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There is a huge difference between choosing to be alone and being forced to be alone. It can feel like the difference between choosing to go for a swim, and being tossed in the water.

My uncle had early-onset dementia. He definitely wasn’t doing *well* pre-COVID, but when the pandemic hit and the person who had been visiting him at home for enrichment activities wasn’t able to visit him anymore, his cognitive status rapidly declined and he ultimately died. He was always destined to die early, but I firmly believe that the lack of that interaction made him die much sooner than he otherwise would have.

As someone who didn't have a lot of friends growing up and was very socially anxious, the chronic loneliness hits the hardest. I can be with my friends (or coworkers) having a good time and yet still feel alone

For a moment, I was worried there that, due to my introversion and anxiety on top of the COVID-19 pandemic, I was going to get dementia and die like 20 years early. But thank god scientists invented Simon, the robotic companion with the soothing English accent.

People with chronic illnesses often go through periods when they can't leave the house - so if you know someone like that, talk to them. It works better face to face, so visit if you can or video call if you can't. I was in that position - living alone, too sick to leave - and it got really scary there for a bit.

I have been very isolated since I was a child, people make me feel anxious and I have no friends or family. I think I'm ok, I'm more numb than unhappy and it's not all the time. I just hope I am a good person.

I think the pandemic caused a lot of loneliness and mental illness from social isolation. It has been hard on all of us even if we haven’t realized it.

I grew up in foster homes and was adopted at 8 by some sick people. They locked me up in a half bathroom between the ages of 8 and 11 for 2 1/2 years. I was beaten, starved and molested daily. I escaped, very bravely I might add, and ended up in a crowded orphanage. I hated being around all those noisy people. I would run away just so I would be put into isolation for 24 hours. I craved isolation. I'm 56 and I still crave it. Always being in fight,flight or freeze mode when around ANY human will change your psyche to crave isolation. Love and blessings to all who were tortured as children. 💜

2:55 - Chapter 1 - Craving human interaction 5:35 - Chapter 2 - Brain damage 6:30 - Chapter 3 - Dementia 7:50 - Chapter 4 - Agression 9:05 - Chapter 5 - Stress 10:45 - Chapter 6 - Hallucinations & ghosts 12:25 - Chapter 7 - Solitary confinement 15:15 - Chapter 8 - Robert king - Chapter 9 - - Chapter 10 -

During and after lockdowns, I had 3 years of acute clinical depression that couldn't be resolved with antidepressants, exercise or an improvement in diet. Even today, although I am over this depression, my mindset is still not the same as it was back in 2019. I just wonder how many others have been damaged in this way the world over.

This video really shook me to my core. This is EXACTLY what ive been going through and I really want to thank you for this. I plan to share it with my therapist and a few others... I spent 1½ years in a Christian cult disguised as a homeless shelter. When i was finally able to escape, I was so terrified and confused. Agoraphobia was really bad from that (we were discouraged from leaving "campus"), but honestly a blessing in disguise, because I spent the next 6 months (this past winter, in the north east US) in a 5'x5'x10" storage unit. The only time I could leave was at night and on Sundays, when the property manager weren't there. Towards the end, I became so hopeless that I was barely leaving at all, until a new case manager finally came through and was able to help me connect with special resources. On March 20th of this year, I was finally rescued. I now rent my own apartment in a small city. It is my first time living alone outside of isolation, but it feels very similar since I still struggle with agoraphobia. Adjusting is so hard, and even harder to explain. This video made me cry, since it struck me on such a personal level. Thank you, Simon, for giving me something I can share that might help me a little more.

