We have all seen those posts on social media, whereby it says,

“No internet, no electronics, no wi-fi and no social media for three months and you get 3 million.”

Perhaps, many of us even wanted to take on this challenge; not because of the HUGE sum of money that comes with it (which is, of course, an advantage), but because we want to isolate ourselves. Isolate ourselves from the big, bad reality.

It’s not common for you to think like that. Dreaming of yourself to be somewhere in another part of the world, far away from the reality is something I keep thinking of. But have you ever wondered, what makes us believe in such a manner? Is it stress? Depression? Loneliness?

Whatever your reason might be, know that there is a significant difference between social isolation and loneliness.

There are some who feel re-energised when they socialise with others while there are the ones who recharge themselves by spending time alone. Which one are you? A lot of things depend on this very question.

Social Isolation vs Loneliness

Firstly, isolation is physically being separated from other people – whether it’s intentional or not. On the other hand, loneliness is an internal feeling.

In that way, you might separate yourself from people, like not attend a party or go to the park for jogs where you usually meet people, and not feel alone at all. Similarly, you can be surrounded by people and still feel as if you are the only one in the room. That’s the deal.

So, which one can you relate to better?

If it’s the first scenario you can relate to, there’s actually nothing to worry about. Sometimes you just don’t feel like answering to those “how are you doing?” when clearly, you are not actually doing that well.

In tune with that, there’s nothing wrong in taking a little break and getting a little alone tie. You deserve it! That’s not even social isolation. It’s called balancing yourself to meet your solitude needs. The real problem starts when you start actively ignoring people, avoiding people you care about and not opening yourself up to people’s feedback or anything else.

Why do we want to isolate ourselves from everyone?

Well, we all have our reasons. But does that necessarily mean you might be suffering from bipolar disorder? Could be or could not be.

Sometimes in life, I take the dumbest decisions ever. It could be something as simple as working late on a Friday night rather than joining friends for a dinner party. But then when the workplace becomes empty, I start to feel lonely and think “Gosh! Everyone’s having so much fun without me! I just said no to seeing anybody. I refused a company. I, myself chose to be here, but why am I feeling lonely?”

Feel me? Well, that’s not it.

This is just a mere example of what happens when I actually go on to listen to what my depression is telling me to do instead of focusing on something that works for me. But when I listen to my feelings of depression, the outcome is something I am never happy with.

Depression never makes rational decisions.

Is Social Isolation a Good Thing to Do?

I wouldn’t say it’s something good, but it should stop. Stop listening to the depressed voice in your head and isolating yourself from reality. Think of a plan to make better decisions when the depression “voice” is making the decisions for you. Here’s what I teach myself to do:

I make a list of all the different situations that often happen when I’m depressed just so I know what to say/do to avoid. For instance, a friend calls over to my phone and instead of answering, I just watch it ring and disconnect it all by itself. And then I feel terrible!

Sometimes I know that some of my friends are meeting up for lunch and that I will be invited too. But I feel that they aren’t important or I have too much work left to be done, so I just don’t show up at all.

I never plan ahead for the night or the weekend when I am depressed. That’s how I always end up alone in my house.

If you are familiar with any of these scenarios, do you still think that my life is different than yours?

The thing is, no matter who we are, something will always make us isolate ourselves, and that’s none other than depression. No matter how much we are loved, something will ever teach us to crawl into one corner like an injured animal. But let’s not be nasty monsters and stay away from people whom we need in order to survive.

If you are going through a concussion, get help as soon as you can, from whoever you think can help get you out of this situation. Don’t let some isolation behaviour exacerbate into depression.

We are a team. Anyway, if you think you are depressed and feeling to isolate yourself, call someone.