Alone time
Nation Free editorial
Alone time is a few minutes or even hours all for yourself. It can be spent at home, at a bookstore or library or even in an unknown city. There are no rules or regulations or rituals regarding alone time. Sometimes you just feel you need to be alone and you find a place you feel the most isolated from others. A need for some alone time arises in most of us. It starts like a mild breeze on a hot day and can end like a tidal wave that hits you with great force. This need, when not addressed, could turn into anxiety or depression.
However, many assume needing alone time is a sign of mental weakness; that it is only the troubled who need time away from other people, or in most cases, those familiar faces. This is far from the truth. We can’t continue to spend night and day with the same people and at some point or the other, we need to get out. If you feel like a trapped animal in your own home or school or workplace, plan a vacation which will allow you to explore and discover. Many people, either in their youth or old age, go away to ‘find themselves.’ This often involves reading and meditation. However, there is a difference between alone time and time to find yourself. If you think they are similar then the alone time you spend will be useless since it isn’t easy to find yourself. Further, it could be said, alone time involves time to relax and give your mind a break, which the search for oneself doesn't offer.
Spending time alone could involve reading, writing, painting or any hobby you like. It could be the time you spend listening to music, your earphones blocking out the outside world. It could be the time you spend traveling. If you take the bus or train to your workplace or school, you could use that time to pay some attention to yourself. Often, we neglect our own selves. We don’t see how drawn our faces look, how exhausted we are. We spend our lives tending to the needs of other people, that we sometimes forget that we, too, have needs and wants.
While we may try to ignore it, we cannot turn a blind eye to the calls of help from our bodies and minds. While we can eat more, get more exercise or take medicine for whatever our body lacks, it isn't as easy when it comes to our minds. Mental distress could put an end to your life, either through death or zombie-like behavior. This is why you need to get out once in a while and be a bit selfish and make it about you. Needing to be alone is about taking a step back from your life. It is a time to realize your life still means something when you are away from all the people you call friends and family.
Alone time is a few minutes or even hours all for yourself. It can be spent at home, at a bookstore or library or even in an unknown city. There are no rules or regulations or rituals regarding alone time. Sometimes you just feel you need to be alone and you find a place you feel the most isolated from others. A need for some alone time arises in most of us. It starts like a mild breeze on a hot day and can end like a tidal wave that hits you with great force. This need, when not addressed, could turn into anxiety or depression.
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| Pic by Sakuna Gamage |
However, many assume needing alone time is a sign of mental weakness; that it is only the troubled who need time away from other people, or in most cases, those familiar faces. This is far from the truth. We can’t continue to spend night and day with the same people and at some point or the other, we need to get out. If you feel like a trapped animal in your own home or school or workplace, plan a vacation which will allow you to explore and discover. Many people, either in their youth or old age, go away to ‘find themselves.’ This often involves reading and meditation. However, there is a difference between alone time and time to find yourself. If you think they are similar then the alone time you spend will be useless since it isn’t easy to find yourself. Further, it could be said, alone time involves time to relax and give your mind a break, which the search for oneself doesn't offer.
Spending time alone could involve reading, writing, painting or any hobby you like. It could be the time you spend listening to music, your earphones blocking out the outside world. It could be the time you spend traveling. If you take the bus or train to your workplace or school, you could use that time to pay some attention to yourself. Often, we neglect our own selves. We don’t see how drawn our faces look, how exhausted we are. We spend our lives tending to the needs of other people, that we sometimes forget that we, too, have needs and wants.
While we may try to ignore it, we cannot turn a blind eye to the calls of help from our bodies and minds. While we can eat more, get more exercise or take medicine for whatever our body lacks, it isn't as easy when it comes to our minds. Mental distress could put an end to your life, either through death or zombie-like behavior. This is why you need to get out once in a while and be a bit selfish and make it about you. Needing to be alone is about taking a step back from your life. It is a time to realize your life still means something when you are away from all the people you call friends and family.
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