Loneliness in old age.

For many elderly people today its not money that is their greatest worry and problem, but chronic loneliness. As the demography changes and there are more and more people going into old age, when in the past they would have 'popped off' - staying alive is the issue for many. I don't know whether there has been any research into the biochemical changes in the brain of chronically severely lonely old people, but I'm sure there are changes. This may also be a factor in the onset of premature dementia. In order to help these suffers Ester Rantzen (the founder of Child Line) has started a befriending service Silver Line helped by a grant of £5 from the Big Lottery Fund. The service will start before Christmas - often experienced by many as the loneliness day of the year. The helpline is now recruiting staff and need also 3,000 volunteers. They can be contacted on 0800 328 8888