How To Be Alone

Andrea Dorfman · 10.1M views · 2010-07-28 · 4:35

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Overview

An animated short film of Tanya Davis's spoken-word poem 'How To Be Alone', illustrated by Andrea Dorfman. It gently argues that being alone can be embraced and enjoyed.

On Hacker News

HN commenters point lonely people to it as a moving, comforting piece of art about getting comfortable with solitude.

Recommended by 6 HN people across 5 months · HN mentions 2010–2026

Topics

Literature & writing craft Psychology & human behavior Visual arts, photography & architecture

What people said

idealboy · 2026-03 · Recommendation
Most responses are about how not to be alone. Your question reminded me of an old YouTube video I found helpful called how to be alone: [VIDEO]
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forrestpitz · 2026-03 · Recommendation
Maybe not specific advice for your situation but I've always found this poem moving and valuable when it comes to building comfort in being alone. I hope it helps you too [VIDEO]
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ptrklly · 2022-03 · Recommendation
I'm sorry you feel this way! I've felt very lonely in the past and it was among my hardest times--though I'm sure my version of it was different and doesn't have specific applicability, just figured I'd share. You asked on "tips for giving yourself attention". Can you elaborate on what you mean by that? Are there examples you could give us of what that is like, to help us think of other ideas? One piece of art that I loved that is about this topic is this: [VIDEO] . Like most art it doesn't really answer your question directly with concrete suggestions, but maybe it will be worth watching anyway.
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Sources

Video by Andrea Dorfman, played through YouTube.

HN Library · Source license

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