I read a book awhile back about a man who exhibited some differences as a child and went to live in the woods. He survived for 20 years or more by pilfering stuff from surrounding cabins and homes. Most people didn't mind, and would leave bags outside for him or leave their doors unlocked. But eventually he got arrested and was forced, for his own good, to live in a house, with regular social interaction, a job etc - what many of us call a right-side-up life. While in the woods, he was happy and productive. In his right-side-up life he was miserable, and probably medicated. I understood, at the end of the book, just how wrong a right-side-up life is for some of us, if not for many of us. Perhaps the forcing of that life onto some is a cause of mental illness.
I think so too. I do think some social interaction is necessary... not a lot, but I think it can have a very positive effect not to be shunted. But I agree, so much dis-ease is coming from this rigid sort of box of how it's supposed to be.
What happened to him, do you remember?
The book ended on his living a "normal" life, with a menial job, a house (his mother's), and regular visits from social workers. He avoided everyone else. I got the feeling he was unhappy, and that his treatment was very wrong.