Social Withdrawal

We've all heard of the withdrawal syndrome. Once a behavior is in the process of extermination, the addicting force that drives behavior to reestablish is an effect of withdrawal.

Have you ever felt the void after a long weekend of having fun with friends, family, someone in your presence? That resistance to fall back into routine?

Well, I think I am going to append the Withdrawal category with that associated feeling as Social Withdrawal Syndrome. There is an incentive, almost a motivation to continue relations with those who contributed to the syndrome. Writing emails, talking about them and the events that transpired to whomever comes in contact with you, replaying the events in your head while lying on the bed, or taking a bite of cereal. Those behaviors are your endeavor to fill the void that all that socializing has left.

What are ways people overcome this void, this Social Withdrawal? Is it the perpetual "routine" that we are so hesitant to return to? Wake up, make chai, eat breakfast, go to work, park car, walk to building; all the while, plastering on the smile that is partially a residue of the exhausting but entertaining weekend, and partially a workday ethic. Even at work, the first day back, you entertain your colleagues with a few anecdotes in remembrance of your socializing, trying to hold on to the dimming, thinning thread of the events of your socialization. But, inevitably, your partial social withdrawal smile fades over the course of hours, days, weeks, months, and your work smile consumes your countenance. What enables this feat?

Maybe it's the law of diminishing returns. Remember in Econ, the first bite of pizza is the best bite, most delicious, and the consecutive bites just don't give you that special feeling as did the first bite. The repetitive action ends up eliminating the fancy and excitement of it all.

Is this what happens? The long weekend, is short enough to enjoy but not long enough to get tired of, so it's still considered a novelty when it's over? And the repetitive motion of speaking, thinking, replaying of the events of the weekend, is just a method of diminishing the return?

So, how do we keep the memories the longest, and keep the feeling the longest? Experimental Analysis of Behavior would suggest you talk, and think about the events in a random variable manner. So as to not get you too used to the memories, or events. That way, when you do happen to encounter someone, you don't know if you're going to talk about the event or not. But usually, this method is only performed on OTHERS. Rarely on oneself. You control your thoughts. So you would know if this was the "variable time" or not.

But what if you can't control your thoughts? Sheesh, this can go on forever. I think I'll stop here, I've exhausted my enthusiasm for this topic with the repetitive behavior of "writing about it."