The Lighthouse: How extreme isolation transforms the body and mind

Highly recommend this book on the subject: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/99746.An_Island_to_Onese... (An Island to Oneself by Tom Neale). The guy spent years on an island in the middle of the pacific all alone (almost, he has pets and animals).

On the subject, I'll say that voluntary solitude is amazing, loneliness sucks. However, the number of people you interact with has nothing to do with either.

What matters isn't the number of people you meet or the amount of human interaction you have, but the amount of intimacy you desire and how much of that is fulfilled. With that said, the road less traveled is always harsh, humans are social animals; fighting nature is a tumultuous affair.

Thomas Wake: "Hark Triton, hark! Bellow, bid our father the Sea King rise from the depths full foul in his fury! Black waves teeming with salt foam to smother this young mouth with pungent slime, to choke ye, engorging your organs til' ye turn blue and bloated with bilge and brine and can scream no more - only when he, crowned in cockle shells with slitherin' tentacle tail and steaming beard take up his fell be-finned arm, his coral-tine trident screeches banshee-like in the tempest and plunges right through yer gullet, bursting ye - a bulging bladder no more, but a blasted bloody film now and nothing for the harpies and the souls of dead sailors to peck and claw and feed upon only to be lapped up and swallowed by the infinite waters of the Dread Emperor himself - forgotten to any man, to any time, forgotten to any god or devil, forgotten even to the sea, for any stuff for part of Winslow, even any scantling of your soul is Winslow no more, but is now itself the sea!"

Ephraim Winslow: "Alright, have it your way. I like your cookin'."

There is a concept of going into the wilderness for some time (as we go through Lent). It's ancient. I wonder if we'll ever find out it's just as useful as intermittent fasting.

Due to existing health concerns, I self isolated in my home from the start of the covid outbreak in 2020, until spring 2021 when the first vaccines became broadly available. I only recall leaving a handful of times to pick up medicine when delivery wasn't an option, but other than that, almost no venturing into the outside world other than the few steps on my front porch to grab deliveries and groceries.

I learned a lot about myself. I love being alone, more than most people, but after a few months I did start to feel I was going a bit crazy. This was made worse by the fact at that point in my life I had a big drop off in friend groups (mostly people getting married/moving/having kids/etc.) My health and hygiene definitely suffered. What was the tipping point for me, and I'm still unsure to this day, but I felt I was having auditory hallucinations (mostly hearing my name). I ended up joining a group video-chat app that pitched itself as unofficial group therapy, and things improved a lot. It was this way I learned I'm not actually an extreme introvert like my doctor liked to tell me I was, and consider myself far more extroverted than I used to since this experience. Since then I make an effort to socialize once a week even if I really don't feel like it.

I assume days alone in tiny rooms are something different than days alone in a cozy cabin oder days alone in nature in general. Seems odd to me that the effects have been contributed to the missing social interactions alone and neglect the jail like setting.

For a real life complement to the film I would highly recommend this 1973 BBC documentary on life on Bishop Rock Lighthouse [0] and this modern day 2025 vlog of a lighthouse worker [1].

Sadly I did not see any mention of monkey pump in either of these, but I think they show nicely how lighthouse work self-selects for individuals who can handle (or even prefer) the solitude that comes with the job.

[0] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bc9qxyf_suI

[1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PhRbJ3DQdlQ

Consider adding (2020) to the title. "The Lighthouse" is no longer Robert Eggers' most recent film.

>Psychologist Sarita Robinson at the University of Central Lancashire, UK, says that hallucinations are common when people are in isolation, usually occurring if there is also sensory deprivation, such as being in a dark room.

Does the AI model hallucinations somewhat linked to this, does computer AI model too need some sort of socializing?

Ephraim Winslow: "Alright, have it your way. I like your cookin'."

For a real life complement to the film I would highly recommend this 1973 BBC documentary on life on Bishop Rock Lighthouse [0] and this modern day 2025 vlog of a lighthouse worker [1].

[0] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bc9qxyf_suI

[1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PhRbJ3DQdlQ

There is a concept of going into the wilderness for some time (as we go through Lent). It's ancient. I wonder if we'll ever find out it's just as useful as intermittent fasting.

Ofcourse there are. Thats why all religuous systems produce monastic orders of one kind or another. Secular institutions are much younger so have much less mature versions of it. And out of these spaces you get some of the best human studying and thinking ever done.

The emergence of monastic life and how religion/cultures create space for it, in a sustainable way(cuz why even bother?), is fascinating for what its implications are about group behavior.

