Neither Prime, Nor Composite

Consider this the compliment to the Cuddle Monster. This is no monster though; no ghouls, freaks, or spooks are involved in this one. In fact: it is the lack of these things, as well as everything else that motivates this fear. I can only describe it as the fear of being alone. Abandonment is the most primal of fears. It is instictual in fact; engrained on our very DNA. So why do we fear being alone? The answer appears to be simple enough: because life is one big game of dodgeball and it really sucks when you're the only one on a team and everyone is trying to peg you square in the nuts from across the gym.

We're social animals. We need the company of our own kind. The only critters out there that are good at being alone are the ones that are singularly created killing machines whose sole purpose is to be a mean little bastard to everyone else (i.e. honey badgers). We homo sapiens are more complicated than that, and we've certainly done a good job at trying to avoid ending up alone. I mean, everything from marriage, to sports, to racism is fundamentally based on the idea of unity; that it takes more than one person to make something happen, to find happiness.

In a more psychological sense, we need others because it gives us value. The very fact of knowing that somewhere out there in this big clusterfuck is at least one person who cares about what I do make us feel good; like we matter. And we do, because as soon as you really let yourself become entwined into another person's life, your actions become a deciding factor in those of that person, maybe even the thing on which his or her happiness is contingent. This is only one extreme though. Meaningful relationships are key, but there is an entire spectrum of interaction that fulfills so many other needs, from the utilitarian to the truly miraculous.

This is not to say that isolation is not without its virtues. Can you truly understand yourself as an individual without the occasional quiet moment of reflection. Whether it's meditation, prayer, laying down for bed, or taking a shit, we allow ourselves times of reflection because sometimes it sucks to be around other people. In the end though, we all want to go back to others.

Are we afraid to be alone because it leaves you with no one around, or because it only leaves you around? Only you can answer that question.