Loneliness and solitude – The daily blog of behavioral and cognitive economics

Solitude Is a Skill

As an introvert and an only child, I was fortunate to learn one skill early on in my life: how to be alone. I didn’t even realize it was a skill until people would tell me, offhandedly, that they “hated to be alone” or even that they “couldn’t be alone.” For many years, the line between lonely and alone was blurry. Some days, I craved connection, and wished for a sibling. Other days, I relished my own company, writing detailed stories about the squirrels living in my backyard, etching charcoal “self-portraits,” and choreographing elaborate dances to the soundtrack of Hercules. My surplus of solitude forced me to find solace in it, and so I did. ….[READ]