Is this desire, to not be friendless anymore, healthy? I have been friendless for around 5 years. The reason I'm in this situation is due to my bad traits alone. I have actually grown accustomed to this till recently, when I became increasingly unsettled by the constant silence in my house. Usually, I've been able to shrug off this loneliness by busying myself with my studies, but lately, the strategy is not working.

This desire for friends has been gnawing at me everyday. But I've been alone for so long now that I find it hard to make friends. So my question is, is this desire healthy in terms of a Buddhist perspective? And if it's not, how do I subdue this desire?
Any desire that cannot be achieved will cause suffering. Therefore, if (for some rare reason) you are intrinsically unable to make friends, you should accept this situation rather than suffer over it. 

That said, the luminous or clear part of our mind is not the same as the bad traits of the mind. If your mind is actually able to see it has bad traits then that part of the mind that can see is luminous &amp; clear. That is why Buddhism teaches we have the capacity to comprehend, work with &amp; change the bad traits of the mind. 

The very fact that you have concern about your personal situation shows you have the trait of friendship towards yourself. 

If you are uncomfortable with pursuing friendship in an ordinary way, you can find a good Buddhist centre or temple to visit &amp; discuss your personal concerns with a monk or teacher there. The Buddhist centre can be a place where you can learn to develop better traits &amp; friendship skills with others. 

The Buddha called himself the 'Kalyanamitta' or 'Noble Spiritual Friend', who does not offer superficial friendship but the gift of skilful methods &amp; wisdom leading to peace.