My parents were divorced when I was 12 and two years later I was sent to live with my father for a summer because I had become such a handful. Part of the reason for the divorce was the failure of my father's business and during those two years he'd pretty much given up on life because at that time he was living in the storage area underneath my Uncle's pharmacy. It had an area in the back that was a small bomb shelter (leftover 80s nuclear war paranoia). It had a door, a small bed and a bathroom attached to it. That was where I spent 95 percent of that summer. I didn't know anyone in the city where the pharmacy was and I wasn't keen on hanging out with dad since he was also an alcoholic and a violent one at that, so I basically just watched VHS tapes and listened to music all day long. I would go weeks without leaving the room and only seeing my dad in passing and nobody else. Before that I was outgoing and a fairly nice guy, but when I went back to school I was paranoid, aggresive and nearly as socially adept as before. Luckily that seemed to fix itself, mostly, after about six months. I never considered that spending that much time alone would be bad for me.

What is so deathly annoying to me about loneliness and being alone is that, often, I cannot associate the want of being with people with the want of doing something. I greatly enjoy 'lonely' activities such as drawing, playing music, reading, and other solo activities. These are hard to do with other people, but I enjoy it the most. Meanwhile, doing sports, team activities, and other things relying on massive amounts of interaction are exhausting and I cannot gather the motivation to actually start those things. Hence, I do not do things with other people because of the activities they will want to do. It's frustrating beyond belief.

I've most definitely noticed a difference in how I react to social situations after becoming more socially isolated. When I'd hang with people all the time at school, I was awkward but never felt nervous around people. Now I rarely interact with people in a way that isn't work-related, and it always fills me with all kinds of illogical anxiety

In February of 2020 I was assaulted, and the investigators handling the case said that they know the guy, he is a dangerous individual and had attacked other women around my workplace where the incident occurred. While in the process of getting a restraining order, the lawyer said that I should be extra vigilant around my house, because there is a good chance that the guy knows where I live (there was some level of online stalking involved too). Anyway, before the whole process of the restraining order could be finalised, Covid hit, and it was highest level lockdown. I never went back to the court to get it done. I couldn't leave the house during lockdown, but also, I didn't want to leave the house. About a year before lockdown, a friend and her two kids came to live with me when they needed a place to stay when they hit a rough patch, and I found it tough with all the noise and movement in my house, so I pretty much stayed in my bedroom for most of the two years they lived with me (I'm in my early 40's, not married, no kids, just two dogs and a cat, so my environment is usually pretty quiet). When they moved out it didn't end well, and I didn't care to invest in friendships anymore. At first it was devastating to lose the friendship, but suddenly it was so blessedly quiet. And my bed was so comfy. And the outside world was dangerous with cruel people and Corona, so I stayed inside. From 2020 to today I have probably left my house less than 50 times, which includes going to my office, going to the doctor (I've been in therapy for Major Depressive Disorder and severe anxiety with PTSD since 2013), and seeing my parents and other family. I still work from home, from my bed. I order my medication, my groceries, my clothes, everything I need online to be delivered to my house. I do my therapy sessions with my psychologist online, and get my repeat prescriptions from my psychiatrist through a phone call. People scare me, the world scares me, and I only feel safe at home, on my bed, with my two dogs and the alarm system switched on. Or with my mom and my brother (my dad, as well as several other family member and friends passed away in the last 18 months). And I do realise that I'm not living, I am just breathing from one day to the next. Hopefully, after having watched this video and realising the (very scary) situation I have allowed myself to become comfortable with, I will be able to overcome being terrified of the world and join everybody else in the outside world again soon...

I got diagnosed with fibromyalgia when i was 15 and i had to stop going to school after the first three months due to my health. It's been a few years now and I have just been alone without my friends ever really reaching out. Isolation is a different type of pain.

I was abused as a child with months of solitary confinement as a regular punishment. It was also just easier for our parents to keep us children locked in our rooms instead of interacting with us like a healthy family would. It messed me up but I was really gaining some ground in healing from it in my adult years a decade later. Then the lockdowns happened. The world went insane and all my issues from having been forced into isolation as a child came back full force. I couldn't tell anyone that chronic isolation would be so catastrophic for people's mental and neurological health because no one would listen. Everyone was too gripped by panic to stop and think. I'm glad this topic is finally getting some attention, but at the same time I'm still pretty livid about having to re-live the abuse I suffered as a kid.

