# "No Man's is an Island..."



## Speakless (Jul 27, 2014)

"No Man's is an Island"

-John Donne

I hate this quote so much. My therapist used this very said quote during our session. He says he doesn't like how isolated I am, how I need to reach out to my friends and family. I doubt they care about me and I honestly don't need them to care about me. 

The scary part is I've actually been feeling a little, just a little lonely but at the same time, I want to remain the Lone Wolf I've always been. He said it's my just my mind telling me to this is some kind of defense mechanism to avoid having my feelings hurt or something. Anyone felt this way or had their therapist tell them something similar?


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## Umpalumpa (Jan 26, 2014)

Nice, i like this quote, but not in the way he put it.


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## Ender (Aug 5, 2012)

For ever there is an equal and opposite quote or song


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## AlwaysImagining (May 25, 2012)

Well quite frankly he's right lol. Humans aren't meant to be alone for the most part. Of course you don't feel like being with people when you're more of an introvert or down in the dumps, but staying isolated all the time can never help you. Some people really do go crazy that way. And yes, it's a defense mechanism. I was that way too when my severe depression started at 16. My mom forced me to see a therapist and I didn't even want to leave the house. When I think back on those times I get a bit mad at myself for being so suborn, because maybe by now I would've been a lot better, instead of just a little. Be glad you have a therapist, some of us can't afford one.


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## TicklemeRingo (Jan 11, 2013)

I think your therapist has missed the point of the quote/poem.


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## 0blank0 (Sep 22, 2014)

That's a song "no man is an island"


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## 0blank0 (Sep 22, 2014)

Maybe you could listen to it and get some perspective from it?


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## WillYouStopDave (Jul 14, 2013)

Of course I'm not an island! I'm Nowhere near big enough and I'm not flat.


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## Zack (Apr 20, 2013)

Garfunkel looks like a clown now.


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## Zyriel (May 20, 2011)

Lol you can say, all islands formed from volcanoes. So without fury, you aren't a volcano, nor an island, but a mountain retreat, serene with a lakeside view! You want to invite people to that retreat, but maybe the prices are too high or something, need some attractions and positive promotion of such! People usually ski on mountains, but it needs that lift to get up there, sometimes they climb them too, but only the brave souls!

Can tell him about this crazy Japanese officer that got stranded on one in WW2 and didn't surrender for 29 years lol:
http://www.cnn.com/2014/01/17/world/asia/japan-philippines-ww2-soldier-dies/

Or about people who buy islands too, like Marlon Brando:
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/marlon-brandos-private-island-tahitian-704989

Or Mark Zuckerberg lol:
http://www.businessinsider.com/mark...s-in-hawaii-for-more-than-100-million-2014-10


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## To22 (Apr 6, 2012)

Of course. I get the same message all the time. 

People tend to be extreme in how they interpret me saying "I just need some space. I just need some privacy. I'd like to live alone". People often respond with a "You'll go crazy never seeing people. Keeping closed off!"...

I never said I wanted to live on the moon with no human contact, geez. I just want some solitude while I'm at home. I don't want to be disturbed while I'm coming back to baseline. I don't need to constantly be surrounded by people, if anything, it makes things far more difficult. 

I love people and all, but I love peace and quiet almost as much. I need a more even balance than most people, is all. 

Oh and I strongly believe that some people have different needs, that every once in a while there is an exception to the rule. It irritates me when people think that one way of living is better for everyone. Plus, so what if you end up crazy? =P


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## apx24 (Jan 31, 2012)




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## Persephone The Dread (Aug 28, 2010)

And no man is an island, oh this I know.
But can't you see?
Maybe you were the ocean, when I was just a stone.


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## benj009 (Jan 11, 2014)

There is a show that focuses on prisoners who spend long stretches in isolation. It's not pretty. They howl at night, throw their food outside, and flood their cells. The time spent in isolation makes them nutty. 

The Marlon Brando and Zukerberg examples are bad, because they aren't really isolated. They have their loved ones with them. The Japanese guy who spent years on an island went nutty I believe. 

Anyway, as humans we need a certain amount if human interaction.


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## WillYouStopDave (Jul 14, 2013)

benj009 said:


> There is a show that focuses on prisoners who spend long stretches in isolation. It's not pretty. They howl at night, throw their food outside, and flood their cells. The time spent in isolation makes them nutty.


 It's not the time spent in isolation. It's all the time with nothing to do. Or nothing they enjoy doing. A prisoner is a terrible example if you're trying to make a point. The very word "prisoner" says it all.

Even if you feel trapped because of your SA, not everyone with SA feels that way. Some of us more or less accept it. And we're not howling at the moon.


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## Zyriel (May 20, 2011)

benj009 said:


> There is a show that focuses on prisoners who spend long stretches in isolation. It's not pretty. They howl at night, throw their food outside, and flood their cells. The time spent in isolation makes them nutty.
> 
> The Marlon Brando and Zukerberg examples are bad, because they aren't really isolated. They have their loved ones with them. The Japanese guy who spent years on an island went nutty I believe.
> 
> Anyway, as humans we need a certain amount if human interaction.


It's not only those in isolation that act like that haha. Substance abuse, addiction, and overdose can cause that, as well as inherent mental health problems, which often times is what causes someone to commit heinous crimes in the first place. Along with the persecution and dehumanizing factor one receives in such institutions, causing even more problems to the "normal" human psyche and social behavior. Constant feelings of external threats, and paranoia, etc.

That's true lol they "bought" those islands and are probably building resorts. Some people do buy cabins or houses out in the middle of nowhere though to get away from society. I would say it would take someone who was mentally fortified with a strong mind for such though, the average person would probably suffer from cabin fever lol. A lot of people "need" other people for a social identity as it constitutes their perception of reality, their role in society, and the feedback from such for approval, or validation.

That Japanese guy is crazy by our standards, in the Western World or even in modern Japan. However for his time he is perfectly "normal" and was acting under his orders from the era of Imperial Japan, putting duty above the self in fear of shame and dishonor. A mentality that doesn't really exist in the world anymore lol. Not to mention him returning to society somewhat unscathed, dancing with a Playboy bunny and all lol yet moving to Brazil since Japan had changed so much from his perceptions of his view of "reality" based on his prior experiences of the country from his youth.

I agree, sadly we do need some human interaction. In contrast though, the feeling can cause more depression or anxiety feeling "alone" in a group if one's values, ideas, perceptions, and experiences don't match that of their social group.

On a different note, I'm honestly surprised no one has taken the thread name and linked a 'Lonely Island' song lmao


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## Thorne (May 18, 2014)




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