The idea of moving out of your parents’ house and living alone seems like a good choice to make in the moment, and, in fact, it could be healthy for your mental health, depending on your living situation. However, it is not as easy as you play it out to be in your head.
Living alone with your own responsibilities can increase your stress and anxiety, and that is if you are not taking care of yourself, of course. Your living space should be your sanctuary; it should be the place you feel the safest in and should not cost you deteriorating your mental health over.
In a world like ours today, living alone is increasing as students are flying across the world to study abroad and start their lives as individuals, and many others are moving out of their parents’ homes and taking on their own personal responsibilities. Although living in your own space can help you grow into becoming a more responsible individual, it also gives you a taste of real life, which, in the long run, can put some pressure on you mentally.
Understanding the Effects of Loneliness
Adults living alone have a higher chance of developing common mental health disorders, including anxiety and depression – the reason being loneliness.
Loneliness is complex, and it associates with living alone due to developing these insecurities. However, loneliness has become a legitimate concern publicly. As not only does loneliness affect you mentally, it may deteriorate you physically.
There are two different types of loneliness experienced: subjective and objective. Objective loneliness is a physical state; you feel objective loneliness when you are alone or socially isolated. On the other hand, subjective loneliness is felt emotionally – the feeling of being alone even when you are not. However, both subjective and objective states of loneliness can take a toll on your physical health and can increase risks of physical inactivity and developing depression.
- It makes coping with stress more difficult
Life, in general, can get overwhelming and stressful, and, alone, this can be more damaging to your health rather than being around the help of other people. Furthermore, social support can decrease those emotions and may optimize a neurochemical response, providing the ability to cope with stress. Social support can also make the environment you are in tolerable and can moderate your vulnerabilities to stress.
- Loneliness can mess up your eating habits
The association between eating disorders and loneliness have characteristics of loneliness relating back to multiple kinds of eating disorders such as anorexia, binge eating, and bulimia. In relation, loneliness plays a factor in either gaining or losing weight rapidly. However, for some, food is a way to numb the feelings of loneliness being experienced.
- It can lead to more unhealthy behaviors
Having multiple positive relationships in your life can help motivate and allow you to engage in healthier habits. Relationships can influence behaviors, both positively and negatively. However, married couples, for example, are associated with a reduced chance of engaging in risky behaviors such as excessive drinking and drug abuse.
This concludes that those who are married often attribute to healthier habits instead. Further, this also includes those who have roommates, partners, or are living with their family. They are less likely to engage in substance abuse, meaning that those who are experiencing loneliness may possibly have a higher chance to turn to this kind of behavior.
Loneliness VS. Being Alone
While there is a psychological disadvantage of loneliness and isolation, an increase in amount of evidence suggests that quality time alone for a certain amount is critical for a healthy well-being. As for say, some things are better done without the distraction, influences, and opinions of others around. Although some people fear seclusion, many others prefer solitude. The desire of wanting to be alone and seek personal space is influenced heavily by your overall character.
Preferring to be alone plays a role in identifying whether it has a positive or negative effect on your personal well-being. Whereas extroverts often do not prefer to be alone, introverts, on the other hand, prefer it.
Just because you are an introvert, that does not mean that you would rather be alone all the time. Even those who are extreme introverts need some social support. In addition, being an extroverted person does not mean you are not capable of having some alone time; even though you may naturally prefer the company of a crowd or group, you can grow to learn how to enjoy spending alone time.
It is important to keep in mind that being alone and feeling lonely are two different things. Loneliness involves isolation from social interactions, despite wanting to be around others, whereas being alone means taking some time off for you in between regular socialization.
At most times, choosing to be alone can be self-rejuvenating, as you can recollect and reflect on yourself. However, being alone all the time can be harmful and can feel like a punishment to yourself, or even feeling like you are being excluded from any social events. This can impact you negatively and can develop depression.
Benefits of Being Alone
At the upmost, too much social isolation can take a serious toll on both mental and physical health. There are benefits of spending alone time, just as long as you are able to balance that with maintaining a supportive social lifestyle.
Can spending time alone improve memory and concentration?
When working on a task in a team or group, you are exerting less effort to understand or even memorize information, as you simply assume that the other people you are working with will fill in the gaps needed. This is a phenomenon known as social loafing. Working alone on tasks can help you focus on your own pace and can impact your attention span, which can overall improve your memory.
It Makes You More Empathetic
Living alone or spending time alone can help you develop a greater empathy for the ones around you. Implementing alone time in your daily routine can be quite difficult, especially for those living alone who generally always have company around them.
However, with technology emerging and becoming more of a social interactive platform, it becomes more difficult for you to have genuine alone time. You may not feel the need to take a break from communicating with friends and family, as they are just a call and text away.
Cutting back on digital social communication for a minimal amount of time can be beneficial for you. Taking a break from constant social media interactions can improve your interpretation of emotions.
Looking After Yourself While Living Alone
Find your creativity – Treat your alone time as a great opportunity to get creative and embrace your hidden talents, hobbies, and even consider new ones, such as cooking, painting, or journaling – anything you have always wanted to do!
Keep a daily journal – Writing down your thoughts helps you clear out unwanted emotions. You may start noticing all the positivity that impacts your life.
Staying connected to friends and family – Staying connected with your loved ones, be it virtually or even physically, can boost your mood and make you feel less alone.
Getting out of the house – Take each day one step at a time. Get out and explore new sights, restaurants, and cafes. Go for a jog or even run errands. This helps you stay in touch with your reality and keeps your body and mind positively moving.
Get a pet – Adopting a pet can be the biggest change in your independent life. Pets can turn into your emotional support companion and can really turn your life around. You can technically feel like you are living with your best friend!
Follow a self-care routine – Implementing a self-care routine can keep your life on track and really does help with managing yourself. It could range from skincare, a bath, meditating, or even taking some time off and watching your favorite show or movie. Having some time off for yourself increases your self-esteem and self-positivity, keeping your body and mind healthy.