In our hyper-connected world, we all need alone time. Yes, even you. You probably need it more than you think.

I’m not just talking about a night with your couch, Netflix, and a pint of Ben and Jerry’s peanut butter cup ice cream (though that sounds like heaven); I’m talking about disconnecting from screens and distractions and being really alone — mind, body, and soul.

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Do I Need Alone Time?

Here’s how to know if you need to spend some much-needed time with yourself.

You need to be alone when you cannot find a happy home within yourself. When you are scared — absolutely terrified– of being alone. When you seek shelter within the home of someone else’s arms to distract you from yourself. Though you may want someone to save you from your own chaos, you need to be your own knight in shining armor.

You need to be alone when your psyche aches in exhaustion — no matter how many hours you’ve slept. Though your eyes shut no matter the hour, you don’t really get true rest. True alone time will calm the demons that taunt you inside your head and quell the nerves in your stomach. You need to be alone, you need to feel and sort your feelings, and you need to fix the things that are causing your exhaustion — this is something only a refreshed and focused mind can do.

You need to be alone when you are unhappy and your outsides don’t reflect your insides. When you smile through the pains of the day, accepting that your shortcomings define who you are and will never change. When you need someone else to break down the walls in your head you’ve built, relying on them to help you feel the world differently. You need to be alone when you want so badly to love and to be loved but you just can’t get there. Love will only come to those who are at peace in their own minds.