Davit
I am going to tell you an experiment that was done I was not statistically significant in that there were not enough people in the study to make a strong conclusion. They went into a nursing home and split it in half. They were all given a plant to put in there room. In one half they said to the seniors that they did not have to take care of it the staff would water it and prune it, so it was just there to give them enjoyment of looking at it. The other group was given the responsibility of looking after the plant i.e. watering it making sure I got sunshine etc. After several years went by, they found that the people that just admired the plant died a lot sooner than the people that looked after the plant. There were many conclusions drawn from this event but the one I think is relevant is the people that looked after the plant had a purpose in life something they had to look after. Where the people that did nothing for the plant had no purpose because everything was done for them. Please do not infer that I am making a jab at your situation about needing help, it seems that thing are written in post and get misinterpreted because there is no clarification of what the other person means exactly. Therefore, you mention that you lived alone but you also had dog to look after. This gives you a sense of purpose if you have to look after the dogs they relied on you and needed you or else they would not survive. I believe this is the same as the flower in the nursing home. You may not need a human but you need something to wake up for. I going to end this but saying that there probably people that can have no human contact and survive, like a forest ranger and maybe some people prefer it that way. Again, the forest ranger has a sense of purpose to look after the forest. So if you have no one in your life and nothing to look forward to or even a goal which you want to achieve (which we all on the panic centre have in common a goal to achieve), if we did not think that we needed to better our lives then why are there so many people in this program. Joining this group is a powerful statement that we want to do achieve something from this program because we want something else. The something could just be a stop to panic attacks.
Dizzy
Hi everyone
I believe what everybody said is correct for them. There are different kinds of isolation one total Social isolation refers to the objective lack of contact with conspecifics (means the same species human). In humans, it may be cause by a pervasive withdrawal or avoidance of social contact or communication. It can contribute toward, or be the result of, many emotional, behavioral and physical disorders including anxiety, panic attacks, eating disorders, addictons, substance abuse, violence and overall disease. This I got from a definition, does this mean it is you? No. People can experience different kinds of loneliness or social isolation. One can be being alone with yourself and it is pleasurable to you to be alone and sit and read a book or contemplate things. The definition above is for people who feel lonely, some people can be with people and still feel lonely if this is your problems then you are more likely to be the definition above. One final thought, all some people need is one significant other does not have to be a wife or husband but some who will always be there for you if you lack this then again I think you are in danger of the definition above. If you choose to have few friends or even one that you can count on and you do not feel lonely then, as you said, you are ok. When I said I was big man on campus I do not feel that I need this anymore, however I think I need a least one person who is in my life with consistency, as you said I have no problem with being alone because I always have that one person.
Dizzy
