For many people around the world, Valentine’s Day is one of the most special and exciting days of the year. It is a day where loved up couples and people with secret crushes get to spoil the apples of their eye and feel their hearts swell, BUT, I’m sure more than a few of us have had different experiences than that over the years! If one thing is certain about love, it is that it is unpredictable, and one of the cruellest ways that this can be displayed is when you go through a break up right on the eve of February 14th. Being heartbroken on V Day is the worst, but there are ways to make it through! Here is how to survive Valentine’s Day if you’ve been through a breakup.
Instead of focusing on romance, dedicate the 14th to all the other kinds of love that have in your life, whether it be parental, platonic, familial ... any other kind of relationship you enjoy that doesn’t involve matters of sexuality and the heart. There has been a growing popularity in recent years of single friends getting together to celebrate one another with a delicious meal and fun girl’s night in. Having a Galentine's Day can really help to take your mind off your heartbreak.
Instead of bemoaning the fact that you don’t have anyone to shower gifts upon, shower that love and affection on yourself instead. Self-care is super important, and what better day to treat yourself than Valentine’s Day? Book an indulgent spa day, treat yourself to all of your favourite foods, hell, even go to a friendly exercise class to connect with people and feel the added boost of endorphins that come from working out!
One thing you absolutely should do is unplug from all of your social media platforms. You don’t need everyone else shoving their Valentine’s Day romance in your face. It will only serve to make you feel bad about yourself and take your brain straight back to all of the regrets and unresolved issues from your breakup. Steer clear of Facebook and Instagram for a couple of days.
Don’t try to pretend like everything is fine when it actually isn’t, because that is the path to giving yourself mental health problems. If you have feelings that you need to let out, grab your nearest trusted friend and have a good old fashioned rant. Valentine’s Day definitely isn’t the day to be bottling up emotions. It’s much better to let them run free and you will find you have a much easier time getting on with the rest of your week afterward.
The emotions that rise to the surface soon after a break up are never what you can describe as practical, but take it as a challenge on Valentine’s Day to try to think about your situation as practically as possible. Your relationship came to an end because there was obviously something wrong, so in the grand scheme of things, what does being single for one ‘special’ day of the year matter when you now have the rest of your life to put yourself back out there and find the person who truly does deserve to have you for good?