To ask how you withdraw completely from society?

[DancingwithDaffodils]

I don’t want to be part of our society. I don’t like anything about it. I want to completely withdraw, does anyone know how to do that?

Growing up in a cult must have been an intense experience, OP, and likely affected your feelings about people and society. Have you had any support with the impact of that?

Squatting? My niece is a squatter.

I often shocks me if I have a professional contact, how many of them don't have a single picture of themselves online. And very little other info. Civil servants especially often have very low profiles.

OP I think you may be best talking through your feelings with someone.
OP you don't do social Media yet you're on Mumsnet
I can't see how you can possibly achieve your goal until you know what that is.

I don't think it is easy to withdraw completely. As others have said what about heath/dental care- do you plan on making/growing everything you need? What about transport? You may need spare parts/seed/materials how will you get heavy items? If you plan no car then you wll need to get stuff delivered, that will mean having your details on a database somewhere.

Maybe exploring your ideas will help.
I am an introvert, I work full time from home online, I have my work supplies delivered, I only engage with customers by email- and that is not a big part of my work.
I have the space and time alone I need. I don't commute, I don't use public transport, I don't have colleagues, I am not part of a team.
Organising my work like this satisfies the introvert in me, but in order to have this peaceful place I comply in other ways- I pay a mortgage, I pay for people to grow my food.

I often shocks me if I have a professional contact, how many of them don't have a single picture of themselves online. And very little other info. Civil servants especially often have very low profiles.

I don't have a single picture of myself online.

There is a sizeable off-grid population in the deepest recesses of the U.S. People who have no official existence and aren't on any form of electoral roll etc. They tend to be nutters who believe any form of officialdom is intrinsically evil and designed to erode their freedoms. They occasionally go to shops to buy supplies but only when they really have to. They also have huge stockpiles of guns and food. maybe you could join the ranks of the Extreme Preppers, OP?

@DancingwithDaffodils

I can’t tolerate anyone really. I don’t feel depressed or unhappy, I just don’t want anything to do with society. I want to disappear completely in terms of digital footprint but am not sure how. I want to be erased to not exist on any kind of database, or records of any sort.

This will be portrayed as a MH problem, but temporary withdrawal has always happened. Lots of people run away in different forms, e.g. emigration.

Do you have children though? Not possible with children and their needs come first.

Also, are you independently wealthy enough not to work?

@speakout

I often shocks me if I have a professional contact, how many of them don't have a single picture of themselves online. And very little other info. Civil servants especially often have very low profiles.

I don't have a single picture of myself online.

Same, AFAIK.

@speakout

I often shocks me if I have a professional contact, how many of them don't have a single picture of themselves online. And very little other info. Civil servants especially often have very low profiles.

I don't have a single picture of myself online.

There are no pictures of me online either and when I google myself all that comes up is 192.com.

I do find it strange that OP is using MN though

If you have independent financial means do you don't need to work or claim benefits it would be reasonably easy to do to a large extent, especially if you live with someone else and utilities are in their name. Although I think being included on the census every 10 years I a legal requirement? And I'm not sure about the electoral register.

The danger would be if you needed health care and weren't registered with a GP/dentist. And of course you wouldn't be able to travel abroad or drive a car.

The first thing you need to do is stop using the internet and don't answer the landline or front door. I know someone who does this to protect themselves from the outside world. It causes a lot of worry for their close family, who just have to assume they are alive and well.

OP's on another thread so obviously doesn't mind being online that much

@User56439876

OP's on another thread so obviously doesn't mind being online that much

So?

It is bad form to stalk people round the boards and report back.

It's probably on Facebook as well, didn't have to look far as thread was very recent

FYI gmail accounts are very easy to track as they’re monitored by Google. And your mobile is essentially a tracking device that makes calls.

To go more off grid you’d need an encrypted email like protonmail.com, a non Microsoft/Google/Apple web browser like Brave, DuckDuckGo, Swiss Cows, and a VPN.

When you say you don’t like people - find them to be shallow etc - either you’re living in an area with a disproportionate number of arseholes or you’re not using discernment to find the nice people around you.

I find there are nice people everywhere. But you need to be discriminating.

I know a couple of people who live off grid but they still exist in the sense of they have an identity and the government know they exist.

I think it’s impossible to remove yourself completely.

@TatianaBis

When you say you don’t like people - find them to be shallow etc - either you’re living in an area with a disproportionate number of arseholes or you’re not using discernment to find the nice people around you.

