At this time of the year loneliness can be particularly painful. Loneliness isn't something that affects just the poor; or the old; or the deserted. You can be alone in the middle of a noisy family; surrounded by work colleagues; in a crowd of friends. Money, youth, and success aren't necessarily any protection. Christmas and New Year make it all seem worse -almost too much to live through. In our increasingly crowded and increasingly noisy society the problem of loneliness is also increasing-Why? And what should we do?