From Days of Healing, Days of Joy - A Hazelden book

"Loneliness expresses the pain of being alone and solitude expresses the glory of being alone."...............................................................Paul Tillich

It may be said the road that runs between loneliness and solitude is the highway of recovery. Before recovery most of us fear and flee loneliness. We may be terrified of being alone because we don't think of ourselves as good company. Once the walk down the road of recover has begun, however, we discover in that same aloneness a most marvelous person - ourselves.

Our task is to resist the old infernal messages that would make us shy away from ourselves. Our task is to rise above that horrid noise and acknowledge that we have marvelous thoughts if we would only give ourselves credit for them. We need to accept that many people love us, and their lives would be less if we were of part of them. We love and are loved. That makes us very special.

It is not the stillness that matters, for that is the same in both loneliness and solitude. The difference is the attitude we have toward ourselves.
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As my recovery grows, so does my ability to be comfortable in my own company.

Before recovery, I WAS very afraid of being alone, because my mind would torture and torment me. I was tormented by regret, guilt, shame, etc. These thoughts would ramble around in my mind until I was exhausted. I'd try to think of pleasant things, but these other thoughts would interfere to the point where I couldn't have a focused, intelligent thought at all.

During recovery I found myself being alone more and more, and actually liking it. It was even to the point that I was looking for solitude. I found it easier to think of pleasant things, and especially after I'd done my 4th & 5th steps I felt free of the guilt, shame and regrets. Where before, I tried not to go into my head alone because it was a dangerous neighborhood, during recovery I enjoyed being alone and looked forward to it.

Our attitude DOES change about ourselves in recovery. And I'm grateful.