How to enjoy solitude without feeling lonely

Have you ever wondered how much time you get to be alone with yourself, how much time you create for yourself to enjoy solitude in your life of constant running and catching up? Maybe you don't like the idea of being alone that much. However, you do not have to feel lonely every time you are alone. There are many ways to enjoy solitude without experiencing this feeling.

Do you feel familiar with spending time with people you are not happy with, with activities we do for the sake of doing them, with crowds we are not that happy to be in, just to 'feel less lonely', even though we know we could enjoy it less?

While we are constantly trying to make time for something, we cannot make time for ourselves, we cannot spend quality time with our loved ones, we try to stay in touch by socializing online, but we cannot meet our need for socialization except for a temporary feeling of satisfaction. For this reason, we turn into individuals who 'feel lonely in a crowd', and while we feel lonely even among so many people, we fall into the misconception that being physically alone will make us even more lonely and deepen our sense of loneliness.

However, physical loneliness and emotional loneliness, i.e. the feeling of being alone by choice, are two very different concepts. Since being alone is one of our most basic needs to get to know ourselves, to regenerate and regain our energy, it is a situation that brings positive benefits to our lives, unlike emotional loneliness. 

Being alone is a basic human need that has many benefits such as renewing the mind, restoring the energy the body needs, increasing productivity and creativity, listening to one's inner voice and realizing oneself, thinking and dreaming deeply, developing problem-solving skills, and deepening the relationship with others as well as with oneself.

In our lives, where the internet has become a part of our lives and we are in constant communication, it is difficult to find even a few minutes to take a break from the notifications on our phones. However, studies agree that wanting to be alone is a healthy behavior, that it does not harm the individual as long as it does not trigger a feeling of loneliness, and that it even improves the quality of life. Being alone on purpose from time to time and creating 'me times' where you can be alone;

It allows you to refresh your mind, relax and regain the energy you have lost during the day.

It improves your concentration skills and increases your productivity.

It gives you the opportunity to discover yourself and listen to your inner voice.

It helps you think in more detail and digest what you think.

It allows you to find permanent solutions to your problems.

Improves the quality of your relationships by making your communication with the people around you deeper and more meaningful.

Aside from not having time to be alone, the reason why we avoid being alone on purpose is that we think we can only fulfill our unmet social and emotional needs by having a large number of people around us every second. However, regardless of how many people are around us, we can experience the feeling of loneliness at the point where we cannot feel that we are important, valued and worthy of love, even when sharing the same house with someone.