Isolation...Can you live with it?

[Burori]

My question right on this given second is Isolation. What if you were stranded on an island all alone...Do you think you can survive? Why do you think that?

As for me I feel more than capable on surviving without losing sanity. I prefer to be alone in many places so I figure an Island is no different. How about you?

[Vicky]

[SIZE=1][B]I hate being in most places around people (bit like Social Anxiety), so I normally stay in my room at home and keep out of the way of other people. I hate going outside were loads of people are, and I do prefer being alone. When my dad's going to work and I'll be on my own, I keep asking what times he's going, and I normally try to make my brother sleep over at his friends when my parents are working so no one's in the house.

Basically all I'm saying is I would like to be on an island alone. It's not like I can become any more insane.[/SIZE][/B]

[Doukeshi]

Well, Human's are pack animals as they say so living on an island without and seblance of society or company could prove to be difficult. However, the human minds capability for self-preservation is truly remarkable and so if an individual were left alone for an extended period of time, if there were certain levels of stimulation for the brain it would come up with ways of protecting itself.

You could identify with plant or animal life on the island for one thing, creating company within your own mind to word off lonliness and isolation. What some people term as insanity can often be the minds way of creating a world for itself to stave off decomposition and levels of degrading. I therefore believe that, though it would be certaintly difficult for most people, myself included, it would be certaintly possible to live in complete isolation for an interminable amount of time.

[Fyxe]

[size=1][color=darkblue]I'm not sure about this one. Normally I prefer to be alone since I'm mostly anti-social. Normally people don't like being around me anyway because I'm so sarcastic. I make more enemies than friends, so, I don't do well with people anyway.
I think I could live on an island by myself for at least half a year or so before I would long for a companion. Even a animal would keep me normal in that situation. If there were a few animals on the island that I could get to trust me... perhaps I would be fine. But I wouldn't know unless it actually happened. *shrugs* [/color][/size]

[BL00p d3 L00p]

Knowing that I'm not really good around people, I'm sure i can survive alone in an isolated island...by myself. I'm not that really talkative around people and usually i prefer to be just myself if i'm not in the mood to be around with my friends.
If i live in an isolated island alone right now, then that would be awesome. Why? I can forget all of the problems i did before, all of the troubles i caused, and all of the hateful things i said to some people. Plus, i can live happily and peacefully without disturbance or annoyance from some annoying people.
But if i get tired of living by myself, then there's no problem for me to make new friends. The only problem is that if i'm one of your friends, i wouldn't be doing the talking. I'm more of a listener.

[Eli]

When I imagine it, I can hardly stand the idea of being stranded on an island. I just don't like being unable to communicate with anyone by any means. I'd suffer from boredom, and kill myself with the rock I sharpened after a week of living alone- either that or start a HUGE fire to signal for help. XD

[Akieen Cloud]

I'm with you! I'm a person that likes the communication between people and tries to keep it that way, I mean don't get me wrong, I like to be alone as well but I mean come on! I couldn't do it, I'd miis my fam(brothers mostly) and friends...nope couldn't do it!

[Godelsensei]

[COLOR=Gray][FONT=Courier New]Oh, honestly. You silly people! Psh.

Living on an island empty of any human being but yourself would [i]obviously[/i] SUCK. (Heh. See how many places that phrase can be applied to?^^)

Even if you're some one who prefers to be alone most of the time, you'd become unbearably lonely having no one to talk to (or insult/whine at--whatever, as Goneral would say, floats your broccoli) for all that time.

Imagine there being nowhere to go and no one to ask for help anywhere. It simply isn't practical.[/FONT][/COLOR]

[Richard Doherty]

I can relate. I too am a preferer of solitude. I enjoy being alone because I don't have to answer stupid questions and listen to boring stories of how much someone saved on pants. The drawback about being alone then invites people who make it they're business to find out why you like to be isolated. I'll tell you why, so I don't have to put up with annoyances like you, oops off topic. But yes, surviving on my own on an island would actually be quite enjoyabe I think. I know how to swim, I can cook, and I don't have any sanity to lose. It would be quite an adventure.

[Balmon]

I think we all have times where we wish we WERE totally alone - a place where no one could bother us...

But those times are few and are between... and if they're more common for you, then something's not right and you should fix it - either your attitude, or your environment.

(I believe) humans are inherently social animals, and as such, would not be able to function effectively on an island, alone. Not effectively in terms of efficiency with regards to the economics of energy, and resources, or any of that business - but effectively with regards to... why would they be functioning? To what effect? None really.

