С-470

ВАРИТЬСЯ В СОБСТВЕННОМ СОКУ coll VP subj: human to live, work etc alone or within a very small circle of people, often being deprived of the opportunity to confer with others or benefit from their experience

X варится в собственном соку - X is left to his own resources

X is cut off from his colleagues (fellow NPs) etc).

После окончания института молодой врач попал в маленькую сельскую больницу, где он варился в собственном соку, не имея возможности ни с кем посоветоваться. After graduating from medical school the young doctor ended up in a small country hospital, where he was left to his own resources, without anyone to consult with.

В больнице теперь были новые правила: всех иностранцев перевели на один этаж, чтобы изолировать от «отечественных» больных. Только выходившие гулять в сад могли перекинуться словом с русским. Это раздражало иностранцев, варившихся в собственном соку (Аллилуева 2). ( context transl ) The hospital had new rules now

all foreigners had been moved to one floor, so as to isolate them from "native" patients. Only those who went for walks in the garden could exchange a few words with Russians. This annoyed the foreigners, who got tired of each other's company (2a).

Apparently a loan translation (but with a different sense) of the French cuire dans son jus or the English "to stew in one's own juice." Both the French and the English idioms mean "to suffer the unpleasant consequences of one's own foolish actions."