Being subjected to extended aloneness kills the spirit, introduces insanity, and destroys a person. Senator and former Vietnam POW John McCain describes the elation he experienced when he was reunited with fellow prisoners after a horribly long and brutal separation: "I was overwhelmed by the compulsion to talk nonstop, face to face with my obliging new cellmate. I ran my mouth ceaselessly for four days… One of the more amusing spectacles in prison is the sight of two men, both just released from solitary, talking their heads off simultaneously, neither one listening to the other, both absolutely enraptured by the sound of their voices.
Source: Bill Donahue & Russ Robinson, Building a Church of Small Groups, pg. 24)