I'll take one second to answer the question actually posed: In terms of purely practical issues, I'm pretty inept when it comes to survival skills, so I'd probably die fairly quickly.

But back to my original statements, not only do I believe we are inherently social animals, I believe that's they only way we can keep our sanity... or at least... keep track of where our sanity is headed :)

And for those people on OB who say they prefer being alone, or what-have-you.... well - I just can't believe that, frankly. If you enjoy being alone so much, and if you prefer it over interacting with people - why the hell are you here posting on this site? So you can read your own writing on the internet?

There's a Chinese saying that goes like this:
Shared happiness is double happiness,
Shared sorrow is halved sorrow.

Except of course, in Chinese and not English.

I don't think there's ANYONE in this world who lives to be unhappy - on the contrary - we live in pursuit of happiness, no? For you Americans out there, it's an inalienable right - and that's on paper too! And happiness is a dish best served to pleasant company.

I'll leave this post at that. No real conclusion, because I'm too tired to think of one, and I think I've made my point...

[Vash IDK]

Okay, while I'm sure there are going to be many who will disagree with me, I feel like I really need to say this.

I believe that we all can be pushed to some pretty extreme limits, but in no way on earth does anyone want to die. Even if they are alone. Nobody who is sane would ever take their own life. Humans were created with the desire to live. We also have hope. And no one can take that away. Everything around us can be falling apart, but a person who is strong, and believes in life and its worth, would never take their life away. And I make sure I say this speaking of ones who would be doing well, only because there are some who are not well, and suffers, that do indeed take their own life. Am I belittling them? No, I am simply saying one who is sane, would NEVER take their own life away.

Now if I confused anyone, sorry about that ;)

[Balmon]

[QUOTE=Vash IDK]Okay, while I'm sure there are going to be many who will disagree with me, I feel like I really need to say this.

I believe that we all can be pushed to some pretty extreme limits, but in no way on earth does anyone want to die. Even if they are alone. Nobody who is sane would ever take their own life. Humans were created with the desire to live. We also have hope. And no one can take that away. Everything around us can be falling apart, but a person who is strong, and believes in life and its worth, would never take their life away. And I make sure I say this speaking of ones who would be doing well, only because there are some who are not well, and suffers, that do indeed take their own life. Am I belittling them? No, I am simply saying one who is sane, would NEVER take their own life away.

Now if I confused anyone, sorry about that ;)[/QUOTE]

Of course I'm going to HAVE to reply to this one.

While I"m sure sanity does play a large part for a number of suicide attempts and subsequent deaths, I DO NOT believe that insanity is the sole cause of these attempts.

There are any number of sane people who have committed suicide, Vash. Hope does not equate to sanity, and, of course (as equality goes) nor vice versa. We are talking about two totally different ideas here. One is an relatively abstract ideal, while the other is almost scientific. Someone who feels they have no reason to live, may be perfectly sane, but may still feel as though they would be better off dead. That are any number of perfectly reasonable paths that a person's mind could take towards that end, for any varied amount of situations.

Vash - your statement is far too simplistic, and requires a little more elaboration as to its specifics... unless that is EXACTLY what you mean. Are you saying that people who suffer extreme and utter pain from diseases are insane because they want to stop the suffering? I hate to use that as an example, because it IS so often used, but in your case, it is the kind of example that might cause you to reconsider. These are people who are perfectly sound in mind, but whose bodies have been ravaged beyond our wildest imaginations. How can you tell these people that they must be crazy in order to want to end their pain?

While these people obviously understand the sanctity and importance of life, they also understand the concept of enjoyment of life - there must be a balance that is struck between living, and just being alive. If the aspect of just staying alive outweighs and overpowers the possibility of actually living, than what would they be preserving?

EDIT: I forgot to add - since this isn't exactly a discussion about suicide - we should continue any conversations about this in PM - or on another thread

phil

[Vash IDK]

[QUOTE=Balmon]Of course I'm going to HAVE to reply to this one.

While I"m sure sanity does play a large part for a number of suicide attempts and subsequent deaths, I DO NOT believe that insanity is the sole cause of these attempts.

There are any number of sane people who have committed suicide, Vash. Hope does not equate to sanity, and, of course (as equality goes) nor vice versa. We are talking about two totally different ideas here. One is an relatively abstract ideal, while the other is almost scientific. Someone who feels they have no reason to live, may be perfectly sane, but may still feel as though they would be better off dead. That are any number of perfectly reasonable paths that a person's mind could take towards that end, for any varied amount of situations.

