Almost 75,000 people aged over 60 faced Christmas alone across Malaga province

Some 74,000 people over the age of 60 live alone in Malaga province, according to the latest data from Spain's INE national statistics institute. Most of them celebrate the most important days of the festive season with their families, attending lunches and dinners that in many cases camouflage what psychologists and social workers call "unwanted loneliness". Angie Moreno, manager of the Harena Foundation, an organisation that has been accompanying these elderly people for almost 20 years, explains: "Sixty and even 70 years of age are no longer a barrier. Now many people of this age have an active life, with a strong network of family and friends, hobbies and so on. But there is another percentage of the population in this age group who never take off their dressing gowns."

This image, that of someone who never removes their dressing gown, represents almost every aspect of one of today's main demographic challenges. "Many elderly people abandon themselves," says Ruth Sarabia, provincial delegate for the Junta in Malaga on social inclusion and families, "for various reasons such as the death of their partner or the fact that they hardly receive any visitors." It is then that they begin to neglect their physical appearance, stop preparing food for themselves, don't go out and the spiral of isolation becomes insurmountable, to the point of generating physical and mental health problems. Some have family conflicts. Others, the majority, are simply victims of the most perverse side of a fast-paced society that has less and less time for caring, a system for living that leaves the weakest behind. A social worker who prefers not to reveal their name sums it up: "If many people don't even have time to take their children to school, how are they going to look after their parents or grandparents? We have a devilish pace [of life]."

It is not an irreversible situation. At the Harena Foundation they are clear: "As soon as they have someone who cares about them, as soon as they have activities and entertainment, their mood changes." That's why Angie Moreno insists on the need to ask for volunteers: "Note it down that we need volunteers, please. We really need them." Fortunately the response following every time they ask for help is enormous - this year they have had around 800 volunteers. "But hands are still needed." They often run awareness campaigns that highlight the before and after someone gets that much-needed help: "They tell it themselves, explaining that before they would spend every day sad, depressed, staring at the same four walls, and now they have motivation and dreams."

Sarabia agrees with the diagnosis: "Having plans is essential to be well, so that they feel like getting dressed up and going out or are excited to receive a call or a visit." A return to a more care-centric, less competitive and less individualistic society would also alleviate the problem. "The family used to be the backbone of society," says Sarabia, "and now that is no longer the case." In fact, there is often a cruel paradox: women as the eternal carers are the ones who suffer most from this unwanted loneliness. Dr Camino Oslé, a gerontologist (the study of aging and well-being in the elderly), explains: "We have a longer life expectancy than men and, therefore, we suffer more from the scourges associated with old age. When their children leave home or they become widows, if they have not had time to create their own social network, many of them shut themselves up at home and fall into isolation." Architectural barriers are a separate issue - in many cases they stop going out because they have no lift and are afraid to go up or down stairs alone. Half of the people living alone at that age, in fact, earn less than 1,000 euros per month.

Historically, the elderly have been a reference point for authority and guidance in family life, but the acceleration of the pace of life has deformed the social perception of them to the point of reducing them to "burdens", a reality that family get-togethers over a meal mask during such as the festive season, but that reality bubbles back up to the surface again as soon as they return home or the guests leave their place. Then comes that most dreaded moment of once more being alone.