The Power of Solitude – The Untapped Resource

Summer is a great time to spend with family, friends, and loved ones by the beach, in the mountains, or touring a city. While we know from extensive research and experience that the key to a happy and healthy life is community and connection with others, there is also a need for solitude and spending time with oneself. So much of our daily lives are impacted by the “tyranny of business”. We are taking care of family, friends, inundated by social media messages and politics – living in unsettling times calls on us to find those moments of self-care and reflection, both which can be done in solitude.

Many of us feel overwhelmed because we think we can do everything and that we must do everything. It can be very hard to select what to do next resulting in what Dr. Kristen Lee calls decision fatigue. As helping professionals, we think we can do everything and that we have to do everything, and that can make it hard to select. Spending time alone is a great antidote to this. It’s just you and your thoughts and an invite to interiority.

We forget that the process of interiority, a characteristic of being private, inward, or introspective, is vital to our wellbeing. Being alone and unplugged affords us time to consider everything and nothing. The mind needs to rest – take a mental vacation from day-to-day stress. Being in solitude allows us to relax and allows us to freely associate with whatever comes to mind, without any judgement or coloring. We choose which thoughts to spend time considering or like clouds in the sky, let them go one by one. Often artists talk about getting creative sparks or solving problems when they least expect it. Solitude furnishes the individual with many surprises once you can let go.

One of the proven ways of letting go is to employ mindfulness. Mindfulness is a perfect way to be in solitude. Mindfulness has shown that it can be helpful for improving overall well-being and mental health by helping individuals manage stress, regulate emotions, and enhance self-awareness. It involves paying attention to the present moment without judgment, fostering a deeper understanding of one’s thoughts and feelings, and ultimately, promoting greater emotional resilience and calmness.

It’s important not to confuse solitude and loneliness. Loneliness is a complex and usually unpleasant emotional response to isolation. Solitude allows us to self-reflect, reduce stress, and support personal growth. A good start in self-reflection is to consider: What are my core values; what things are most important to me; how can I design my life in a way that really helps me and to live those out?
Finally, self-care is the practice of taking action to preserve or improve own’s own health. Self-care is different for everyone and depends on your experiences and culture. These include but are not limited to: saying no to outside demands; taking long walks without being plugged in; stretching; grounding exercises, deep breathing, and sound meditation. We should look at solitude as a time to reenergize, refresh and renew so that we can do the work we need to do. Remember: you can be in the world but not of it, all the time.