Vash - your statement is far too simplistic, and requires a little more elaboration as to its specifics... unless that is EXACTLY what you mean. Are you saying that people who suffer extreme and utter pain from diseases are insane because they want to stop the suffering? I hate to use that as an example, because it IS so often used, but in your case, it is the kind of example that might cause you to reconsider. These are people who are perfectly sound in mind, but whose bodies have been ravaged beyond our wildest imaginations. How can you tell these people that they must be crazy in order to want to end their pain?

While these people obviously understand the sanctity and importance of life, they also understand the concept of enjoyment of life - there must be a balance that is struck between living, and just being alive. If the aspect of just staying alive outweighs and overpowers the possibility of actually living, than what would they be preserving?[/QUOTE]

I know what you are saying as far as depression is concerned. But I'm talking about situations where people find them unbarable. (hope that's spelled right) While the choice is for each person to make, I find it pretty hard that suicide would have to be the only solution. Call it simplistic, but to commit suicide in my opinion would be the wrong course of action. But that would be [i]my[/i] choice, just as suicide would be everyone else's choice to make as well. But when I say "sane", I mean people who are seperating themselves from the problem, and deal with the situation without the effects of emotion. While it's not easy, it's also the only way out of a choice from suicide. Believe me, I've had friends take their life, and I don't question their choice at all. Not because I agree with them, but because I believe it to be [i]their[/i] choice. But to me, life is a gift, and not one to be taken lightly either. In a situation like isolation, I would still have to say that I would never commit suicide, or even understand anyone who did either for that matter. It's only because I feel hope outweighs all other prospects in life. If I'm on an Island, I'll die there of old age anyway, but if by chance someone was to find me, I'd want them to find me alive so I can greet my loved ones again, rather than they find me dead. The mind plays tricks on us. While we are designed for wanting companionship, we are not designed to kill ourselves because we lack it. That's [i]my[/i] opinion anyway. :)

[Godelsensei]

[COLOR=Gray][FONT=Courier New]I don't know how this thread got to the whole suicide = insanity bit, but it's three in the morning, and I figured "Why the hell not?"

When you think about it, the above equasion is pretty much true. A person does not have to be in a state of complete, endless insanity. Temporary insanity (or in the case of the Japanese a few hundred years back, indoctrination) is the state in which people generally kill themselves (this can also apply to unintentionally doing so, I suppose...heh). If you're in a state of severe, sudden melancholly, frustration, or anger, you don't think clearly, don't act as though you are thinking clearly, and are basically insane.

Personally, I think suicide is the most cowardly thing any one can do. It's a permanent escape from something you could probably have worked out in the end, and a disregard for your friends and family.

With the case of [i]seppeku[/i], the situation is different. Some one being taught that their life is trivial and that they should do nothing but obey orders (even if they are directly or indirectly to kill one's self) isn't exactly natural, in my opinion (the impervious killing part, I mean).

As for the loneliness thing...well, even if you don't interact much IRL, the 'net is still a method of communicating and "being with" people. No one should be alone forever--it makes you insane. o_O"[/FONT][/COLOR]

[Guest lavalamp]

Being lonely is the least of my worries if I were stranded on an island.

No TV dinners and my *** couldn't start a fire if you gave me a flamethrower to start one with.

[Hevn]

[COLOR=RoyalBlue][SIZE=1][B]Lol. I could start a fire in many ways but it surely won't give the KIND of heat I need. :D

Seriously people, you could start to REALLY think about your answers to this one. A few days alone cannot be compared to 'the rest of your life'. It's as simple as the oldest quote ever:

[COLOR=Purple]No man is an island.[/COLOR][/B][/SIZE][/COLOR]

[DeathBug]

[color=indigo][size=1][font=comic sans ms]Didja' know that forced isolation is a Geneva-approved interrogation technique? Keep the prisoner totally isolated from all people exceptr the interregator, and within a few days, the prisoner is usally willing to tell anything so that the visits with the interrorgater will last longer.

So, yeah, total isolation is bad, and if it goes on too long, it can have negative affects on the human psyche. Bummer, neh?[/color][/size][/font]

[outlawstar69]

[QUOTE=DeathBug][color=indigo][size=1][font=comic sans ms]Didja' know that forced isolation is a Geneva-approved interrogation technique? Keep the prisoner totally isolated from all people exceptr the interregator, and within a few days, the prisoner is usally willing to tell anything so that the visits with the interrorgater will last longer.

