Can the problem of just staying inside the house or a room be a mental health issue?
That is the topic I have brought today. Let me add a small anecdote to this. A young man, about twenty years old, came to see me, and his parents mentioned that he mostly stays inside the room, doesn’t go out of the house, and doesn’t talk or communicate with anyone.
As we continued counseling him, we came to know that when he was in school, his friends would tease him by calling him ‘dark’, saying his face was ‘not good’, or that he was ‘too thin,’ or making various other comments about his physical appearance. Due to this, his stress gradually increased. After people criticised his physique, his body, and his built, his courage and confidence started to diminish. After that, he started staying inside the house and slowly stopped talking to society, stopped talking to family members, and would stay locked inside for 24 hours. As this problem grew, he started experiencing problems like social phobia.
That is to say, we are trying to convey that the problem of just staying inside a room or a house can be a mental health problem. I am not saying it is always, but it can be a mental health problem. If you have been continuously staying inside the house for 24 hours and not going out, and your family members are also not going out, then you definitely need to consider what might be wrong.
Today, we will have an in-depth discussion on this topic and we have about eight to ten points associated with it. Through these points, we will discuss what kind of individuals prefer to stay inside the house more and whether this can or cannot be a problem.
Normal Indoor Lifestyles vs. Signs of Concern
For example, looking at a normal situation, we can see that housewives or women who manage the household also spend a lot of time indoors. But that can be a normal state.
Number two, we talk about an introverted personality. Some people have an introverted or extroverted personality. Introverted people are those who prefer to stay inside the room, talk less, have less interaction, and make fewer friends. Whereas an extroverted personality is someone who is sociable, confident, not shy, and brave. In that sense, individuals with an introverted personality mostly stay at home, and we also take this as normal. They need to be taught communication skills on how to communicate.
Now let’s move towards illness, or what kind of problems can cause a person to prefer staying at home from morning till evening—the things you are talking about.
When Isolation Signals a Mental Health Condition
Number three is Depression. If you are slowly experiencing depression, you might stay inside the room, feel unhappy, disappointed, not want to talk to anyone, feel irritated or annoyed even when someone tries to talk, try to escape crowds, feel bothered when people visit, and feel calm when staying inside the room. If this happens, some people lie down inside the room due to hopelessness. Because in depression, the body is also tired. There is laziness, no desire to do anything. Because of this, people don’t go out of the house. So, if you are going out less, that can be a major reason.
Similarly, another is Social Phobia. We have discussed this topic before. When communicating with others outside, people fear that they might mess up, make a mistake, be embarrassed, or that others might judge them—their body, their built, their words, their language, their character, their quality, their knowledge. Due to this, they feel it is better to stay inside the room than to go out and talk to society, so they distance themselves from society.
Similarly, there’s another which is Anxiety Disorder. In anxiety, people feel fear, palpitations, and are afraid that something might happen to them on the way, that they might die, or what to do if something happens while walking on the road. Due to this fear, they stay inside the room. I have met many clients who stay inside the room out of fear that they might feel dizzy and faint while walking on the road. They can’t ride bikes, can’t drive cars, can’t go too far. They used to be able to travel everywhere before, but now they can’t go too far. They come with such situations.
Similarly, there’s another which is Schizophrenia. In the symptoms of schizophrenia, we mostly talk about the negative symptoms of schizophrenia, where the patient loses their abilities. For example, if the patient used to talk before, now they don’t. If the patient used to walk before, now they don’t walk and stay inside the room. If the patient used to clean and do household chores, now the client doesn’t do household chores and just sits quietly. If someone calls them for food, they eat. If someone tries to talk, they speak a little, but they have no idea, no plan. Then it takes years for the family members to figure out if there is any problem with them. In the negative symptoms of schizophrenia, sometimes such individuals become very aggressive. Otherwise, they remain calm for two or three months, and then when they get angry, they get angry very badly. But mostly, they prefer to stay inside the room, not wanting to chat in a crowd of many people. We call such individuals having negative symptoms of schizophrenia.
Sometimes, the relatives of the patient, Smartphone and Internet Addiction. The biggest problem for the current young generation is the distress caused by internet addiction. Many parents come to me and say, “My child doesn’t come out of the room, stays inside the room. How do I get them out, how do I make them talk?” I ask, “Why? What happened?” They say, “They just stay inside the room, they just use the mobile, they just watch television, use the internet, or watch various videos on mobile, play PUBG, play games.” If they cannot be taken out of this, it is because of internet addiction that we remain in a virtual world. But we are unable to face the real events, real emotions, and real feelings of the outside world. The more we distance ourselves from real expression, the more this kind of social fear increases in our lives.
Similarly, the last one is associated with Ganja (Cannabis). We call it Amotivational Syndrome for people who regularly consume Ganja. Amotivational Syndrome means that there is no motivation for the person to do anything. The person doesn’t feel like getting up, they have no energy. From the outside, it looks like they are fine, growing, eating, and even talking at home. But they have no plan, no execution, and no future plan for what to do in life, how to move life forward.
There are many such diverse problems where people stay inside the house due to mental health issues, and currently, there are plenty of cases of people staying inside the house due to technology.
But while saying this, I am not referring to people who stay at home from morning till evening, cooking, washing clothes, doing dishes, or those who are making progress using technology while staying at home.
However, having said this, I also say to those people, “At least go closer to nature. At least go closer to the sun, go closer to the water, go closer to the air, go closer to the sky, to the earth.”
In summary, while some indoor time is normal, persistent isolation is a strong indicator that it’s time to assess your mental well-being and seek expert guidance.
