Brianna Gilfoy
8199889
Prof. Ross Clarkson
ENG 1100
December 2, 2015
Isolation Warps a Human For most, being alone and isolated is a nice way to get away from overwhelming events happening in life. However, when it comes to extreme cases, isolation is very bad for someone’s well-being, according to Michael Bond who states, “for most people, prolonged social isolation is all bad” (Bond, “How Extreme Isolation Warps the Mind”). Overall, isolation has several negative impacts on the human mind and body. Extreme isolation can affect someone in three distinct ways: physically, mentally, and socially. Isolation can be caused either by yourself or by others. Isolation is being separated from others by one of the three following circumstances: living in a remote area, a perception of being removed from a community, or being held captive in a room. The main type of isolation is called social isolation which is the absence of social relationship and is typically considered very unhealthy if the time being spent alone becomes excessive. Another distinct type of isolation is called emotional isolation which can result from social isolation and is when people keep feelings completely to themselves. Physical health is very important to live a healthy, long life but in many cases of extreme isolation physical health is negatively affected. Bond states that “we’ve known for a while that isolation is physically bad for us. Loneliness interferes with a whole range of everyday functioning, such as sleep patterns, attention, and logical and verbal reasoning” (Bond). In the early 1940’s, a young girl named Anna received minimal to no care, living in an attic like room for the first six years of her life which had major negative physical implications. Kingsley Davis, an author for The American Journal of Sociology, states that “at the age of three weeks old she was