Solitude can be good—If you see it as such: Reappraisal helps lonely people experience solitude more positively.

Objective: Solitude is a common experience that can elicit both positive (e.g., relaxation) and negative (e.g., loneliness) emotions. But can changing the way we think about solitude improve its emotional effects? In a previous study, our team found that positively reframing solitude buffers against a reduction in positive affect when alone. Yet, it is unknown whether people who are lonely—and thus more likely to experience solitude negatively—benefit from modifying their beliefs about being alone. Method: Here, we test whether reframing solitude as a beneficial experience or de‐stigmatizing loneliness helps people experiencing moderate‐to‐severe loneliness (N = 224) feel more positive emotion and less negative emotion during solitude. We randomly assigned participants to read about either the benefits of solitude, the high prevalence of loneliness, or a control topic. Then, participants spent 10 min alone in the laboratory. State affect was assessed before and after the solitude period. Results: Across conditions, the solitude period reduced high‐arousal positive (e.g., excited) and high‐arousal negative (e.g., anxious) affect. Notably, people who read about the benefits of solitude experienced a significantly larger increase in low‐arousal positive affect compared with the control condition. Conclusion: Our findings indicate that lonely individuals can more readily reap the emotional benefits of solitude when they reframe solitude as an experience that can enhance their well‐being. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]