Have you or someone you know ever felt the need to withdraw from people, and the external world in general, so you could find inner peace?

Sometimes silence and solitude are your best allies when it comes to personal growth.

In this article we’ll have a look at the definition of “hermit mode” as well as eight of its potential benefits. Hermit mode isn’t for everyone, but it can definitely help you become the best version of yourself.

What is hermit mode?

As the name suggests, hermit mode is a period of voluntary isolation and retreat. When you are in hermit mode, you isolate yourself from other people and withdraw from the external world and its distractions. Hermit mode can have many benefits, including spiritual growth and introspection.

Again, this is supposed to be voluntary. It is true that avoiding all or almost all social interactions can be a sign of a mental health issue, such as depression, but that’s not what this article refers to.

Hermit mode means leaving the external world and its noise, busyness, and stress temporarily because you want to, not because you have to.

It means eliminating or avoiding social interactions so you can learn more about yourself or improve an area of your life — not because you’re a loner, or a misanthrope.

It means taking a break from all those places and activities that drain your energy (even if you enjoy them) so you can truly focus on your priorities in life — not being lazy and doing nothing.

In some extreme cases, people who go into hermit mode will also stop using social media and their phone, and stop watching the news.

They may also fast, or change their diet, and meditate daily. They will basically eliminate all forms of distractions to experience the highest level of mental clarity and awareness.

There are many different reasons why somebody may feel the need to go into hermit mode.

It could be because they need time to reflect on something, work on a project, improve their mental health, meditate or pray in silence, or simply recharge, especially if they have an introverted personality.

Now that we’ve understood what hermit mode really is, let’s have a look at eight of its potential benefits.

If you’ve already experienced a period of complete solitude, you may have noticed some of these benefits already; if you’re thinking of going into hermit mode soon, this list may help you identify why you want to do so.

Benefits of hermit mode

1. Highest amount of energy and time

Whether we like it or not, our resources are very finite.

Sure, we can maximize our energy levels with optimal sleep and the right diet; learn to manage our time more efficiently; increase our willpower, create do-do lists and stop-doing lists, redefine our priorities, and so on.

But there will always be 24 hours in a day, and our energy will always be limited.

By going into hermit mode, you automatically increase your resources because there are no longer people or things that drain them (or at least not as many).

You then have the ability to put all your time and energy into whatever you want — study, work, health, or anything else — and advance and improve ten times faster than you normally would.

2. Introspection

Regardless of your personality type, there’s times in which you feel the need to get in touch with your inner world.

This could mean reflecting on your past or letting go of it, or dealing with your own demons, but also expressing your creativity or simply getting in touch with your thoughts, feelings, and emotions.

Introspection always requires time, and almost always requires silence and solitude as well. So when you’re in hermit mode, it’s a lot easier to practice it.

When there’s no noise and no distractions, it’s easier to observe your own thoughts, meditate, and gain clarity and awareness, and that helps you become a better person.

3. Complete relaxation

Hermit mode isn’t necessarily a complex psychological or spiritual process.

Sometimes the only reason you want to quiet the noise of the external world is to experience complete relaxation, and temporarily forget about all the work, stress, and responsibilities of society. In this case, hermit mode could be compared to a sabbatical.

When someone is extremely stressed out, or overwhelmed by their current job or schedule, a weekend spent with their friends or family usually isn’t enough for them to recharge.

Depending on your situation, it may take you one or two weeks off to achieve a good level of relaxation, and over a month to be able to fully relax. That, and hermit mode (whatever it means to you and however you want to do it) can help you regenerate both your body and mind.

4. Spiritual growth or rebirth

Throughout history, many religious people chose to live a period of their life, or even their whole life, in seclusion.

This would allow them to practice asceticism — a way of life in which the distractions of human society are eliminated, so that one can get closer to God or reach higher spiritual awareness through contemplation, prayer, or meditation. To this day, we still tend to associate the word “hermit” with spirituality.

So if you have spiritual goals, or you feel you are going through a phase in your life in which you need to change, a period of solitude can help you do that. And luckily, there’s no need to go and live in a forest for years — removing all distractions and going into hermit mode for a few days or weeks will be enough.

