Definition
Isolation is a state of reduced communicative activity, characterized by a refusal of interpersonal interaction, orientation to one’s own inner world: thoughts, images, experiences. Isolation canister stay a constant personality trait, a situational reaction or a symptom of mental illness. Conversation, questionnaires, projective tests are used for diagnosis. Treatment is carried out using group and individual psychotherapy.
General characteristics
Isolation characterizes the expression of a person’s communication skills. It is the opposite of sociability, and is often assessed as a negative quality. It is more difficult for introverted people to make acquaintances, maintain friendly and business connections, and socialize. Children who tend to avoid social contacts often do not have time to master the school curriculum, are intellectually behind their peers, and are more prone to aggression .
It is widely believed that uncommunicativeness is always experienced by a person as a serious problem. But in practice, various options are possible. Isolation is a cause for concern if it arose as a result of internal confrontation – fear, uncertainty, Hallucinations lack of communication experience. Then the general orientation of the personality towards relationships is preserved, but there is no courage or skill to become open and sociable.
Another option is when a person is withdrawn and focused on the inner world emotions, fantasies & ideas. Withdrawal does not weigh him down, life is interesting, filled with experiences. People like this are said to be able to enjoy solitude. They enjoy reading books, watching movies, playing computer games they feel they suffer from conjunctivitis 101. Many actively communicate in the virtual space – on thematic forums, chats. Such interaction does not require emotional involvement, the use of non-verbal means (facial expressions, gestures, intonations), so it is more attractive to withdrawn individuals.
Relationships between people are changeable, for successful socialization it is necessary to demonstrate both sociability and isolation. Openness and talkativeness help to establish contacts, realize oneself in the professional sphere, informal interactions, such as friendship. Isolation allows you to pay attention to your internal state, protect yourself from ineffective and unpleasant communication, and recover faster from emotional, stressful loads.
Reasons for isolation
Isolation can be pronounced or insignificant, constant or periodic. Sometimes it becomes a temporary reaction to certain events and is successfully controlled by a person, in other cases it manifests itself continuously in all spheres of life, combined with fears, aggressiveness, Irritability ,mistrust. Characteristics of unsociability, the degree of social maladaptation can be caused by situational factors, psychological problems or mental illnesses.
Situational isolation
In most people, isolation is provoked only by certain situations. It is a conscious choice or arises unconsciously, but is purposefully maintained by a person, helps him to function more effectively – to avoid unnecessary tension, unpleasant emotions. The skill to limit sociability from time to time is a sign of plasticity, flexibility of the psyche. Possible reasons for situational isolation:
- Lack of interlocutors. A person may seem withdrawn in a little-known or unfamiliar company. Observation of what is happening is more active than the conversation itself.
- Lack of interest in the conversation. A person becomes silent when the conversation is boring, incomprehensible, or participation in it causes hostility. Detachment allows you to save energy and maintain a positive emotional mood.
- Depressed emotional state. In a state of sadness, melancholy, apathy, a person does not feel the desire to talk. The reasons are varied – life’s failures, accumulated tension, daily stress loads. As soon as the mood improves, the former sociability returns.
- Fatigue. If a person gets tired, the energy needed to maintain a conversation is not enough. There is a need to rest and recuperate. An example is silence after a working day, especially in people whose profession is related to communication.
- Preoccupation with thoughts. Sometimes a decrease in interest in the surroundings is the result of intensive mental work. At the same time, attention is focused on an idea, problem, memories. Preoccupation with internal work manifests itself as detachment, isolation, absent-mindedness. An example is a scientist developing a new theory.
Psychological factors of isolation
Cageyness, shyness & secrecy may not be situational reactions. But persistent character traits that manifest themselves in uncomfortable situations or on a daily basis. The reasons for such behavior are rooted in previous experience, that is, they are explained by the type of upbringing, the conditions of education and professional activity, and past psychotraumatic situations. Isolation as a personality trait can be provoked by the following factors:
- Low communication skills. Closedness and uncommunicativeness may be based on underdeveloped interpersonal skills. Common reasons are frequent illnesses, long-term hospital treatment; physical defects that prevent the establishment of relationships; the child’s refusal to attend kindergarten or school. In these cases, the person is closed because he or she has no experience of positive communication.
- Fear of communication. The reasons for this phobia are insecurity and unstable self-esteem. A person belittles his own qualities, does not believe that he can be liked by people, be interesting. He is afraid of possible negative consequences of communication – conflicts, criticism, condemnation or ridicule – therefore he prefers to remain unnoticed, does not show initiative.
- Negative relationship experience. Detachment often develops after a traumatic relationship, allows one to avoid repeated betrayal, disappointment, shame or humiliation. For example, a teenager becomes withdrawn after a conflict situation with a group of peers or a woman after adultery.
- Peculiarities of upbringing. Withdrawn children grow up in families where parents do not develop the child’s sociability and emotionality. The reasons are high workload at work, lack of time for joint activities, emotional coldness of the mother. Another variant of destructive upbringing is frequent manifestation of parental aggression. The child constantly experiences fear, withdraws for the purpose of protection.
Temperament properties. Sometimes, despite the sociability of parents and positive experience of friendship, a person remains silent from childhood. This is due to the peculiarities of his temperament, namely, the properties of higher nervous activity. People with low mobility of nervous processes – phlegmatic, melancholic – find it difficult
Isolation is a symptom of illness
A persistent tendency to alienate from interaction with people is a manifestation of a mental disorder. Isolation is based on a depressed emotional state, severe anxiety, fears, and delusional ideas of persecution. Patients are often socially maladapted – they do not go to work, have no friends, and isolate themselves from family members. Uncommunicativeness and secrecy are characteristic of the following diseases:
- Depression . In depressive disorders, the emotional background decreases, motivational and volitional functions weaken. Patients feel constant sadness, lose interest in all areas of life, including communication. They spend most of their time alone, interpersonal contacts are burdensome, quickly exhausting. In severe apathetic depression, speech may be completely absent.
