Solitude among contemplative cloistered nuns and monks: conceptualisation, coping and benefits of spiritually motivated solitude.

SOCIAL isolation; PSYCHOLOGICAL adaptation; CHRISTIANITY; INTERVIEWING; MONKS; NUNS; SPIRITUALITY; WELL-being; PSYCHOLOGY

There are rising perceptions and concerns about social isolation and the prevalence of loneliness in Western societies and their negative impact on people’s psychological well-being. We report on an ethnographic study conducted in two Catholic contemplative monasteries in Spain, focusing on the nuns’ and monks' voluntary search for solitude. Through in-depth interviews we aimed to explore their conceptualisation and experiences of solitude, the motivations behind their spiritual quest for it, and the benefits and challenges that this choice entailed. An extraordinary human template of searching for solitude emerged: although they lived communally (they werenotalone), they actively avoided intimacy and closeness with other members of the community (they strove tofeelalone out of their own volition). Human solitude was seen as the necessary condition for achieving perfect closeness with God and was interpreted not as leading to isolation but as a channel to communicate more intimately with God. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

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