I’m slowly becoming a recluse. (2024)

FAQs

What causes a person to become reclusive? ›

There are many reasons why people may choose not to connect with others, including anxiety, fear, shame, vulnerability, potential rejection, and more. It can be a reflection of an underlying mental health condition.

As we age, we tend to become less impulsive and more reflective, which can lead to a greater appreciation for solitude and time alone.

A recluse lives alone, works alone, eats alone, and generally stays away from other people. Anti-social old hermits are recluses, as are a lot of students during exam time. In the early 13th century, a recluse was a person who shut out the world to go meditate on religious issues.

Being a recluse can be a sign of depression, and depression can result in being a recluse.

Some people are simply less social and value solitary pleasures and pursuits. If you're more introverted, leading a reclusive life is not necessarily damaging. However, low levels of socialization can be a sign of depression and other mental health disorders.

Introversion appears to be a stable facet of personality influenced, like all personality traits, by genetics as well as environmental factors. Neuroimaging studies show different patterns of brain activation in introverts and extroverts, suggesting basic biological differences in the wiring of brain circuits.

Hormonal changes. First, our dopamine levels decline as we age, making elderly people susceptible to dopamine-deficient depression. It's also well known that declining estrogen levels during menopause, along with resulting physical changes can cause women to experience irritability, sadness and anxiety.

As people get older, they increasingly focus on their more important relationships, often turning to family and close friends. This active reorientation towards a few, particularly close relationships could explain why ageing humans live in ever smaller social networks.

It's easy for someone with depression to become isolated. Withdrawing from other people, even best friends and close family members, results from feeling sad, hopeless, ashamed, fatigued, and apathetic. Social isolation is dangerous and can increase the risk of certain health problems.

Can a recluse be happy? ›

Depending on the context of the situation and your personality and preferences, this could be a good or bad thing. Some people view loners in a negative context. However, some studies show that being a loner can lead to happiness for the individual and could actually be good for your health.

It can also be due to psychological reasons, like: apathy, a phobia, schizoid personality type, or various anxiety disorders. It should be noted that this practice may not be voluntarily as one may become a recluse due to illness.

They may even have lived through a breakdown themselves, when a few too many responsibilities and excitements, late nights and emotional dramas inducted them brutally into how fragile our hold on reason can be. They are living quietly to guard against folly and paranoia, anxiety and despair.

Brown recluse are most active at night. During the day they rest in hidden locations within the structures they infest. They are fond of building their retreats and resting on wooden surfaces, such as inside furniture, cardboard boxes, wall voids and in the wood framing of crawlspaces, basem*nts and attics.

Reclusive people may be extremely shy and introverted and prefer lifestyles spent away from other people, especially people they do not know well. Various mental disorders, including avoidant and schizoid personality disorders, are characterized by reclusiveness.

Avoiding social contact is a common pattern in people with depression. Some people skip activities they normally enjoy and isolate themselves.

Some people accuse recluses of being selfish, but they decide it's fair: They're not imposing on others and they don't want others imposing on them.

There are many potential causes for this solitude. Intentional causes include introversion, mysticism, spirituality, religion, or personal considerations. Unintentional causes involve high sensitivity or shyness.