Think of monk like personality traits within any group being out of phase with the majority. Rather than filtering it out it survives. Not just in one culture. But in all.

One great example of what comes out of monestaries (trying to self sustain) is the emergence of Pastoral Care as a core feature of the church (some say more than any other feature it has contributed to how the Church survived down fall of empires, nations and kings that supported them). So Irish monks would walk into the local village listen to peoples problems in exchange for food and drink. That turned out to be so popular (probably the earliest forms of therapy) that it became institutionalized.

I remember reading about some desert monks who do that and that they had a set routine for every day including a large amount of manual physical work and cooking and cleaning. They were not just isolated in a cave doing nothing but living and working and praying. I seem to recall they were also advised to ignore any visions they had (even if they were good) which seems counter intuitive if one is thinking about stories about spirit quests. But I guess it's very wise.

I imagine the translation to lighthouses would be to ensure that your time there is spent in a good routine of keeping yourself active and to have some training on how to maintain psychological health. Over wintering Antarctic research scientists and astronauts probably also have rigorous routines although they would be in a small community which can regulate mental health.

I'm also reminded of the requirements of people being asked to move to small communities on isolated harsh islands. One would imagine that they would be attractive to people who do well alone, introverts, who work alone and are happy quietly, but they actually want and favour people who like others, need to work with others, who work well in a community and are socially outgoing.

I had the privilege of living in a remote village in the Catskills. I've never missed a place so much! I can attest to the Science of Awe. We need that connection in our lives.

Consider adding (2020) to the title. "The Lighthouse" is no longer Robert Eggers' most recent film.

On the subject, I'll say that voluntary solitude is amazing, loneliness sucks. However, the number of people you interact with has nothing to do with either.

Thanks - I read this like 20 years ago back to back with We, the Drowned, and they really put a south pacific bug in me which I retain to this day.

I couldn't remember the name the few times I tried searching for it. Of course, now that there's AI I found it quite easily with the few specific details I remembered but you take the prize for reminding me first.

Seems pretty similar to be. I do not like people, but I don't dislike talking to people.

Speculation: What you actually like is independence, not being bound by others or being chained by those around you - the feeling of freedom. However, it does make you go a bit crazy so I do recommend getting at least something to take care of like a pet or even some plants since humanity historically relies on a purpose and the lack of it has pretty severe side effects. By chaining yourself and getting something to take care of is an easy way to make it less impactful while still experiencing that freedom.

Does the AI model hallucinations somewhat linked to this, does computer AI model too need some sort of socializing?

Of course, yes. Yes. It is also sad when it is hungry so best feed it with its preferred food, which is dollars. Loves to eat dollars.

The emergence of monastic life and how religion/cultures create space for it, in a sustainable way(cuz why even bother?), is fascinating for what its implications are about group behavior.

Think of monk like personality traits within any group being out of phase with the majority. Rather than filtering it out it survives. Not just in one culture. But in all.

I had the privilege of living in a remote village in the Catskills. I've never missed a place so much! I can attest to the Science of Awe. We need that connection in our lives.

Thanks - I read this like 20 years ago back to back with We, the Drowned, and they really put a south pacific bug in me which I retain to this day.

Seems pretty similar to be. I do not like people, but I don't dislike talking to people.

Of course, yes. Yes. It is also sad when it is hungry so best feed it with its preferred food, which is dollars. Loves to eat dollars.

So, another religion ?

Willem Dafoe and Robert Pattinson

Willem Dafoe and Robert Pattinson star in The Lighthouse

Universal

What happens to the mind when you’re confined to a life of solitude? Robert Eggers offers his interpretation in his latest film, The Lighthouse, a psychological horror shot in haunting black and white.

Set in the late 19th century, it follows elderly lighthouse keeper Thomas Wake (played by Willem Dafoe) and his assistant Ephraim Winslow (Robert Pattinson) as they spend a month tending to a lighthouse on an isolated island.

Things get weird almost as soon as the two men arrive ashore. New recruit Winslow finds a mermaid figurine, inciting visions of a beautiful humanoid creature washed up on the shore, equal parts erotic and disturbing. He sees Wake naked in the lantern tower of the lighthouse and has distressing dreams.

Psychologist Sarita Robinson at the University of Central Lancashire, UK, says that hallucinations are common when people are in isolation, usually occurring if there is also sensory deprivation, such as being in a dark room.

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The Lighthouse: How extreme isolation transforms the body and mind

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