I too just joined as a member of the forums here, and largely because of this very thread's topic. This is the second Christmas I have spent completely alone, but the first of which I have had no chemical help in dealing with that reality. I've been telling myself in recent weeks that this would be just another day like any other, no more (and no less) difficult than all the rest. I was surprised to find how affected I was, how much more poignantly and acutely I'd remember the things I once had that are now gone, how all the joys I once associated with the holiday are just memories lost forever in the past. It's a bitter reminder of how isolated I really am. Though I have social phobia bad enough that I'm even reluctant to post anonymously on a web forum, I'm just so damned lonely I have to make some sort of pathetic attempt to connect with someone. But then I realize I'm just reaching out to strangers on the 'net, and what a daunting, implausible task it would be to get to know one of them (on the off chance one of them even wants to get to know me). But I guess if someone is reading this, I finally decided to click the "submit reply" button and give it a shot.