Loneliness and solitude are not the same thing. Loneliness is feeling disconnected regardless of whether you're alone or with people. Solitude is chosen. It's being fine with your own company. And that's the key. Once you give yourself permission to actually get to know yourself, to accept what you find, being alone stops being something you avoid. It becomes something you're okay with. That changes everything about how you relate to other people and life in general.