How do you respond to someone when they ask why you haven’t been hanging out with anyone else? You know, basically lacking regular social interaction. It’s simple really. Below I’ve put together a few reasons why it’s okay to separate yourself from other people every once in awhile!

FEELING DETACHED. If I’m not in the highest of spirits, I probably won’t want to hangout. It’s not because I hate my friends, suddenly disregard family time, or want to avoid all social interaction – I just don’t feel connected. It’s almost indescribable. Also, don’t forget that I’m an introvert and I do NOT get energy from being around people often. If anything, it’s draining – which leads me to my next point.

NEED TIME TO SELF. Part of this could be blamed upon my only child-ness because I’m used to having quiet time, my own agenda, and hobbies that suit myself. As I stated above as well, I’m an introvert and introverts don’t love socializing quite as much as the rest of the population. I need time to myself or I will become an angry little humanoid. Oh, and don’t think that this makes me lonely just because I’m alone. Being alone allows me to gather my thoughts and reenergize. Thinking things out by yourself is a good thing and you may even discover who you are or want to be along the way.

GIVING SPACE TO OTHERS. Pretty self-explanatory. This is the same reason I avoid texting friends and family members 24/7. I don’t want to suffocate you with my love. They have lives and most likely want time to themselves too.

GROWING APART. Now before you jump to conclusions, this is not necessarily a bad thing. Since starting college I believe growing apart from certain friends has allowed us to grow together in new ways due to our new experiences which is awesome! At other times though, and admittedly so, people grow apart. That doesn’t have to mean you like each other any less, but everyone is continuously moving along in life.

HAVING OTHER INTERESTS. Yes, this may sound a bit sad because I have in fact separated myself from people thanks to our differing interests, but there’s still a positive underlying element. This is actually the best because when I do eventually come out of my hermit shell, my friends and I have stuff to talk about! Being the same is nice, but having different lives with varying interests makes it that much more interesting/entertaining/fun to reconnect.

Separating yourself from others is okay. I don’t feel it’s fair for people to punish others just because they want to step away for some time. Everyone is different. We all deal with stuff in our own ways and that in and of itself is explanation enough.