When I had covid-19, I isolated myself in my apartment by myself for 10 days. Didn't leave once. I had so much entertainment at my fingertips that it would take me 30 lifetimes to consume, I had family, friends, and a girlfriend to talk to and drop stuff off at my door for me. It was still awful, I can't even imagine how much worse it is for people with nobody anywhere in the world.

Prolonged isolation plus other stresses caused me to fear socializing. I'm 66 and always been sociable. I had hermit moods, but they didn't last long. I can deal with strangers. Even be charming. I fear seeing people who haven't seen me in 6 years or more after moving back to my old city. It's like Imposter Syndrome. They knew me when I was active, useful, a community organizer, on fire with enthusiasm. I'm not that, and between ill health and this fear, I don't know how to fix it. I'm not entirely solitary. Living with grown daughter who is totally supportive but by nature an introvert. This video gave more insight about the brain fog I've had and the importance of becoming social again.

I prefer to be alone most of the time. There is a huge difference between being alone and being lonely.

These kinds of things really worry me - I have endured long periods of loneliness for most of my life. In different flavours, sure: As a kid no friends, during covid a week or two alone before visiting my parents, then a week or two alone again. In general as an adult simply a few days to a week, not counting going to the store. I have been smart all my life - my brain is my greatest asset. If this has literally damaged me that would be terrifying. Luckily I had my games, social media, and books.

The worst part of Covid lockdown for me was when it ended. I can go months without human contact and get stressed just thinking about the hordes of people I'm going to have to navigate through as they stare at their phones and stagger like drunks.

Looking after my wife dying of cancer during the lockdowns actually helped. Instead of spending our lives apart (she was a laboratory research scientist and I was always travelling abroad on business as an external pharmaceutical auditor) we really got to know each other more even though we’d been married for 25 years. I miss her so much now. I’m now alone, and hate it.

Sometimes I think there is something wrong with me because I can be alone for a very long time and not feel lonely at all.

This was very surreal episode for me. I'm anxious around people and from personal experience know that couple days of complete isolation makes me feel better if anything... What was shocking for me is the fact the symptoms people in isolation describe? I get them when I'm forced into room full of people. Early in my life when I thought I need to be normal, I attended parties etc. I would get hallucinations and "talk to my hand" after a few hours and literally give a kingdom for solitary confinement cell (which usually ended up to be toilet for me). I guess brain is very strange instrument and what kills one helps the other :)

Just saying, this new intro edit is absolutely amazing. Props to the whole crew

During covid I lived with a partner who would not spend any time with me. He came home from work told me I was "too much for him" and then sat in the bedroom laughing with his friends on video games. For at least 12 months he was my only social interaction apart from the odd phone call as I wasn't able to work due to a knee condition. It was like a prison sentence. Seriously damaging. Luckily I left him and am now happily engaged

I spent 10 days in solitary confinement and I suffer from PTSD caused by my experiences in isolation. I was a covert DID system (I wasn’t even aware or diagnosed, and with no noticeable symptoms, but as it’s formed during childhood it would have been something I’ve always had) After solitary confinement, I’m so traumatized from the experience I’ve been diagnosed with Dissociative Identity Disorder. (The time in isolation caused my already predisposed mind to split and fragment as a way to cope). I could have gone my whole life not knowing and being somewhat functioning. Instead I’m barely able to function without tremendous social, psychiatric and therapeutic supports. I used to be able to live on my own and support myself, while now I’m on a waiting list for a inpatient care facility for disabled adults.

There's a prisontuber I'm subscribed to who did six months in the hole (what they called solitary when he was incarcerated in Oregon.) He already had unaddressed issues, and although he appears to be a truly rehabilitated member of the community, he admits that six months in solitary, even if you're able to interact with your fellow inmates to some degree, it's something that permanently affects you.

A human being all alone with one's thoughts can be a dangerous thing.