I find there are nice people everywhere. But you need to be discriminating.

Yes this!

@TatianaBis

When you say you don’t like people - find them to be shallow etc - either you’re living in an area with a disproportionate number of arseholes or you’re not using discernment to find the nice people around you.

I find there are nice people everywhere. But you need to be discriminating.

There is a disproportionate number of twattish people though. You only have to skim through the boards to see these. Even on this thread there are such low rent comments, some people really do drag the chain.

Somebody mentioned Ben Fogle, Lives in the Wild. I've watched most of them, I often wonder how these ppl are even found or contacted

A guy is living in a hut made of sticks two hours from the nearest road, no electric or wifi, goes to town about once every two months for supplies but somehow has been contacted, multiple emails and phone calls and here he is

@DancingwithDaffodils

I can’t tolerate anyone really. I don’t feel depressed or unhappy, I just don’t want anything to do with society. I want to disappear completely in terms of digital footprint but am not sure how. I want to be erased to not exist on any kind of database, or records of any sort.

This is literally impossible, so there's not much point trying.

I think you’d like life on a narrow boat.

You can live as a continuous cruiser, which means no home mooring, though you do have to pay CRT for your boat license annually, and get gas safety checks periodically. Also a good idea to have boat insurance- all of which you’d need to pay for with cheque or bank transfer.

That’s it though- beyond that, you buy your coal, gas and wood cash from the coal boat, have solar panels/generators for electricity, you can be as remote as you like, and I’ll be honest, it’s long been a place people go to “disappear” for reasons both valid and, well, criminal.

I did it for a few years- not in an anonymous way- and found the freedom liberating.

Fairly easy to withdraw from society - rent a house in the country, with no neighbours. Go to the nearest town to buy food. Pay cash

Difficult to COMPLETELY withdraw. You need ID to get a tenancy, you have to register with the LA to pay Council Tax, you'll be captured on CCTV as you enter the shop

The Ben Fogle programme is interesting, but I often wonder what happens to those people when they get old or sick

OP, the book "Into the Wild" by Jon Krakauer might interest you. It's about a young man who wanted to disappear. It's also a film

OP unless you want to live off-grid in the woods, it's not essential. It is far easier to get lost in a crowd which I have done for the last 12.5 years and nobody has found me.

So sorry to disappoint the Sherlock Holmes brigade I did not do anything wrong but somebody did wrong to me and nobody would believe or listen to my story instead they encouraged this other person which only made my situation worse although it made disappearing for me far easier.

I have never used social media mainly because I dislike certain things about it namely the lack of privacy. I use an adaptation of my name except for legal and medical stuff etc.

Where I live now is the most unfriendly place I have ever lived but that suits me as when I first moved it was amazing the questions neighbours asked that was really none of their business, so I gave each one a slightly different variation as I had noticed they got together for gossip sessions during the day and would have loved to be a fly on the wall to hear what they said. After a little while they stopped talking to me which really suits because they are not genuine or trusting anyway. Some are into drugs alcohol and other things and I do not wish to get involved in those.

PM if you think I can help further

@DancingwithDaffodils

I can’t tolerate anyone really. I don’t feel depressed or unhappy, I just don’t want anything to do with society. I want to disappear completely in terms of digital footprint but am not sure how. I want to be erased to not exist on any kind of database, or records of any sort.

well you would have to start i suppose by not being on the electorial roll , so dont fill in the form next time it comes through , delete all your social media accounts ,but its difficult when it comes to doctors as they still would have your record. you would basically have to not visit the doctor for a year or more and hope they took you off their list , or ask them to do it , but you would then be without a gp if you needed one , same with the denitist , if you are nhs they automatically take you off their lists if you dont have a checkup within a year or 2 anyway to free up space as its already been pointed out if you need water and electric which im assuming you will , you would have to have an account with them both you would have to take out all your cash from your bank and close down your accunt as well . personally i think what you want is very difficult to do in todays society

OP you can google how to go off grid uk and there are various resources (I have assumed you are in the uk but am sure there are similar resources available elsewhere). I think the point that previous posters have made is very important - to understand why you want to do this, and what the alternatives are which could improve your happiness. Withdrawing may not be the best or only solution. I googled this some time ago when I was totally exhausted - in my case the solution was to get more sleep and start saying no to people regularly!