Various Facts: Loners - 14/01/11

Many loners are very talented people, but prefer being alone as they have lots to do and concentrate on.

Loners often spend vast amounts of time on projects that are close and personal to their hearts.

People usually get the wrong impressions from loners, they think that they are arrogant and stuck up when in fact most likey they don't have enough courage to talk to other people and that they are just shy when in fact they could be very nice people.

How do you identify a loner? Well, its not that hard. Such people often abstain from mingling with others. In a school, you can easily identify loners by their attitude.
They remain silent and reserved and often don't have many friends. Instead, you'll find such children sitting alone in class, unlike other children who are often seen chatting and enjoying company with their friends.

A loner is a person who avoids or does not actively seek human interaction or prefers to be alone. There are many reasons for solitude, intentional or otherwise, and "loner" implies no specific cause. Intentional reasons include spiritual and religious considerations or personal philosophies. Unintentional reasons involve being highly sensitive, having more extreme forms of shyness, or various mental disorders. The modern term "loner" is usually used with a negative connotation in the simplistic belief that human beings are social creatures and those that do not participate are deviant.

Shy or lacking self-esteem, some loners can socialise only with people they see constantly. This is in part because many are overly self-conscious and believe people are constantly sizing up their attributes. Insecure loners find it excruciating to be in the physical presence of others because they worry they will be judged negatively. Anxiety is a common feature of their social interactions. Self-hatred is sometimes the underlying motivation for why a person may isolate him- or herself. A sense of alienation from society can develop as a result—even though it is self-imposed.

Avoidant Personality Disorder
Avoidant personality disorder(or anxious personality disorder)is a personality disorder recognized in the DSM-IV TR handbook in a person over the age of eighteen years as characterized by a pervasive pattern of social inhibition, feelings of inadequacy, extreme sensitivity to negative evaluation, and avoidance of social interaction.

People with AvPD often consider themselves to be socially inept or personally unappealing, and avoid social interaction for fear of being ridiculed, humiliated, rejected, or disliked.

AvPD is usually first noticed in early adulthood, and is associated with perceived or actual rejection by parents or peers during childhood. Whether the feeling of rejection is due to the extreme interpersonal monitoring attributed to people with the disorder is still disputed.

Social Anxiety
Social anxiety is anxiety (emotional discomfort, fear, apprehension, or worry) about social situations, interactions with others, and being evaluated or scrutinized by other people. It can occur at different times of life, and for different reasons. Developmental social anxiety occurs early in childhood as a normal part of the development of social functioning, and is a stage that most children grow out of, but problem or chronic social anxiety may persist (perhaps unnoticed) until adolescence or may surface in adulthood. People vary in how often they experience social anxiety and in which kinds of situations. Overcoming social anxiety depends on the person and the situation. In some cases it can be relatively easy—just a matter of time passing for many individuals, and yet for some people social anxiety can become a very difficult, painful and even disabling problem that is chronic in nature. The reasons are unknown. Social anxiety can be related to shyness or anxiety disorders or other emotional or temperamental factors, but its exact nature is still the subject of research and theory and the causes may vary depending on the individual. Recovery from chronic social anxiety is possible in many cases, but usually only with some kind of therapy or sustained self-help or support group work.

A psychopathological (chronic and disabling) form of social anxiety is called social phobia or social anxiety disorder, and is a chronic problem that can result in a reduced quality of life. Overcoming social anxiety of this type can be very difficult without getting assistance from therapists, psychologists or support groups. Social anxiety can also be self-integrated and persistent for people who suffer from obsessive-compulsive disorder, which can also make the social anxiety harder to overcome, especially if ignored.

Social Rejection
Social rejection occurs when an individual is deliberately excluded from a interpersonal relationship or social relation. The topic includes both interpersonal rejection (or peer rejection) and romantic rejection. A person can be rejected on an individual basis or by an entire group of people. Furthermore, rejection can be either active, by bullying, teasing, or ridiculing, or passive, by ignoring a person, or giving the "silent treatment." The experience of being rejected is subjective for the recipient, and it can be perceived when it is not actually present.

Although humans are social beings, some level of rejection is an inevitable part of life. Nevertheless, rejection can become a problem when it is prolonged or consistent, when the relationship is important, or when the individual is highly sensitive to rejection. Rejection by an entire group of people can have especially negative effects, particularly when it results in social isolation.

The experience of rejection can lead to a number of adverse psychological consequences such as loneliness, low self-esteem, aggression, and depression.[2] It can also lead to feelings of insecurity and a heightened sensitivity to future rejection.