What Do We Fear About Solitude?
The Fear of Existing in Solitude and Loneliness
In Friedrich Nietzsche’s book “The Joyous Science” he describes the pain and fear of solitude. Sometimes, during our moments of solitude, we must come to grips with the echoes of our past.
OUR EXPERIENCES IN SOLITUDE
“When you live alone you do not speak too loudly, nor do you write too loudly, for fear of that hollow reverberation: criticism by the nymph Echo. And all voices sound so differently in solitude.” - Friedrich Nietzsche, “The Joyous Science”
When we are alone in solitude, we are forced to deal with our own thoughts and memories. In solitude and without any distractions, we are alone in our own minds. This can be a painful experience for some people, especially if their thoughts are judgmental and shaming.
With nothing distracting us in solitude, we may have to deal head-on with shameful thoughts that were injected into us from our parents, deal with grieve, or relive traumatic experiences. As humans we try to distract ourselves in order to avoid our thoughts, shameful voices in our minds and traumatic memories. To avoid this, we fill our time with hobbies, music, work, entertainment, and social interaction.
IMPORTANT QUESTIONS TO ASK OURSELVES:
Are we hiding from our thoughts and feelings?
Were we shamed or experienced trauma and are afraid to confront it?
Do we need professional help, for example, a therapist?
Have we journaled or meditated on why we feel shame, judged, or disappointed?
Answering these questions and knowing our thoughts and feelings better can lead us down a path to being more comfortable with ourselves.
Living in solitude does not have to be a torture sentence.
Solitude is bliss...