204. What Happens When You’re Cut Off From All Human Contact?

How is the brain affected by solitary confinement? How would you deal with being stranded on a deserted island? And do baby monkeys make the best therapists?

SOURCES:William Broyles Jr. • , screenwriter, journalism, and former U.S. Marine Corps officer. Beatriz Flamini • , Spanish mountaineer. Craig Haney • , professor of psychology at the University of California Santa Cruz. Harry Harlow • , 20th-century American psychologist. Sarah Hepola • , author. Nelson Mandela • , former president of South Africa. Tree Meinch • , freelance writer, editor, and freediver. Alexander Selkirk • , 18th-century Scottish privateer and Royal Navy officer. Cheryl Strayed • , writer and podcast host.

RESOURCES: • " The Impact of Isolation on Brain Health • ," by Vibol Heng, Craig Haney, and Richard Jay Smeyne ( Neurobiology of Brain Disorders, • 2023). • " What Happens When Humans Are Extremely Isolated? • " by Tree Meinch ( Discover, • 2023). • " Spanish Climber Leaves Cave After 500 Days in Isolation • ," by Ciarán Giles ( AP News, • 2023). • " Solitary Confinement Is Not 'Solitude': The Worst Case Scenario of Being 'Alone' in Prison • ," by Craig Haney ( The Handbook of Solitude, • 2021). This Tender Land, • by William Kent Krueger (2019). Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail, • by Cheryl Strayed (2012). • " The Real Robinson Crusoe • ," by Bruce Selcraig ( Smithsonian Magazine, • 2005). • " Lost at Sea and Back Again • ," by Sarah Hepola ( The Austin Chronicle, • 2000). • " Social Recovery of Monkeys Isolated for the First Year of Life: I. Rehabilitation and Therapy • ," by Melinda Novak and Harry Harlow ( Developmental Psychology, • 1975).

EXTRAS: • " Do You Need a Hug? • " by No Stupid Questions • (2024). • " What Makes a Good Gathering? • " by No Stupid Questions • (2024). • " What to Do When Everything Looks Like a Catastrophe? • " by No Stupid Questions • (2022). Cast Away, • film (2000).