- Sociopathy . Antisocial personality disorder is a pathological change in character, characterized by ignoring social norms, lack of attachments, a tendency to aggression and illegal actions. The reasons for the taciturnity of sociopaths are suspiciousness, bitterness, misanthropy.
- Schizoid psychopathy . With this character disorder, people become withdrawn, unsociable, focused on internal experiences. Loneliness does not frighten them, there is a passion for their own thoughts, ideas, images. Behavior is distinguished by originality, eccentricity. A creative focus of the personality is typical drawing pictures, creating music, unusual clothes.
- Anxiety disorder . The disease manifests itself in low self esteem, constant anxiety and a craving for social isolation. Patients are extremely sensitive to the opinions of others, underestimate their ability to communicate, and therefore avoid contacts. The reasons for isolation are the fear of rejection & denunciation and humiliation from others. The disorder develops at the age of 16-24, and is often provoked by traumatic experiences of communication with peers, high demands of parents in childhood and adolescence.
- Autism . The disease occurs due to developmental disorders of the brain, manifested by the lack of need for social interaction, specific deviations in speech development and behavior. The main symptoms are the desire to escape from contact, extreme loneliness, stereotypical movements and actions. A complete lack of speech immersion in the world of person own experiences & incomprehensible to others is possible. Patients may inadequately respond to external stimuli, to attempts to start a conversation.
- Schizophrenia . This mental disorder is endogenous – it develops as a result of certain internal changes in the brain. The reasons for the isolation of patients are personality changes, distorted thinking. The holistic image of the “I” is destroyed, interests and motivations weaken, autism increases – withdrawal from external contacts to internal images, feelings, reasoning. Disturbances in thinking may include delusions – ideas that others want to cause harm. This also becomes the basis for secrecy.
- Delusional disorder. The causes of the disease may vary, the key symptom is the presence of systematized delirium, devoid of bizarreness. Patients become silent, withdrawn, if such behavior corresponds to the theme of their disorder. Thus, with persecution delusions, they sit at home all day, close the doors, do not let anyone in, do not talk to anyone.
Survey
Mild forms of isolation do not require special treatment and diagnostics, and are usually successfully compensated by willpower and the organization of suitable living conditions. A psychological examination or psychiatric examination is necessary in cases where a person’s secrecy seriously hinders his or her socialization: attending an educational institution, place of work, official and unofficial meetings. To determine the severity of shyness and its cause, a group of methods is used:
- Clinical interview. When interviewed, patients give short, monosyllabic answers. Severe mental disorders may be accompanied by a complete inability to establish contact or build a dialogue. Then obtaining clinical information is impossible without the participation of relatives or other accompanying persons.
- Thought. Removal be there conveyed by the patient’s behavior – his posture, gestures, facial expressions. Stiffness of movements, general physical tension are typical. The posture is often “closed”: arms crossed on the chest or on the abdomen, one leg rests on the other (the pelvic area is closed). Patients often use a bag or a folder with papers as a “shield”. Most of them look down or to the side during a conversation, and rarely establish visual contact. Emotional reactions are outwardly expressed very weakly or are absent altogether.
- Psychodiagnostic questionnaires. Special tests are used : “Assessment of the level of sociability” by V. F. Ryakhovsky, the method of diagnostics of the communicative attitude by V. V. Boyko, “Personality differential” (Bechterev Research Institute). The results allow to assess communication skills, establish the reasons for secrecy and taciturnity, help to distinguish situational isolation from psychological, pathological.
- Projective methods. Drawing methods and situation interpretation tests are used to identify mild forms of communicative disorders that are not determined by conversation or observation. The data obtained indicate alienation, the person’s preferred role in the group (participant, outside observer). Additionally the presence of shyness, low self esteem & aggressiveness is established.
Treatment
Isolation which prevents a person since socializing & reduces the quality of life, requires correction. In severe mental illnesses, restoration of the communicative function is possible only with complex treatment, including drug therapy, psychotherapy, rehabilitation. If communication difficulties are associated with characterological disorders or psychological problems, symptomatic assistance, represented by individual psychotherapy, group training, and targeted creation of conditions that require maintaining a conversation, gives a good effect.
Individual psychotherapy
Individual sessions allow you to gain experience in positive communication. They are necessary at the initial stages of treatment – the psychotherapist creates the most optimal conditions for interpersonal contact, helps the patient open up, overcome fear, feel approval, support. After establishing a trusting relationship, a plan is developed for transferring the positive experience gained to a situation of communication with another person or group of people. Also, during individual therapy sessions , training in auto-training, visualization skills, relaxation, and positive thinking is conducted.
Group trainings
Group psychotherapy is the most effective method of combating shyness and isolation. To develop sociability, communication trainings are held , where patients play out situations of various interactions – conflict, friendly, official. Feedback after the session allows you to share feelings, learn about the experiences of other participants. Additional methods of work are sessions of art therapy , dance therapy and other similar areas aimed at developing the skill of self-acceptance, mastering non-verbal methods of communication.
Lifestyle correction
For independent work, patients are advised to purposefully create communication situations – attend family dinners, cultural events, meetings with friends. It is worth finding a job that requires daily contact with different people, then situations of forced conversations will form communication skills and the desire to communicate. At the initial stage, it may be necessary to work in parallel with a psychotherapist, use relaxation methods that reduce uncertainty or unwillingness to contact with others.