So, yeah, total isolation is bad, and if it goes on too long, it can have negative affects on the human psyche. Bummer, neh?[/color][/size][/font][/QUOTE]


I have to agree with you on that one, Deathbug. Some of these people don't seem to get it... If you've ever known someone who's been in Iso for a while (or, for some who work in the prison system) then you already know the answer to this question. No question, most of us could live alone on an island, if you just look at the "living life day by day" aspect. I'm quite sure most of us don't have the survival skills to actually go about it though, lol. But (and it's a very important "but", I may add), it would be a terribly lonely existance. "Even the coldest prisoners melt when they're put in the Ice Box."

*shudders at the thought.*

[HetepKa]

[I][FONT=Century Gothic][SIZE=3][COLOR=Green]Being stuck on a little island me all alone, with nothing more than maybe a coconut tree or a rock? [B]NO[/B] thank you, even if I'm not a big fan of being surrounded by people, and I really like my privacy, from time to time, everyone needs to talk to someone, tell them how they feel, and get a feedback; you can't get that from a fish or a rock.

I believe that if a human being is isolated for enough time he'd/she'd be willing to do absolutelly anything to get out of that place, moslty because he/she could go, literally insane, and permanently, or, horribly depressed, which can lead to serious concecuenses such as suicide, in my opinion.

Comunication of humans is essential to maintain a steady state of mind; if isolation weren't that bad, I don't think it'd be used as an interrogation mechanism for criminals, now would they? :rolleyes:

And if was stuck on an island, I think I'd die first because of my extreme lack of survival skills :wigout: I think most would die this way...

Peace to all, signing off, this was;
HetepKa :angel:[/COLOR] [/SIZE] [/FONT] [/I]

[Fall]

I would most likely go insane from being too lonely, more than anything else.

There's no way I could spend anything even close to a week's length in time alone. I'd hate it. If I wasn't going insane or loosing my mind soon enough, I'd probably end up killing myself from lack of company. Going insane would keep me occupied enough. I'd need some kind of occupation, or someone else's company, to keep me sane.

There's no way I would survive a week stranded on an island. No way.

[Shiro_Ryuu]

I don't really have many friends so I never lived a social life so being alone is not the problem, niether is being able to survive, the only thing I wouldn't like about being in an island is no TV and video games.

[Sara]

[QUOTE=lava lamp]Being lonely is the least of my worries if I were stranded on an island.

No TV dinners and my *** couldn't start a fire if you gave me a flamethrower to start one with.[/QUOTE][size=1]Pretty much. To answer the question, though, I'd get bored and depressed. And hungry, you know.

On a different note.

What's with all this "stranded on an island" conjecture? I can't say that I've ever been on a decently-sized island in my life. [i]Certainly[/i] not one that would qualify as a "desert" island--it rained for a week solid.

What are the odds that you're ever going to be stranded on an island? What are the odds that you're ever going to [i]be[/i] on an island without human company? Or without food?

I suppose it's the standard "what would you do if..." situation, but it really seems like a stretch. Can't we pull something [i]else[/i] out of the [i]Worst Case Scenario[/i] handbook?

I've been lost in the woods before. Never for very long, on account of their not being exactly gar[i]gan[/i]tuan woods, but I'm sure I could pull it off. It's much more likely than my engineering to be on a plane/ship that somehow wrecks and drops me off on an uninhabited island. Or say you were detained at an airport without any contact with the outside world. That sounds like a fun one. ^_^ [/size]

[eleanor]

[color=firebrick] In my case, no way could I ever stay alone FOREVER on some dinky little island. Even if I had things like fire, food, water, etc., I'd probably desperately try to make some sort of boat and get off of it as soon as possible. I hate people who act as if living alone forever with bare necessities will be perfectly find because they're 'anti-social' or whatever. So am I, but I'm going to sit on some island for fifty years and slowly rot away. I'd like to do something with my life, thanks very much. [/color]

[Gavin]

[SIZE=1]Well strictly answering the question posed in the title I say that I wouldn't be able to survive without any human contact for a long space of time. Like others I enjoy the privacy of my own company when it suits me, and by no means do I seek the constant attention of others.

However if I was indeed stranded on a deserted island, left only to my own devices I think I'd rather quickly search for a way off said island in order to return to civilisation. I don't think people are meant to survive without human contact, it seems to drive people crazy if stranded for too long a period and as such is not something I'd like to experience.[/SIZE]

[Kidate]

I wouldn't want to experience that either. I could not stand to be isolated from other's I couldn't stand it. I like to be free. Being isolated doesn't give you anything but pain if you love to be around other's. But I must say I would probaly last a fair amount of time without contact with another human being. ;)