The American writer Maya Angelou wrote a poem which contains the lines: "Nobody, but nobody/Can make it out here alone."

If she is right, it's a frightening truth. For millions of people feel they have no option but to struggle on alone. They do not choose solitude like the hermit, recluse or artist. Theirs is the punishment of solitary confinement which is the prisoner's torture.

The irony is that in this world of frenetic communication, more and more people feel there is nobody who wants to communicate with them at a meaningful level.

What does it add up to? What use are the multi-layers of "communication" when so many people have no feeling of belonging? We are deceived by communication. Mistaking it for community, we pay the price each day in a downward spiral of mental health.