Why Solitude Fuels Creativity.

As creatives, do we prefer to be alone? In my clinical world of psychotherapy, I utilise the relationship as a core component of the work, but do musicians and other creatives also have a deeper pull to isolation?

Some suggest that many of history’s most creative people did their best work alone. The psychologist Frank Barron and psychiatrist Anthony Storr both believed that solitude isn’t just a quirk of the creative temperament, it’s often essential to it.

Frank Barron, a pioneer of creativity research, spent much of his career studying what makes creative people tick. He suggested that creative individuals often prized solitude and sometimes stepped away from conventional paths like marriage, parenthood, or even steady careers. It wasn’t that we reject relationships altogether, but rather that our drive for self-expression and discovery often took priority. Barron felt that creativity was deeply tied to personal growth, from this perspective, our musicking is about finding and expressing our true self. This process requires time, space, and freedom from too many outside expectations. In this respect, solitude isn’t just an escape. It is actually a resource.

A few decades later, psychiatrist Anthony Storr echoed and expanded these ideas in his influential book Solitude: A Return to the Self. At the time, psychology was heavily focused on the importance of close relationships. Storr pushed back, arguing that being alone can be just as fulfilling and often more productive for creative minds. For Storr, solitude wasn’t the same as loneliness. Instead, it was an opportunity: a chance to reflect, recharge, and dig deeper into one’s own thoughts and ideas. Many artists, writers, and thinkers, he pointed out, found their breakthroughs in moments of isolation rather than constant social interaction.

He also challenged the myth that solitary creatives are somehow damaged or dysfunctional. While early experiences of isolation might play a role for some, for many others, solitude was simply a conscious choice, a way to find meaning and order beyond the noise of social expectations.

What Barron and Storr both understood is that creativity often flourishes in the inner world. While society tends to celebrate social connection as the ultimate route to happiness, they offered a different perspective. For many, fulfilment comes from nurturing the mind and imagination in quiet spaces.

This doesn’t mean relationships don’t matter, of course they do! But it’s a reminder that solitude, far from being something to fear or avoid, can be a powerful tool for growth, innovation, and self-discovery.

In an age where we’re constantly negatively connected, scrolling, messaging, and distracting it can feel uncomfortable to step back and be alone with our thoughts. But Barron and Storr’s work suggests that it’s precisely in those quiet, solitary moments that our most original ideas may take shape. This is what I tell the kids!

So if you find yourself craving time alone, don’t see it as selfish or antisocial. Think of it instead as an investment in your creativity and in the deeper process of discovering who you are.

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Adam Ficek hosts a monthly show 'Tonic Music' on Totally Wired Radio, where he talks to various guests about music and mental health. You can listen again to any of the previous show on the Tonic Music Mixcloud page.