Many people can remember feeling very lonely when we were ______.

Loneliness is a curious thing. Many people can remember feeling most lonely not when they were in fact alone at all, but when they were surrounded by people. Everyone of us has experienced, at some time, that utter sense of isolation comes over you when you are at a party or an audience at a lecture. It suddenly seems to you as if everybody knows everybody else; everybody is sure of himself; everybody, except you.
    This feeling of loneliness which can come over you when you are in a crowd is very difficult to overcome. People living alone are advised to deal with their loneliness by joining a club or a society, by going out and meeting people. Does this really help?
    There are no easy solutions. Your first day at work, or at a new school or university, is a typical situation in which you are likely to feel lonely. You feel that everybody else is very confident and knows what to do, but you are adrift and helpless. The fact of the matter is that in order to survive, we all put on a show of self-confidence to hide our uncertainties and doubts.
    In a big city it is particularly easy to get the feeling that everybody except you is leading a full, rich and busy life. Everybody is going somewhere, and you tend to assume that they are going somewhere nice and interesting, whereas your destination is less exciting and fulfilling.