Back in college, I would spend days by myself studying or just lounging around the house relaxing with no other company besides my cat. This was in the days before smart phones and social media and I often did not take many calls, if any, during some of those periods. There must be something wrong with me because none of that ever bothered me as I have always been fairly anti-social. My grades never suffered and I turned out fine later in life with a family, kids and what not.

Well then this is something I definitely didn't want to hear. I've always been very solitary, and I don't feel loneliness at all. As such I have had next to zero social interaction for the last 7 years. Often going months at a time without a single word to another person. But that's exactly how I like it, being alone with my thoughts endlessly is bliss to me. So I'm just going to pretend there is no problem with that, because I don't want to change that, and I don't have any idea how to change that even if I did want to.

my very much beloved, gentle giant of a step dad was in solitary on and off for 20 years (in for nonviolent offence, held for threatening to testify against the guards abusing other prisoners). He still talks to himself as loud as he would talk to another person when he's alone, because he adopted this habit as a means of staying sane. He's 70 now, a free man for longer than he was locked up. These things never leave you.

When I was in elementary I went to a few schools that would put me in a blank white room with a chair and desk as punishment. I’d stay there for hours and this would happen often. I also have visual snow(seeing “tv static”) ,and didn’t understand that as a child so I thought I was going crazy. It was an awful time.

What’s weird is the choice to be isolated matters a lot. If I choose to stay home for a week straight that’s fine. But during lockdown I was not fine. What I did those days was mostly the same but just having the choice was a huge difference.

I wonder what the differences are for hermits or near-hermit level introverts. I usually easily spend weeks at a time alone in my apartment and it doesn't bother me. When I stay too long, I will get my social fill literally just by occupying a heavily populated space, but without even needing to interact with anyone

This is so weird to hear for me. It takes days for me to crave social interaction, and then I can get it by sitting alone in a crowded restaurant with a good book.

As someone with crippling agoraphobia and social anxiety, it amazes me how quickly most people get a bit frantic or even psychotic from being alone. It's different if you are isolated in a room with nothing to do though, I will say. As long as there is a book or TV or something, I'm good for quite awhile.

I wonder what it is that makes some people able to handle isolation better? I was stuck at my trailer in the woods for 3 weeks during winter. I loved it. I didn't see a single person for 2 of those weeks. I guess I had my animals and I could walk a little way to check my phone (it didn't work at my trailer, like a 1/4 mile away). So that helped. But generally I have to force myself to be around other people. I enjoy my own company though. I love quiet. I can sit very still for hours and be pretty content. I wish sometimes I was better with people.

I live alone right now. Own a home and everything, but I have no friends. I was picked on a lot and my home life also wasn't good as a kid. I used to cry to be left alone, now I finally have it. I just go to work and then come home to my happy place. I used to be a OTR truck driver, I like that but had to quit because of the people with illegal extra bright headlights. (Solar Retinopathy)

I guess I just don't feel the same as most people. I tend to like being alone. I have just had so many bad experiences when it comes to people I just prefer my own company. When you have a best friend for years only to find out one day that they were never your best friend and they literally only ever invited you places so that they could make fun of you with their real friends later. Then find out that he actually set me up several times by having really attractive girls he knew start talking to me and flirting with me in my DMs and those girls would screenshot everything and send back to my fake best friend to, again, make fun of me with his real friends. Then have those girls come meet up with me and actually record me getting rejected by them leaving me completely confused and just plain hurt. Imagine finding all of this out one day after almost 4 years thinking that you were at close as brothers. It broke me. That's just 1 of the many people who have done things to shatter my self confidence and trust in people. Now I see only the bad in people. Even when they are doing good I can't bring myself to believe them. I only ever see people working angles or using people to get what they want. It is no longer possible for me to form relationships with people. I enjoy being totally alone. COVID lockdown was like a vacation for me that I didn't want to end. Hearing everyone complaining and talking about how depressed they were just made me despise people even more for being so weak and ridiculous. Like I used to enjoy having friends. But being forced to be alone has taught me to love myself and it has taught me self reliance and all sorts of good things that I think people lack these days.

