Is life too busy? Do you feel overwhelmed? Overburdened? A little solitude may be just what the doctor ordered.
“Time alone is essential to our sanity,” says Dr. Susan Biali, a Vancouver-based wellness expert, life coach and author of Live a Life You Love: 7 Steps to a Healthier, Happier More Passionate You.
You need solitude to rest, reflect, plan, dream, and breathe, explains Biali.
“If you don’t get enough, you’ll be cranky, stressed and even depressed.”
For many people, especially introverts and creative people, constant stimulation is a form of physical and mental stress, and time alone helps to balance and defuse that stress. It can actually lower your blood pressure and deepen your breathing.
Mothers with young children and people caring for others get the least down time.
“Almost any mother I speak to says she is dying for more time alone but feels selfish or guilty in wanting it.” Biali’s advice? “Find the right balance for you and don’t feel guilty about it. Being your healthiest, happiest and most well-adjusted self if the best gift you can give to others, as ultimately you’ll be able to give to them more effectively.”
Signs that you need an alone fix: You are irritable, you feel like snapping, you feel like screaming, you fantasize about time alone, you feel weepy, worn out and exhausted.
Check with your doctor to make sure you’re not clinically depressed.
Chances are, you just need a break.
