Solitude is 10000000% my best medicine (statistically impossible though that is ). No doubt about it. And it has no bearing on how much love I have for anyone...I can just think more clearly when I am alone, especially when I am in a mood episode, because I'm not having to worry about interaction with others (which can be frustrating for me anyway) and because I just genuinely love being alone. I enjoy my own silence, my own little activities and diversions (sip tea, read, paint, make jewelry, be in the woods, cook, bake, be in the ocean, go for drives, read books in French or Latin, write, organize stuff, clean, Buffy marathons, Film marathons, snuggle the dogs, make lists, yoga, lift weights, sing, dance, be both in and out of myself--whatever gets my attention), and whatever I want/need/wish to do when I am feeling low and can do by myself that I won't do with others (like most of that junk I just listed). I can lose myself in things that I enjoy and be in my own world and the rest of the frenetic craziness often falls away and things rewire correctly...much faster than they otherwise would have. It's a time to regroup and center--not a running away. It looks like hiding, but it's not--it's actually healing. Basically, solitude is peace for me. It's better than any pill. This could have more to do with my personality than anything else, but I think with relation to bipolar it is a common feeling that when we are in solitude we can control the incoming stimuli and begin to sort through our thoughts, whether racing and confusing or sluggish and confusing. I could be wrong, but I have found this to be generally true. Although...my personal circle of people in this world is very small. So one cannot apply my sample size to the larger population...it's just a hunch.