I'm one of those people who prefers to be by himself. I sometimes go on road trips where I won't interact with another human being for days at a time. I find it relaxing. I come by it honestly, my father is the same. While we enjoy the company of family, there are times we need to be alone. That having been said, there is a massive difference between voluntary solitude, and enforced isolation.

I spent years alone as a young man, sure you're still young but 36 is the oldest I've ever been, and the slight crimp my back gets to reminding me every time I get out of bed. I forgot a lot about what life was like in isolation, but we all have bumps in our lives, I'm as fine as I can be, and I hope you are too. Anyways, laughing out of the blue, and talking monotone no matter how hard I tried to stop doing it, then I started talking to myself. There's a lot more that happened over the years, but the laughing thing, and the monotone voice, as well as talking to myself was just me going crazy I felt for the longest time. I still can't make eye contact easily (Or at all) and at times my voice is just loud, and being around other people. At the end of my experience, the person who had been a tent pole in my isolation, told me that they made me a "Nothing". I would rather be a nothing, then be cruel. But I was a back burner, not part of their lives, and they let me know, and yet I kept the faith, beat up, no one's friend because I can't talk to people without slurring my voice, or stuttering, looking at my feet, talking about the dark parts of my life without knowing I was even doing that, or you get that one well-trained jerk who notices that you keep looking the other way and not at them who think they can know you just by noticing you looking away. My hands still shake, and I have a habit of spending time staring into space. Isolation can screw you up bad, but I don't think I have to say that, because that's why most of us are here. Besides talking about what isolation did to me, I can't say that for sure because I am not a phycologist, and most of this sounds like long-lasting depression to me... Brains are complicated, but I know full well that for 5 years, I was alone, but I also know I'm not a "Nothing". The good news for me was, was that I didn't feel any stress from C-19 because when no one left the house, it was the closest I had felt to being around people since 2010. Wait, other cool thing is I stopped eating so much during my isolation, so I'm skinny? I swear I never broke, and the person who made me a "Nothing" is pissed that I never ended it, and it makes me happy to smile at them, knowing full well that they didn't hurt me. I'm not mad, but f!@#k you.

this video made me realize that i really should start to get more socially active and interact more with others outside of work especially since it made me realize that i've slowly started to lose interest in everything and often just can't think of literally anything

I live alone, I'm in my 60s, divorced, and all my family passed on and I still work full-time in a busy grocery store. I do it for the social interaction. As I get older I will need to scale back my hours but I realize especially post pandemic, there are few opportunities to socialize. Since lock down, the groups I had belonged to disbanded. I do not want to waste away staring at four walls. I cannot afford cruises and travel.

Huh, I've actually noticed how similar my craving for socializing has been to the feeling of craving food or sleep, but I assumed that it was just a product of how much time I spend alone and unable to socially interact with anyone. Interesting to know it's a fundamental need

I've been nearly Isolated for almost 10 years now, I wouldn't wanna live any other way, the only thing that drives me crazy is not having video games or something to watch and do, as long as i have those i can be left alone for months

I must have been really screwed up because my life as a hermit is much calmer and peaceful than my days as a "social butterfly". I speak to only 4 people grand total and it is terrific.

The video seems to imply that the issue is not isolation itself, the lack of stimuli is. I am by myself for many days in a row and don't feel any of these awful symptoms. I'm no doctor but I suspect this is due to the fact that I am engaged in reading books I find compelling.

Being a recluse in the "Isolation Apocalypse" as I've heard some call it has been actually pretty redeeming! Strangely enough, if you're an introvert that prefers to be by yourself, it doesn't seem to affect you much. I do feel bad for the extroverts though.

for the last 10 years I've had almost no contact with anyone besides my bff. for 10 minutes 5 days a week I have to interact with a few people for maybe a minute then I'm back home alone and I love it. other people bother me they don't listen and talk about really boring things mainly about themselves.

