Valentines Day and Mental Health

Valentine’s Day and Mental Health

Valentine’s Day and Mental Health – Loneliness on Valentine’s Day can be something you experience whether you are on your own or in a relationship. For many Valentine’s day is a chance to express your affections for the one/ones you love, a pleasant day, a chance to reconnect with your partner and spend time together. For others Valentine’s day can be a commercial event meant to relieve you of your money and make you feel pressured to be in a relationship, or made to feel bad if you aren’t.

If Valentine’s Day is a nice event for you that’s great, if its just another day that doesn’t really figure on your radar then that’s fine, if though it triggers difficult and painful feelings then you might want to explore how you can deal with Valentine’s Day in a different way, one that is more affirming or that allows you to not have any strong feelings about it at all.

Valentines Day and Mental Health

Valentine’s Day on your own

If you are on your own being around loved up couples on Valentine’s Day can be hard. If this is the case for you, you might want to make positive plans for yourself on that day. Ideas might include:

  • Make plans – meet up with friends, go to the cinema / theatre, have a movie night, go to the gym, make yourself a nice meal
  • Be your own Valentine, buy yourself your favourite chocolate and flowers, spoil yourself.
  • Make contact with someone you perhaps haven’t spoken to in a while, it could be a friend or family member, but connections of any kind are fulfilling and valuable.
  • Spoil someone else – perhaps someone you know has recently lost a loved one, or do you know someone who would love to be treated on Valentine’s Day. Send them some flowers or something special you think they might like.
  • Stay off Social Media – social media can be a hard place to be any day of the month, on Valentine’s day you don’t need to be looking at what others are doing and making comparisons. Give yourself a digital break for the day. Take a look at our blog Social Media and Mental Health 

Valentines Day and Mental Health

Valentine’s Day in a relationship

If you are in a relationship with someone else or others, Valentine’s Day might be a lovely day for you, or you might just ignore it. If you are in a relationship with someone and it isn’t working it could be a trigger for some difficult feelings. If this is your situation you might want to engage in some of the ideas above. It is also important to acknowledge and allow yourself to feel however you do. Most feelings are fleeting they will come and they will go. If you are struggling with how you feel you might want to talk to a counsellor like Paul.

For more informaion about Paul please take a look at the About Paul Page, Frequently Asked Questions Page and The Counselling Services Page. If you would like to make an appointment with Paul for Counselling, Psychotherapy or Supervision, please call Paul on 07843 813 537 or fill in the form on the Contact Page, if he doesn’t answer he is probably in a session, please leave him a message and he will call you back as soon as he can.

Couples Therapy

You might feel that you and your partner could benefit from some support together, in which case Paul Carter offers relationship counselling. To learn more about this please have a look at the links below.

Relationship / Couples Counselling FAQs

Couples Therapy with Paul Carter

Or take a Look at the Couples Therapy Page on this Website.


Online articles you might find useful

10 Ways to enjoy Valentine’s Day Solo

Mind – Valentine’s Day and Mental Health

Bustle – 9 Tips for Dealing with Loneliness on Valentine’s Day