Being single on Valentine’s Day (or other social occasions)

Sometimes the most difficult time to be single is when it looks like everyone else is all loved up. Valentine’s Day and other social occasions which celebrate love and relationships can be particularly tough and so sometimes you need to be prepared for how you might feel on the day.

Valentines Day

If you are aware that Valentine’s Day can be a tough one for you, try and work out a plan in advance for what you might do. Suggestions for activities include:

• Organise an anti-valentines night with your other single friends. Rent some good scary films, order some pizza and enjoy time with other important people you have in your life - after all, these relationships are just as (if not more) important! For inspiration on what you might do check out blog posts like this one: http://retromama.hubpages.com/hub/Anti-Valentines-Day-Party
• Plan to go out to a gig, see a movie, go to a play or watch a sports match during the day or evening. Do something that might distract you from any negative thoughts.
• Treat yourself; buy a new video game which you can play into the night, organise a mates night out, grab some tasty food, go for a walk with your dog in your favourite park. Whatever makes you feel good, do it!
• Get moving. Go kick the footy with your mates, organise a tennis match with a friend or family member, go for a run/jog/walk around the neighbourhood, do a bit of bush walking in the afternoon, just let the fresh air and sunlight blow away any negative thoughts that might creep in.

Whatever it is you like and whatever makes you feel good about yourself, do it. The last thing you want to do is to spend the night feeling sad or lonely. Just remember the person that you’re going to spend every minute of the rest of your life is you! So you better get used to showing yourself some love…

Being single at a party

So, now the tough part about how to handle being single when all around you are lovey dovey couples. First of all, get comfortable with yourself. Put on something that makes you feel good about yourself, wear your best smile, and don’t feel like you have to impress anyone other than yourself. The great part about being single is being free to choose your own adventure and how you go about that is entirely up to you. Being single at a party doesn’t mean you’re the odd one out, there will likely be plenty of other singles milling around and even if there aren’t, the point of going to a party is not always to hook up with someone; enjoy chatting with new people (whether they’re single or not), work on your socialising skills, get dancing and use this opportunity to show yourself just how fun you can be! The main thing to remember is that you’re responsible for you, you can’t control what other people choose to do but you can control what you do.

Get busy!

If you find that your old Friday night buddies are all out with their girl/guy-friends, resist the urge to sit inside and let the negative thoughts creep in. Go online and check out some fun activities, watch that new video that you’ve been saving for when you have some me-time, read a book, do something crafty or go out and see if you can find a gig or meeting that you might be interested in going to.  Make sure that you’re doing something that you like doing. A lot of people find it hard to be content in their own company, so be proud of yourself for working on your relationship with yourself. Make the most of your ‘me-time’- It’s Friday night, after all.

For more info on relationships and being single, why not check out these fact sheets...

• Single and ready to mingle(Fact sheet)
• I'm single and I'm happy!(Fact sheet)
• Singledom(Fact sheet)