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isolation indicates a separation from others that it not necessarily voluntary or a situation that is one's ideal choosing.
I like this definition because it helped me put solitude in context. I think solitude is a connection with self; isolation is a disconnection from self.
I think this article explains the difference well. As some astute posters have noted, solitude is actively sought to satisfy an inner yearning after whereas isolation is actively avoided and imposed by outside forces. Solitude expands a person's energy and mental activity whereas isolation contracts it and drains it. It's similar to being alone versus being lonely.
I do best feeling connected to humanity when I am not being a total recluse but where I limit my dealings with people to either brief interactions with most people or occasional socializing for longer periods with a few select people. I go out and interact with people at they gym stores, and restaurants. Once a week I have a quality get-together with a friend where we walk around the mall for two hours and solve the problems of the world. But nothing makes me feel lonelier, more isolated, and disconnected than being with a person one-on-one or in a group where it's the obvious that not only is my presence not really valued, but it's barely noticed---like being with a friend who is just playing on her phone the whole time and wouldn't notice, at least for a long while, if I never came back after using the restroom. I did a lot of Meetup groups for a while, thinking that the constant meeting and interacting with people would lead to deep human connection, but never felt lonelier than with people who were escaping themselves by getting out of the house but who didn't know how or want to expend the energy to connect.
Solitude is richness of self, loneliness is poverty of self.
Great statement and I will add a quote that I embrace as well. I don't remember where I discovered this, likely somewhere in my reading and it suits me to a T (tittle, “to the smallest detail”) and self imposed.
I've never found a companion who was so companionable as solitude.
To me, it is preferable to suffering fools gladly I can barely tolerate my own stupidity sometimes let alone that of others. Of course there are exceptions due to the burden of mandatory social obligations.
Quote:
Originally Posted by otterhere
So, if not perceived as a hardship, is it inherently unhealthy or deleterious?
If it is desirable, preferable and is self imposed...I don't find it unhealthy or unfavorable but rather beneficial for mental and physical health for some people, myself included.
Quote:
Originally Posted by bus man
I don't know the technical psychological definitions. They both speak to a state of being alone. To me, solitude is choosing to be alone; isolation is being forced to be alone. Solitude is something that one might consciously seek ("get away from it all") but isolation might be imposed by others (such as someone being shunned by their community). One might be refreshed by solitude but oppressed by isolation.
isolation is only oppressive if one lets it be.
the trouble is that the general obsession of human beings is to herd together, but not all of us require this, so for most isolation is something to avoid, but for some of us, a small number granted, isolation is the ideal and nothing to be frightened of, indeed it is to be enjoyed.
Solitude has a positive connotation. Reflection. Introspection. Pleasant time away from it all. Isolation has a netural to negative connotation. Involuntarily separated.
Solitude has a positive connotation. Reflection. Introspection. Pleasant time away from it all. Isolation has a netural to negative connotation. Involuntarily separated.
solitude merely means one is on ones own, not with other people. solo.
isolation means virtually the same, except that other people are not just not with the solo person but some way off.
Well, that's basically how I defined the two terms, adding that solitude is also usually temporary while isolation tends to be longer-term; more chronic/permanent.
I'm slightly more interested now in whether or not it actually has negative effects on the human psyche. After all, solitary confinement is generally regarded as the harshest punishment that can be imposed on a person as punishment. Is it really? Is it the solitude itself, or something else? Perhaps the lack of control or just the implication that it's SUPPOSED to do harm (the power of suggestion)?
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