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I would like to read more from your pen if it exists, please feel free to share more.
Marked down for that? Really? What's wrong with complimenting someone on their writing?
I have only felt truly alone twice in my life. The first time was on a platform installation in the North Sea. Imagine being surrounded by all these huge machines and pipes running autonomously without a human being in sight. The second time was at the bottom of ocean in Monterrey bay when my diving team had all disappeared to go back to the boat and I found myself with just 3 feet of visibility and no one else around.
Both times, I felt an impending sense of dread and panic creeping up on me. It was like being in room 101.
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Marked down for that? Really? What's wrong with complimenting someone on their writing?
Subjectively, it seems I've been seeing a lot of odd downvotes lately, both on my comments and others'. Haven't measured anything carefully, though.
Most people will live their entire lives never having ever been truly alone. Even when you are in your house or apartment alone, you still know there are people in the neighborhood or walking down the street and we don't really appreciate how much of a comforting effect this has on us. I have only felt truly alone twice in my life. The first time was on a platform installation in the North Sea. Imagine being surround…
There have been times when there was absolutely nobody. Actually, I enjoy going hiking really early (say, around 6am), because there is nobody.
But I find pleasure in it. As the article says, the environment and landscape help me transcend my feeling of loneliness.
On a side note, I may be a slightly different case, because I suffered some traumatic/dark experiences when I was a child. The feeling of anxiety and fear was crippling, until I found I could cope with it if I voluntarily search it out when I am feeling well.
So, this feeling of hiking in the dark, being alone, and isolated helps me control and overcome my fear and traumatic experience.
The only drawback is that if I don't do this every so often, including exercising, I can slip back to some depression.
This is more "extreme sensory deprivation is bad" rather than "extreme isolation is bad". There is lots of evidence of extreme social isolation having minimal impact on people's mental stability over long periods. It's not that we need people, it's that we need to be able to form our own narrative. We need to know what we're doing, why and what it's getting us. Extreme isolation of small groups seems much worse, espe…
Any examples of isolation of small groups? Sounds like it would make a fascinating case study.
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Any examples of isolation of small groups? Sounds like it would make a fascinating case study.
There was a family in Russia that lived in isolation from the time of the Tsars until the 1970s. http://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/for-40-years-this-russ...
A psychological gem was dropped in the middle of the article: People in her circumstances have their world suddenly inverted, and there is nothing in the manner of their taking – no narrative of sacrifice, or enduring for a greater good – to help them derive meaning from it. They must somehow find meaning in their predicament – or mentally detach themselves from their day-to-day reality, which is a monumental task wh…
> you can be an affirmation of the strength of humankind. Well, that gave me goosebumps.
HAHA, HN, you make me laugh.