People As Impediments: Is human interaction overrated?

Involvement with other people is typically seen as central to the life well-lived. 

And for most people, it is. For example, self-love doesn’t duplicate love with another. Many people prefer to be on teams than to work solo. A baseball sent from a ball-throwing machine just isn’t the same as one from a pitcher.

And yet we perhaps too rarely stop to think how often people are impediments to our lives. I offer examples in my PsychologyToday.com article today.

A Loner's Jottings

As a child, I played basketball for hours, mainly by myself. I would go to baseball doubleheaders alone. Now, at age 67, I still maximize my time alone.  

As I am happily married, I do spend time with my wife and participate in the social life she plans for us. We do live apart for much of the week, and when I have discretionary time, I almost always spend it alone.

I feel self-conscious about being a loner. I also feel the societal opprobrium. Why would I accept those in exchange for my solitude? I explain in my PsychologyToday.com article today.

Glass Man: A short-short story about lookism, loneliness, and reclusiveness

As my PsychologyToday.com contribution today, I've posted a short-short story about an unattractive man's unusual responses to being lonely.

19 and Reclusive

As today's PsychologyToday.com contribution today, I offer an interview with a 19-year old who is reclusive.

“I’d Rather Not Be a Recluse”

As today's PsychologyToday.com contribution, I offer the latest in a series of profiles on reclusive people.

A Reclusive Twin

In the latest of my PsychologyToday.com profiles of people who'd rather be alone, I offer my interview with a 69-year-old twin.

A Philosophical Recluse: The latest in my series of profiles of people who prefer to be alone.

My latest profile of a reclusive person tells of a 30-year-old who has concluded that being with people is more trouble than it's worth.

“I Thought Being an Introvert was Abnormal”

My PsychologyToday.com article today offers a distillation of my interview of Darren Love, 21 of  Bellwood Illinois.

Shutting the Shades: A reclusive person tells his story.

I've been publishing a series of PsychologyToday.com articles on people who prefer to mainly be alone, for example, The Recluse Option and Alone Malone.

Today, here is how Dennis Goodrum described himself.

A Recluse's Tale: Jamie Baier's candid story

On PsychologyToday.com, I've been publishing a series of articles on people who prefer to mainly be alone, for example, The Recluse Option and Alone Malone.

Today, I present Jamie Baier's candid description of himself and his reclusive life. 

"Alone Malone:" Story of a reclusive person

On PsychologyToday.com, I've written a number of pieces on reclusivity as a lifestyle choice, not a pathology, For example, there's The Recluse Option. Today, I offer an interview with Douglas Malone. 

Should You Give Up on Finding Mr/Ms Right?

I worry about the how-to article's pontification and aridity. So in some of my recent PsychologyToday.com posts, I've genre-bended: I've attempted to embed a psychological issue within a short-short story. For example, Slick WIlliam and Average Jane. 

Today's offering reveals the musings of a midlifer on whether he should give up trying to find Ms Right. 

A Man Is Pushed into Reclusiveness Because He's Unattractive

On my PsychologyToday.com blog, I've been posting composite stories of reclusive people. Today's is about a man moved to a reclusive life because of his appearance.

Too Often Burned, She Becomes Reclusive

In my continuing series in PsychologyToday.com on reclusiveness, today, I present a composite story of a woman, how she became reclusive, and what her life is like.

Flavors of Reclusiveness

Some people feel pressured to be more social than they'd actually like to be. My PsychologyToday.com article today describes a half dozen part- and full-time flavors of reclusiveness. Perhaps one might tempt you.

Might You Want to Be Profiled in a Book on People Who Like to Spend Most Time Alone?

I'm considering writing a book on people who choose to spend most of their time alone.  They're often called reclusive, a hermit, introverted, etc. But those have pejorative connotations. I plan to write fairly about those who generally prefer to work, play, and live solo.

If you might like to be profiled in the book, would you email me at mnemko@comcast.net? Thanks.

So You Want a More Solitary Existence: Making a reclusive life work.

In yesterday’s PsychologyToday.com article, I made the case that our perhaps most underconsidered lifestyle is reclusiveness, the largely solitary existence. In response, I received comments and private emails requesting another article about it. 

So in today's PsychologyToday.com article, I offer some thoughts on how one might make a reclusive life work.