do we see ourselves only through our reflection in others?

I read an article the other day that really hit home about a man who had spent a few years in isolation and how he lost sense of himself because he never talked to anyone at all after being offered a cheap place to live far and away from everyone. Apparently his closest neighbor was several miles away and he spent nearly two years away from even talking to any other human being. There was the idea that you lose sense of who you are not seeing yourself reflected in those around you. Perhaps you don't really exist if nobody else acknowledges you, perhaps you don't matter if you are invisible.

I think I've been falling down a slow decline for many years. I am an invisible creature, moving in and around other people sometimes, but I rarely, if ever, talk to anyone. And when I mean talk, I mean more than just general pleasantries, more than the polite transactions that occur weaving through your daily life. I speak to Don, sure. I have many conversations with myself in my head, but they are often mean, critical and really obnoxious cruel and chiding things that leave me feeling worse ...