I mean you also have to take into account the mental stimulus you provide yourself during lockdown. As a chronic learner and digital hermit since the mid 90s it's the opposite for me. I genuinely enjoyed lockdown and know that am in a rare minority, then again what I lovingly call "vault life" is not for everyone. Lockdown was the reason I found your channels (and watched 5-6 of them in their entirety). Greatly expanded sets of skills I just didnt have the time to try out during "normalcy". Again, it's just not for everyone.

The pandemic truly thrust many of us into severe levels of isolation. I hope others can break out of that isolation in one way or another. ❤

I prefer to be alone than around people. When the pandemic hit and we got sent to work from home my mood was great while everyone else on team was suffering. I went a solid 3 weeks without ever encountering or even talking to a single person and it was bliss. In fact my mood took a hit when i had to start dealing with people again once they relaxed all the lockdowns.

During the height of the pandemic, I spent several months in an off-grid cabin in the middle of nowhere. I had almost zero direct interaction with any other human being. I maintained the compound, read philosophy, and even wrote my own book. I have never been happier than my time in the woods. Did I break my brain?

The past 10 or so years I've lived in a form of isolation. I still have mental stimulants in the form of my video games and KZfaq but that's about it. From the outside, I seem relatively normal(normal as any other person with autism), but I have changed mentally and the few people I do occasionally interact with have said as much. I'm far from sane, and my forecast is looking to only get worse as the years stack up.

Personally, I love being alone with my thoughts. I find isolation therapeutic.

it's amazing how truly delicate the human brain is. as a brain tumor/TBI survivor I was living alone the following three years and saw people/spirits in my apartment like Simon says on his other channels, it's PROBABLY a gas leak (and sadly there was a pinhole) but i now am convinced it was also the isolation

In the US I've seen people get solitary confinement for well over 15 days in the last 15 years. Hell i got 30 days in solitary confinement over "contraband"... so much for a "last resort" lol

I love being by myself. Can't understand the NEED people have to never hear their own thoughts.

I certainly know I came out of lockdown feeling like an anxious, shaky shell of the person I once was going in. I would say it took probably a full year of gradual reintegration to society and therapy before I felt anything like 'normal' again. Even now though, I can't think of the lockdown times without a pang of the trauma coming back. I remember how I would watch hours upon hours of Mystery Science Theatre 3000 for comfort, just to feel like I was sitting around with a group of friends. It was the only thing that kept me going in the darkest times of the lockdown. I truly believe this shared experience the world went through will be a major source of study as a significant moment in modern human history for decades to come.

I feel that this is somewhat over-generalised.I am in my mid 50's and have never felt any real need for human interaction and it's always something I've done when I've had to and not by choice. I am perfectly happy to go for weeks or months without interacting and I am certainly not aggressive or mentally bereft as suggested in these studies. Additionally,I find it hard to comprehend why so many seem to be utterly unable to be on their own for more than five minutes at a time.

It's not about social interaction. It's about brain simulation. That's why I listen to this channel and many others.

Being isolated is great. I dont have to deal with everyone's annoying bullshit.

I grew up in Alaska. My dad had a remote hunting lodge. By remote, I mean 185 air miles and a mountain range from Anchorage. No roads. In my late teens and 20's I would stay out there in the winter alone, as the care taker. Just me and 2 dogs. Suffice it to say, I have been more alone for longer than most human beings. Honestly, I liked it. I had a snow mobile. I took correspondence courses (i couldn't turn my work in till spring but, we worked around it.) I had a vcr and lots of recorded shows and movies, music, books, cooking, art. As long as you keep yourself engaged, it's not as bad as Simon makes it seem. At least for me it wasn't.

