Being happy in isolation?

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I've been trying to figure this one out. I find that certain mental exercises and even rewriting the brain can allow humans to live in certain conditions, and I was wondering if it's possible to just make myself immune (or more resistant) to loneliness. I know it sounds like an odd and self-destructive thing to do, but I find being alone MUCH easier and I don't feel drained and paranoid like I do with other people. I don't want to cut contact entirely, but I want to be able to live somewhere and not end up with depression resulting from my lack of contact. I think my degree of loneliness and my desire to be in contact with people is right in the average range. I don't like too many people and I don't like being totally cut off, but I know how my brain works and I think it's in my best interest to learn how to survive without contact, just for however long is needed at a time. Being alone after a while also gives me a very frightening existential crisis, and when I am with others I can be distracted from this. I feel trapped because I'm high functioning enough to talk to others verbally, but low enough to the point where I can't keep them as friends. However when I'm with others I feel a constant mental pressure, paranoia, and a general feeling of being threatened. I also pass out from exhaustion by the end of the day, and it has destabilized my sleep patterns.

I would put it simply as: are there ways to feel better with yourself, on your own?
Not to make it a permanent state but to allow yourself to take rest from social life.
The first thing I would look for is something you can enjoy doing alone. Maybe something creative like cooking or gardening or making models or doing some amateur arts... or reading, meditating, speculating, learning new facts... something that makes you feel good at the end of the day.
So the time you are on your own can be enjoyed. And when you feel good, it can be easier among the people too.

I usually live alone except my three dogs and two horses (at someone else's farm). I currently don't have any friends except an online pen-pal. My animals meet my needs for company, for the most part. I often don't want the trouble of friendship or relationships, but sometimes when I want human social contact I do volunteer work. I am currently volunteering once a week at a soccer league for kids on the Spectrum. I can be myself while being around other people for a bit.

I am isolated except when I make the choice not to be under circumstances of my choosing. I am happy this way.

Wow this mirrors my life to a T, except for the animals of course.

I'll tell you my friend that I have absolutely no problem with isolation, even for long periods of time. I think what you're having trouble with though, is simply the "stigma" of being alone. I'm going to bet that being alone isn't necessarily a problem for you but you're worried about what others might think? Especially NTs?

I might be off base with you since I don't know you from Adam but I had a problem with being isolated too a few years ago but then I realized that it was just the stigma of being alone that I had a problem with. And then, telling NTs that you spent so much time alone and then tolerating their pathetically condescending behaviour for it. My advice is, don't let the "stigma" of being alone, or isolated, for so long bother you. When I came to accept the fact that being alone made me happy, despite the socially unacceptable factor of it, then I began to calm down and be happier.

I heard an explanation for why Autistics like us like being alone once and it made so much sense to me. We need that time to "recharge our batteries." Being with NTs is incredibly draining for those like us. We need alone time to fill our energy reserves for when NTs are around us because their mere presence is very taxing to us. Their pointless and mind-numbing small talk, their confusing social cues that we always miss, their misleading sarcasm, jokes that we never get, etc. etc. Those reasons AND for the reasons you stated above are why we need so much alone time.

I tell you, Autistics who get married or have "significant others" baffle me. Someone else there... all the effing time...

Wow. How do they tolerate that much time with someone else? Alone time is too important for me. And I need A LOT of it.

So don't sweat it. Lots of alone time, even isolation, is OK for those like us.

Some Aspies can and others can't.

For me, a daily routine of positive activities help. I’m building it slowly & sometimes s**t happens. I’m happiest when I am moving toward some goal though.

I try to make use of my time alone. I do a lot of things that take a lot of time and energy, make me feel fulfilled, and don't really involve other people. I like to make an excursion into town for groceries every day. On a good day it's kind of like a socialization raid. I go to a couple of stores where I know people, say hi, and that's about it. A little more than that, sometimes. I volunteer at a community bike shop on Saturdays, but we don't really talk all that much there.

Depends on the person

You can get a pet.
Interracting on Twitch or other online ways could be a safe way for interracting with others.

Thanks for all the answers. Though my main difficulty, the one I seem to constantly have trouble with anyways, is an existential crisis. Being with others (that I trust) can help alleviate this because I feel like there's someone else in the universe who is as conscious as me (hopefully). When alone, it just feels empty and I feel like there's a giant hole. I haven't been diagnosed with any personality disorders but I think a lot of people are like this, or they wouldn't go looking for friends in the first place. I don't need much socialization but I want there to be a continuous "process", and I don't just want to live my life in a small cabin and die because that makes me extremely existential. I feel like I want to contribute something eternal, and last forever somehow even though I know nothing lasts forever. I think it is possible to "accept" this finite and peaceful life but I will feel like I wasted my potential and my ability to leave something before my death. I feel like I always have a greater purpose but I just can't get it through my head that there's no such thing, whether I die knowing and loving no one and do so peacefully or whether I contribute something to our society to keep myself living on in a physical way. I'm afraid of an end, but not afraid of death or finiteness.

Some people find meaning in their life by volunteering. In a lot of communities, the poorest people get food and meals via volunteer programs.

i think its possible, but very hard.

i live in isolation, and i have no hope to get out of it so i need to accept it...but so far i have not....