Do we NEED friends and partners?

[CAS]

Maybe feeling as though we need to be with someone is a weakness on our part.

Maybe the people who are alone are meant to be that way because they are somehow stronger and more self-disciplined than everyone else.

perhaps this is the way to be, and perhaps we should stop wallowing.

Or maybe I'm just talking bollocks.

 

[packyourbags]

i think we do.

 

[Remedy]

I really do think we need friends and partners because we are social creatures. Its just like how we were intended to be when we were created.It seems like it becomes painful when you have been alone for so long and you just long for a relationship or friendship. It's something that haunts your mind when you're without it for so long and just won't go away. To me its an absolute need and I won't let anyone tell me otherwise. If having a partner wasn't a need than why does everyone around us have one? There is no way that it is a want to me.

 

[kimberleykat]

We do.
But We can survive for quite a while without a relationship but not friendship.
Sometimes the hardship in being lonely is that you may get too absent.
But I kind of think that loners are brighter in mind or smarter. It is a different story about who is stronger or weaker. A lot of people just do not have the same rapids in thinking as the few others.

 

[PivotPoint]

Maybe loneliness might be an effective tool for introspection. It might lead to realising various meanings of existence. In some cases somebody may even find his/her true path of life.

On the other hand, what is the validity of knowing when you cannot share it with anyone. Depending on the individual, loneliness may be either destructive form of living or constructive form of learning. To me it has affected on both ways.

 

[SophiaGrace]

i think we do need people. When i think about it I feel stronger...emotionally...

If i think about a life lived alone without a partner and kids it seems kind of...well...lacking...

If in nothing else, just in complexity and social support.

 

[PieBeNice]

Pie can do without.

 

[Badjedidude]

I don't know if I actually NEED a friend or a partner to live. I could have a relatively productive, full life without them, if I HAD TO...But I do prefer to have friends/a partner, and given the choice I would definitely choose to have them.

----Steve

 

[yamaha CS5]

Do you need to be happy?

 

[heretostay]

Maybe feeling as though we need to be with someone is a weakness on our part.

Maybe the people who are alone are meant to be that way because they are somehow stronger and more self-disciplined than everyone else.

perhaps this is the way to be, and perhaps we should stop wallowing.

Or maybe I'm just talking bollocks.

ive wondered this, too. but i think we do. like someone else said, we are a social species. social species that become isolated from the herd die because they are more vulnerable to the elements.

and to never have a mate and not reproduce is eternal death- as far as this world is concerned. that's why the pull to have a relationship is so strong.

 

[Lonesome Crow]

Some poeple do and some people don't.
I personally think I do or feel better about it.
I've lived with people all my life. I've been alone for not too long.
Somtimes I feel like a nut with people in my life as sometimes I feel like a wack job without people in my life.
Other times I feel very happy when there's people in my life...as I do when I'm alone.
Rolling with the punches I guess...or that's how I roll.

 

[skywatcher]

Being a loner is not a bad thing..

 

[bloodyenigma]

ppl who r strong enough to live without a partner r the ones who hav lost a loved one nd can't seem to get over it, well i'm one of em...bt i can't live without friends even though i wanna be single for the rest of my bloody lyf

 

[evanescencefan91]

well i mean we;re not going to drop dead from lonieness like we would from starvation

but the feeling of belonging is one of maslo's hirachy of needs

it's the 3rd most important just behind food water air and shelter

I'm sorry but I just can't help myself from introducing psychology knowledge into a thread

so ya except for the occasional hermit, our psyche does have an emotional need for other people

becuase from an evolutionary standpoint humanity had a greater chance of staying alive if they stuck together, than wandering off alone becuase they could fend off aganist predadors and could take down large animals for food

i agree it sucks many times i wish i didn't have such an emotional need for other people think of how productive I'd be just stay in my room doing homework, playing guitar and videogames, drawing and excersing and not feeling lonely I could becom so good at those things

and I'd like hardly ever get sick again gah man I've been sick for like the 3 past ******* weeks

argg **** you other people and your caniving germs *coughs*

 

[oarivan]

People who don't need people are the happiest people. I keep repeating that like a mantra.

 

[PoWer2tHePeOpLE]

we need friends and partners like a pumpkin down the pants.

god i'm lonely.

 

[Nitramici]

i agree it sucks many times i wish i didn't have such an emotional need for other people think of how productive I'd be just stay in my room doing homework, playing guitar and videogames, drawing and excersing and not feeling lonely I could becom so good at those things

Well, without a need for others (and as a result, a meaningful link to others), it's also possible you (not you in particular, the general "you") wouldn't have enough motivation to be productive.

I've always had a supporting family and I think that helps me do great in my studies.

 

[Phaedron]

Ideally, yes, but like bloodyenigma has said, people who have lost someone tend to be alone. Having lost both of my parents, my life has always felt like a bad alternate reality that should be changed via time travel, and I have been alone for most of it.

It is a less then ideal life when we have to be alone. Same for going without sex, or any other luxury, but then this is a far less then ideal world. You can do it, but that doesn't mean you can do it forever. Years down the road you may look back on your life as a total waste. Do you really want to be an old man, completely alone, on his death bed with no loved ones to comfort you? So maintain a good solitude, but don't give up on meeting people. Try to socialize anyway. Just be distant, take things very slowly, and don't let anyone take advantage of you.

And I agree with Nitrimici, that having people you care about in life leads to greater motivation. I've been unmotivated most of my life. In a lot of matters when it's just me alone, I don't care, but if I'm to be a father and a husband, then I want to be fit, make more money, and be there for them.

Things that will help you be alone:

1) A good imagination: When you can create worlds, characters, especially ones that seem to be alive. When fantasy and day dreaming is so fulfilling that reality is a grim shadow in comparison, merely something to tolerate and escape. If you can fool your mind into thinking fantasy is real it would be even more fulfilling, but you would also become insane and be locked away in an asylum.

2) Books, Music, Video Games, Movies, Art, Hobbies, and Work.

3) Pot: I'm not saying you should do this, just that getting high makes a person content with doing nothing and can sometimes be inspiring.

4) Spirituality: getting in touch with your spiritual side can be very comforting and goes hand in hand with solitude. At it's most advanced levels you may be kept company by angels, familiars, spirit guides, or even your twin flame.

5) Owning a pet, and/or familiar.

6) Religion: I just want to point out how belief can affect you in this matter. Those who believe in an everlasting heaven and that good deeds or suffering make you among the greatest their can easily be alone and brave a life of hardships. But beware, if this belief changes... to reincarnation for instance, then you may see this kind of hermetic life as a waste. If you believe in no afterlife, that we just die, then the hermits life is probably going to be completely unacceptable.

 

[Nyu001]

Like have been said before, we are a social race. Ones are more than others. One important thing is to not be too dependable of others and to enjoy your time alone. But in the end an interaction with someone else can make a difference in your day. A quality time alone can be very productive for you as person.

 

[semiferger]

I think we need friends because we want to share something which cannot be share with our parents or any one else . We need friends because we need somebody who will be there with us when we fall into bad time as well as we need partner for our physical needs.