Both my parents died of dementia. I'm 64 years old, and I have spent the last four decades in isolation. I am an aspiring writer, and I feel like I need a lot of time alone for contemplation. Being isolated helps the brain to see "remote associations" I read a book where this guy said that pursuing a career as a writer gives you two options. You can stay alone and write, or you can get out in the world and carry different mental forms with you. I don't know how many people have had this experience, but I've met bums on the street who seemed to have a very intriguing way of expressing themselves. They can do artful things with spoken words. The poet Emily Dickenson spent her life in isolation. I am noticing signs of deterioration, though. I'll get up to look for something, and I will look all over my room and then find out what I was looking for was right in front of me. I'll think of something to tell people, and I will forget it before I write it down. I've always had emotional swings, so that's nothing new. But I'm thinking that all this feebleness might be the product of mental congestion. They're giving me pills to help my memory. You might have noticed that I tend to jump from topic to topic in my writing. It makes paragraphing difficult for me. It's nothing new. I've always had this problem. I'm trying to get rid of the bad habits in my writing. I anticipate having about 12 - 15 more years of writing before I lose my cognition and die.

As a homeschooled introvert growing up, I learned just how bad isolation is when I quit my MMO for a year or so. Lets just say it could have ended much worse then it did, but dogs are great.

Weird, I’ve always thrived on isolation. But it’s always been my own choice, it’s never been forced on me. I’ve also usually had cats to keep me company, sometimes dogs too. Although I’m polite & quite capable of being sociable, I’m always happiest with my own company.

This depends. If you have things surrounding you, TV, music, gaming etc then I enjoy actively avoiding human interaction.

I am an introvert with C-PTSD, OCD, recently diagnosed adhd and Ehlers Danlos hypermobile type. So much anxiety! I worked on my mental health while I stayed in isolated; I have healed my BPD with EMDR and therapy (with new meds). I have my daughter with me(19). Perhaps since we had each other, we actually enjoyed isolation-she is agoraphobic with ptsd and adhd too. Extroverts may have suffered but introverts did not. My therapist said many of her patients have said the same. It was a relief for them to drop the social mask and tend to their lives without pressure. So Simon, don’t generalize.

So, someone who was capable of killing a loved one. Was driven crazier in solitary. Then released to the public. NICE!!!! What great "justice" we create.

Tbh I love extreme isolation, it's being near people that drives me cray

I was isolated most of my life growing up and it still effects me at 42.

I've been in near solitary for about 12 years and all of your channels and all of your knowledge are almost the only contact I ever get...

People actually talk about Isolation's impacts all the time, but it just gets ignored when convenient to do so.

The worst part of my life was when my husband left me, my dad quit talking to me, my older son quit talking to me, two of my closest friends cut off ties with me, and finally my boyfriend left me. I think even after that, a couple more people dipped out, and I was sooooooooo depressed. After everyone began to talk to me again, eventually, it got better. But goddamn, I really thought I was ok alone, until I was completely alone 😭😭😭😭😭 . . .

Social media is a big part of this problem. You get the illusion of interaction without the substance, like zero calorie food.

There is also a huge difference for people that are introverts... They last way longer with far less people to interact with.

Joke's on them. I was already insane before going in!

The not so hidden cost of the COVID lockdowns to our social physical and mental health 😬

I always find your videos involving the brain interesting. Though it wasn't an experiment, I did have an interesting experience with regards to how the introduction of something can completely change how one feels isolated. For medical reasons, I had to stay in a ward with nine other people for monitoring. I was there for 30 days, and even though we were all attached to our beds by cables, we played games, did puzzles, and over all actually had fun. Ten years later, I went back to the same ward for the same reason. I was in a ward with 11 other people now. I've never felt so isolated. The reason? They had allowed Wi-Fi in the ward. No one talked to each other and I felt totally isolated. Thankfully I only ended up staying a few days.

Can't tell you how glad I am to have my favorite channel back.

I worked through the entire pandemic. watching people die wasn't the worst part, extreme isolation was. I would walk down streets with no one else around and while walking could fully see things that used to be there but were not there now. Hallucinations are scary. You question what is real, even after it's over. When everything was reopened, i did and still do the is this real?, There are people here? How many people are here. It seems like alot. It's not good.

Very interesting, you taught me more than I ever wanted to know! I remember Mythbusters doing an experiment on cabin fever, and I notice in myself that after a while, I start fidgeting and getting restless and have to get out for fresh air and talk to people. That, and being able to occupy my mind is what kept me sane during lockdown!

