Finding Peace in Solitude

Jan 17th is Blue Monday – officially the saddest day of the year. At Equinox, we believe it’s important not to get sucked into this story and transform any sense of depression or isolation into an opportunity to take care of yourself. Sadness is often linked to feelings of isolation but isolation is very different to solitude. Where one can be a poison, the other is medicine.

1. The difference between being alone and loneliness
2. Is it good to isolate yourself?
3. Activities you can enjoy doing on your own

The difference between being alone and loneliness

Life has certainly been a roller-coaster for us all in the last two years and phrases like ‘lockdown’, ‘isolation’ and ‘social distancing’ have become a regular part of our conversations. Many of us have come to see solitude as a negative aspect of life and loneliness is a worldwide problem that affects around 15-30% of the global population. But solitude used well can be healing.

Do you remember the days before 2020, when life was so busy, we all longed for some quiet time to rest? In many ways, lockdowns gave us time back to remember what’s important in our lives. They also provided the space to contemplate how we wished to improve our physical, mental, and social health.

Is it good to isolate yourself?

Over the long term, undoubtedly, isolation can have a detrimental effect on our quality of life. There are many documented negative effects of loneliness, such as anxiety, depression and sleeping problems. But, is it ever good to be isolated?

There are many ways that choosing some alone time can benefit us, such as –

• An opportunity to relax and reflect on key aspects of our life and relationships
• Downtime away from the stresses of your work/social life
• Creative time to dedicate to a hobby or new project
• Time away from tech to read, exercise and unplug from the digital world

Activities you can enjoy doing on your own

Creating the space to rest, relax and be still, is essential for our mental wellbeing. A healthy diet for the mind is just as important as the health of any food and drinks we choose to consume.

Here are some of the practices that I love to cultivate when I find that I have some time to myself:

• Walking in nature with no destination in mind (We all know the power of nature in
• relieving stress)
• Sitting with my back to a tree and meditating with my eyes open
• Reading for pleasure
• Watching life go by out of a window
• Writing in my journal
• Watching one of my favourite movies
• Mindful eating and drinking so that my food & drinks become medicine

Being alone does not have to mean that you are lonely. In fact, the more we choose to take regular time out of life for ourselves, the healthier we become.

Do things regularly that give you pleasure.

Start a new habit that will dispel depression and anxiety.

Let’s start 2022 making time for personal retreats so that we can do more of the things we love and find peace in our moments of solitude.