“Being alone for such a long time helped me to grow and become independent. This taught me to not rely on others for entertainment or good will. Being alone is a blessing in disguise and can be quite fun.“

– A friend named Ashley

Being alone and being lonely are two different things, contrary to what the media illustrates. One can be alone and love every second of it. One can be with a group and feel lonely.

Being alone can be good for one’s health. Being alone can force you to truly pay attention to your body’s needs and cause you to make realizations and changes about lifestyle choices. Being alone teaches you to trust yourself because no one else is near to judge. This is especially important in a time when media tells you you’re wrong about feeling or thinking a certain way.

Being lonely can cause someone to feel insecure, depressed and anxious. This is not healthy for the mind or body, because, as people say “everything physical is mental and vice versa.” Feeling lonely may drive people away, as one may unintentionally make people feel as though they do not appreciate their company.

If someone is lonely, it may be because they are not attuned to their own needs. As many spiritualists may ask, how can you be attuned to the needs of others if you are not attuned to your own?

Here is the link between aloneness and loneliness. Being alone can reduce your feelings of loneliness in general. When you are alone, you really feel your presence, whether positively or negatively. Once you feel your presence, you can start understanding your flaws, and in that accepting them. Once you accept your own flaws, you can accept the flaws of others. Once you accept the flaws of others, you start becoming a better friend because you are not judging them. This will cause a higher mutual enjoyment of the friendship.

Being alone can seem very hard at first. Boredom and excess thinking can happen when you spend lots of time without distractions. Finding things you love to do and doing them is technically a distraction from boredom, but it is also a great way to connect with yourself. This is because you are being productive and you are being mindful of what you are doing. When you are mindful of something you love, it is hard to be mindful of all of the negative thoughts and feelings too.