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Surviving Valentine’s as a Single Person

If you’re spending Valentine’s Day alone this year, you may be experiencing loneliness and depression as a result. It doesn’t matter why you’re single, or how long you’ve been single, or even if you’re single by choice, Valentine’s Day is a day for lovers, and without one, it can be rough. Here are some things to do and think about to help you get through this Valentine’s Day.

Don’t wallow

Unless Ben and Jerry are the loves of your life, sitting at home with your cats and a Netflix marathon isn’t going to help. If you are happy to stay home and wanting to avoid crowds because this is your preference, go for it! But don’t stay home if you are only going to feel defeated. Get out and do something, either alone, with a friend who is also single, or a group of friends. Whatever it is, it will help if you steer clear of flower shops and fancy restaurants because that will only serve to remind you that you’re single.

You’re not alone

You may be single, and with all the focus on love and romance, it may feel like you’re the only one. The truth is, there are millions of others who are also single. Not all of them are sitting at home wallowing in self-pity. If you know someone who is also single, get together with them. See if they want to go out with you, or even stay in with you watch that netflix marathon.

You’re not your relationship status

Being single doesn’t define you any more than being in a relationship would. There is more to you than being a single person, so think about what makes you awesome.

Consider the benefits

It can be hard to think about when love is in the air, but there are many benefits to being single, even on Valentine’s Day. When you’re single, there’s no pressure to conform to an over-commercialized holiday, or to share that pint of ice cream.

Alone is better than a bad relationship

It may help to remember that not all relationships are happy ones. Being single on Valentine’s Day may be miserable, but being in a bad relationship is even more miserable.

Not all love is romantic

Valentine’s Day is commonly thought of as a day of romance, but love is more than just romance. If you don’t have a significant other to shower with love, shower love on your friends and family instead. Or show your love to the world and spend the day doing good.

Treat yourself

If you want chocolates or flowers for Valentine’s Day, you don’t have to have someone give them to you, do it for yourself. The best part is, you’ll get the exact gift you want. Remember the last point and think of it as loving yourself.

Change things

If you’re single by choice, this advice doesn’t apply to you. But if you don’t like being single, this is a good time to reflect on what led to your situation and what you can do to change it. If you have been single for multiple years and don’t want to be, consider going to therapy to figure out why you are single. Are you just not finding the right person, do you have too high of expectations, or do you possibly have issues to work out before you are ready to commit fully in a healthy relationship?

Be happy with yourself

It doesn’t matter whether you’re single or in a relationship, you’re not going to really be happy until you can be happy with yourself. Once you learn to be happy with yourself, you’ll be happy no matter what your status is. Being happy with yourself will also help you to attract the right person, and make you less likely to fall for the wrong ones.