mental health? The answer is partially yes. Living alone for an extended period of time can leave a significant impact on your life.
There are numerous negative effects of living alone. Let’s investigate further to know more.
You can also read about >>> Warning Signs of Mental Illness.
Learn about the challenges of living alone:
- Poor diet: Living alone can lead to consuming low in nutrients and unhealthy food. As per research, people who live alone do not spend more time either cooking or buying groceries.
The number was found more for males than females. Living alone leads to sad feelings due to which consumption of junk or unhealthy meals rises.
- Depression: According to a survey, living alone with depression and anxiety increases the chance of taking antidepressant pills.
This depression can be a result of social isolation, lack of trust and being alone.
- Heart issues: People with heart problems like atherosclerosis who live alone have died earlier over the span of four years than people who chose not to live alone.
Living alone can cause a lot of stress due to social loneliness that may have an effect on the physiologic effects on the cardiovascular system.
- Early death: People who live alone are more at a risk of dying young because of the unhealthy and uncertain lifestyle that they follow. They mostly do not take medicines on time and neglect medical care.
- Living alone makes you unguarded: Being alone all the time is necessary and not beneficial to everyone and every time. Perhaps the best time to develop your inner self and belief system is through isolation.
Everybody has an inner critic inside themselves that constantly finds opportunities to mock and criticise one’s own self.
These complicated inner voices are more loud and clear when you are left alone by your own self and thoughts. Hence, this is one of the significant psychological effect of living alone.
- Living alone can increase your mental health suffering: Does living alone make you mentally ill? Yes, living or staying alone for a long period can be harmful for physical health. Research has proven that loneliness, solitude or social isolation can increase the percentage of early death up to 30%.
According to studies. Having or building strong social connections and bonds has an enormous impact on the physical and emotional health leading to its well-being.
Though you like to stay alone by yourself it is crucial to keep social connections and ties intact.
As we said pros and cons go hand in hand, so let us now read about the positive effects of living alone.
Amazing Benefits Of Living Alone
Read to know some of the amazing benefits of living alone:
(i) Productivity of the brain increases: To work properly your brain needs to maintain its balance. Though the brain requires social ties and connections to work correctly yet some alone time is equally important for the brain to recharge and rejuvenate.
Being active all the time prevents the brain from getting enough rest and refuel. When you are alone, you are not distracted by anything apart from you.
You get more and better time to concentrate, relax, and think with greater clarity. It is the perfect chance to refresh both your mind and body simultaneously.
(ii) Functioning and concentration rises: Ask yourself, Am I really being able to concentrate properly in the presence of someone in the room?
Human beings can really be distracting. When interruptions and disturbances are kept at the lowest level, you will be able to focus and get your work done in a lesser amount of time.
Your focus can be interrupted by little disruptions from your family workers or coworkers.
Hence, it gets difficult to get back to an important project. The smallest vibration from a text message or email notification might break our concentration and reduce our performance level.
Also learn about How social media addiction can affect mental health!
(iii) Living alone encourages creativity level: It is most of the times that the creativity level increases and flourishes while being alone.
Research done by research studies have claimed that people are inclined to come up with the best ideas and innovation methods when being alone rather than a group of folks. People and creativity in particular, are vulnerable to criticism from others.
This is one of the main reasons why many of you can think and act more clearly while being alone. Additionally, the lack of interruptions from other factors helps you to reflect and think in various ways.
(iv) Living alone strengthens relationships with others: For a number of reasons, spending time alone by yourself and working on yourself can help you to make your bonds and relationships stronger with others.
First of all, a healthy relationship should always have two people who are independent but held together by emotional and physical connection.
In order to keep the spark alive in a relationship some amount of space and independence should be given to each other.
When you spend some time alone it also helps you to enjoy your time with people more because it stops you from feeling overwhelmed.
Spending time alone helps you to understand each other better. Introverts are frequently seen having a high degree of compassion and self consciousness. So living alone can help them to make healthier ties with others.
Let us now move towards the final verdict.
Concluding Thoughts
There is no doubt that humans need alone time in solitude to relax and perform well. Nevertheless, too much alone time or a lack of social engagement can be harmful to one’s mental and physical health.
Hence, Does Living Alone Makes You Mentally Ill. It is very important to understand when we need alone time in order to build creativity and productivity as well as time with others to keep your mind positively engaged in the right direction.
If you feel like spending too much time with others all the time makes you mentally exhausted then switch to spending some quality time with yourself.
It is important to maintain the balance between human companionship and your own time irrespective of being introvert and extrovert.
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