There's no doubt that being single and alone gets a bad rep.

Think about it: what messages do you tell yourself about single people or the single life? Do you fear that it means you're insecure or lonely? Is it something you actively strive to avoid? Do you feel embarrassed when people ask questions about marriage or relationships?

You're not alone. Our society perpetuates many damaging myths about staying single. But as it turns out, being single can radically transform your emotional well-being. Here's why.

Benefits of Being Single: What the Research Shows

Whether you realize it or not, a single life comes with many surprising benefits. Even though we live in a world that strongly focuses on partnership, research suggests that being single is making a strong comeback. Here's what unmarried people get to enjoy:

More Time for Yourself

How often do you really spend quality time alone? If you're like most people, you probably don't consider the benefits of building a loving relationship with yourself.

Relationships can undoubtedly be rewarding, but they also come with downsides. Any relationship comes with a sense of stress, sacrifice, and compromise. Those are the inherent costs of being with another person.

But when you're single, you have the unadulterated freedom to do what you want. As a result, you can explore other aspects of your life that bring you meaning. These may include cultivating passions, strengthening old and new relationships with friends, deepening spirituality, and focusing on health and wellness.

Increased Self-Sufficiency

A lack of self-sufficiency can create immense difficulties among partnered or married people. If the relationship ends for whatever reason, the single person often feels lost or helpless. They haven't learned all the skills needed to manage life.

Single people tend to naturally strengthen their abilities, tap into their resources, and depend on themselves. They also tend to have a greater support network with family or close friends.

When you're single, you learn to rely on yourself for happiness. You also learn that you're more capable of doing certain things than you probably realized.

More Opportunities for Deeper Friendships

Marriage and romantic relationships come with many benefits. But one of the dangers of these dynamics is the toll they take on personal relationships with others. There's an isolating effect that happens in committed relationships, and this is a societal norm.

Single people, on the other hand, tend to have deeper, higher-quality relationships. These friendships are paramount for your mental health.

In general, there are more opportunities for social connection. Instead of relying on a spouse for emotional support, you turn to friends instead.

Undeniable Freedom

Partnered and married couples balance each other's needs when it comes to structuring life and free time. This compromise is important- it would be selfish to only focus on yourself when you're committed to another person.

But when it's just you? There's limitless time for personal development, new hobbies, and the ability to radically explore life. In other words, you can spend time and money as you wish. You can build the good life you want without worrying about affecting anyone else.

Better Sex Life

When you're single, you are free to explore your sexuality and sexual desires without impeding your partner or spouse. There's significant freedom in that benefit!

Many people don't really know what they like when it comes to sex. To complicate matters, negative emotions, shame, or societal pressures often make it challenging to enjoy intimacy.

Being single allows you to explore this important part of your life. And whether you choose to enjoy monogamous sex or embrace a more diverse range of sexual experiences, being single means you can focus more on your pleasure.

Career Growth and Satisfaction

If you value your professional identity, being single can help. When you're single, you get to focus on what matters most to you. You have more time to devote to your career, which can fuel more passion and fulfillment.

You don't have to worry about how your job impacts your romantic relationship. So if you enjoy spending time working or building your business, you might want to revisit your single status!

Best of all? If you want to invest in your professional endeavors, nobody else's visions, credit card debt, or apprehensions can hold you back.

Improved Women's Happiness

Despite the misconceptions about married folks, one meta-analysis comparing 18 different studies showed that marriage doesn't inherently make people happier.

This phenomenon likely has to do with set-point theory. In other words, happiness tends to be stable over time, and we habituate to extreme events fairly quickly.

Interestingly though, married women tend to become more dissatisfied in their marriages than men. They're also more likely to initiate divorce. And new science shows that while marriage tends to be beneficial for men, single, unmarried women are among some of the happiest people.

How Therapy Can Help You Embrace the Single Life

Whether you're intentionally choosing to stay single or you want to work on yourself before entering a romantic relationship, therapy can be a valuable investment in your self-awareness journey.

No matter your priorities, we are here to help you live (and enjoy!) your best life.