5. It helps you take action

Do you procrastinate? Is there a task or project you’ve been wanting to work on, but never managed to find the time, or the energy, to do so?

As we’ve seen, hermit mode can instantly increase both your time and energy. And because you no longer have to interact with people or things that are potentially distracting, taking action becomes incredibly easy.

Whereas normally your mind would be stimulated by a constant stream of distractions (positive or negative), in hermit mode it’ll basically be forced to achieve the same level of stimulation through whatever you choose to work on.

It’s true that some of us are more disciplined than others, but ultimately we all tend to procrastinate from time to time: when we do, a period of solitude — even if just one day — can help us take action toward our goals.

6. It helps you find your purpose

It’s now scientifically proven that our thoughts and actions are influenced by the people we spend most of our time with. And when it comes to things such as the clothes we wear or the music we listen to, it’s probably not a big deal.

But whether we realize it or not, this goes much further than that — it influences major life choices as well, and not always in a positive way.

So if you want to have a truly fulfilling life — one where you are aware of your purpose and what makes you happy, and you aren’t afraid to pursue that — you may need to temporarily detach from people, including close friends or your family.

And during this period of time, you may find that some of the goals and dreams you had were not your own, but someone else’s. Hermit mode can help you gain clarity and realize what you actually want to do with your life.

7. Minimalism

A growing number of people are shifting to a lifestyle in which material possessions are kept to a minimum so there’s more time, money, and freedom to enjoy life.

Many have found that they’re actually happier when they aren’t surrounded by stuff, especially clutter or things they haven’t used in years, and that minimalism can be a liberating experience.

When it comes to hermit mode, you can think of it as minimalism applied to people. Again, going into hermit mode doesn’t mean you’re a misanthrope, and it definitely doesn’t mean you don’t care about the people you normally interact with.

But if you’re in a phase in which you want or need to eliminate everything that’s unnecessary, that might include some people you know.

8. Dopamine detox

The last reason you may want to go into hermit mode is that it’s a great way to reset your dopamine level and train your brain to seek rewards that aren’t linked to technology or meaningless activities.

The term “dopamine detox” has many definitions, and there isn’t just one way to do it, but it usually refers to a period of time in which you give up some dopamine-triggering activities, such as TV or social media, so that your mind can go back to a natural state of calmness and happiness.

Depending on your job or social circle, it may be difficult to practice a dopamine detox if you’re constantly surrounded by people, especially if they think you’re crazy for doing so.

Conversely, by going into hermit mode you can basically do whatever you want as you’re more in control of your daily activities.

Is hermit mode right for you?

Although hermit mode could be beneficial to anyone, not all personality types are inclined to it. Those who are predominantly introverted, particularly INFPs and INJFs, are more likely to withdraw from people during certain phases of their life, and may find that solitude helps them grow, evolve, and recharge.

However, those who are more on the extroverted side may want to avoid long periods of isolation as they need a higher amount of external stimuli to function, and hermit mode could have the opposite effect on them.

For those who tend to direct their energy toward the outer world, being alone for too long, or in ways that are too extreme, could easily lead to sadness or even depression.

It all comes down to your attitude and personality, and ultimately, the only way to understand whether hermit mode could benefit you is to pay attention to your own feelings about it.

Does the thought of temporary seclusion intrigue or inspire you in any way? If so, give it a try — you may be surprised by how much it can help you grow. If not, it’s probably not for you.

If you’re planning on doing a more extreme or longer version of it (for example, if you want to delete your social media profiles for a while, as well as stop answering your phone unless necessary), make sure you tell everyone — you really don’t want people to worry, or think that you’ve left them for good.

If the thought of explaining why you’re going into hermit mode seems awkward, you can always say you need to work on something and you’ll be busy for a while.

Unless there’s people you clearly want to burn bridges with, do not ghost: don’t just block your contacts on your phone, even if only for a week or so, and expect them to understand why you did that.

You want to let everyone know what’s going on, as well as the fact that it’s only temporary — you never know how people might react when ghosted.

Have you ever gone into hermit mode, or have you ever felt the need to do so? I’d love to hear your thoughts — feel free to leave a comment below! 👇