As a child I spent 28 days in isolation in a hospital. It wasn't like today when they allow visitors and the staff are kind. I was literally left alone in a room being given only the most basic care by staff who never spoke to me. I left the hospital after three months with PTSD, an eating disorder, and insomnia which plague me to this day.

During the lockdown and mask mandates i spent 2 years in near complete social isolation. I have been born hard of hearing and rely on lip reading. Because of the mask mandates, this made communication very difficult for me and in some cases near impossible. A month could go by without even saying as much as 3 sentences to anyone. I had to endure for 2 whole years. On top of that, being born autistic didn't help. I spent years teaching myself to socializing and holding up conversationings. All this work has been wasted away because of the isolation i went through. I can no longer hold a conversation with anyone for more than 30 seconds, it just falls flat and than the awkward silence sents in. I get embarrassed by this making it more difficult to talk to another person and leading to a spiral effect which continues to get worse

The fact that I've been isolating myself after years and years and years of abuse and finally getting away....I am now starting to worry about myself

What I feel is the worst thing about solitary confinement is not that you're alone, it's that you can't leave. You're stuck in a tiny space. What I genuinely think can make a person crazy is not having space, not being able to leave, and having nothing to simulate you like an ever-changing scenery when you're walking outside. I really doubt it has to do with other human beings being there. That's just what I think. Not everyone wants to be around people, myself included.

I guess having a few chronic illnesses that has forced semi isolation due to having to avoid overly excerting my body (just doing a grocery trip leaves me so tired that I can easily sleep about 36hrs in 48hrs apart from extremely drowsy trips to the bathroom or getting easy to prepare food). Taking showers, doing laundry and getting myself to doctor appointments doesn't fair much better to the exception fatigue to my body and brain. Luckily I have my tablet for some entertainment but even using my tablet for entertainment ends up using a crazy amount of brain energy that I often have to sleep more. Having several severe chronic illnesses really sucks the energy out of me and having a few severe chronic pain conditions really just puts the cherry on top for the amount of isolation that I regularly end up having to go through. Life sucks ass when multiple severe chronic illnesses are thrown into the life blender. Maybe I should consider making videos of the life I'm forced to live through and my body has to compensate for......

introverts be like "pshh, rookies."

Oh dear that opening statement “choose to shock themselves rather than sit with their thoughts”. That’s a rather bold assumption of motivation. I’d like to see more about this “study”

It truly is an exquisite form of pain. It dissolves you.

I prefer to isolate it’s so much more calmer than having to deal with people I honestly feel safer when I isolate

Conversely, we don't often talk about the emotional effects of being around people when you don't want to be. People are awful and I'm always glad to get away from them. The fact that 70% of people would rather shock themselves than be alone for a short period just proves that most people are stupid idiots and it's better to be alone and stay away from them.

I'm an antisocial personality and have kept to my self for the last 25 years. No more content with society other then what is absolutely mandatory. The brain matter issues seems to be able to be prevented by being extremely creative and deliberately learning new difficult skills. I'm happy alone and don't see any reason to change my life style. To those who are lonely I wish you best of luck finding a true friend

Fantastic. I knew I wasn’t just being paranoid about my brain shrinking. I go weeks without talking to another person. The only time I talk is to myself in a whispered tone. Sometimes I sleep for over 15 hours just because I can’t stand the thought of another day. I can’t get out of this hole.

It's horrific to notice the symptoms in yourself. That's all I've got to say.

Isn't this reduced or lessened simply by interacting with people at the shops or any other person to person exchange or any kind?? What about video games, like RPGs. Where you are mentally projecting yourself into the game. As you're still interacting, just digitally. Are there tests for these inquiries??

I went through something like this when I picked up a job trucking that drug on into Covid. By the time social distancing came, I started treating dogs like humans given I didn’t even see my own family much at that point. Dogs were the closest thing I could actually relate to.