Healing your heart on Valentine’s Day
- Author
- Elize ·
- Date
- 14 February 2024
Valentine´s Day can be a source of excitement for some or dread for others. Whether you are single, taken, heartbroken or somewhere in the middle, Valentine´s Day is just another day. A day during which you can highlight the love you have for yourself and others. In this article you can discover several ways to have an enjoyable V-day while also healing your heartbreak or releasing your difficult emotions in a healthy way.
- Pampering yourself
There is nothing like Valentine´s Day to treat yourself. It may be one of the most commercial holidays of the year, but pampering yourself doesn’t have to be as expensive as it sounds. If you can, keep the day as free as possible from any responsibilities and truly engage in activities you want to do that day. Spend some time in nature, binge watch your favourite movies with a face mask on, go get a haircut or your nails done, anything is possible. And after all, if you were going to spend money on someone else, why wouldn’t you do the same for yourself? - Seeking connection
Just because romantically things are not going as planned, it doesn’t mean you have to lean into feeling a lack of connection. Make some fun plans with some of your friends or family and spend quality time with them. Valentine´s Day may be about love, but romantic love is not the only kind of love out there. And maybe it is not even the most important love in our lives. Friendships may be platonic, but they are definitely what makes life very enjoyable. - Talk or write it out
Perhaps in combination with our previous point, it might be good for you to express your feelings instead of keeping them inside. If you are going through heartbreak, grief or other difficult emotions on Valentine´s Day, it might be good to talk to someone about it. Or, if you would rather have some alone time, journaling can make a great difference in how cluttered your mind feels. You could write a letter to yourself expressing what you are feeling and how you would like to feel in a couple of months. How can you help yourself get there? - Engage in your hobbies
As mentioned before, perhaps this is a nice holiday to give yourself a free day (if possible). Spend it with the things that make your heart sing instead of cry. Or, if you would like to get your mind off things, you could even try a new hobby. Nothing keeps us more preoccupied and feeling good after we did something out of our comfort zone. Try painting, dancing or a new sport. Go to a pottery painting café, like Artsy Avenue. Watch a foreign film at the Forum. Either way, there is plenty of fun things to help you remember life can be very romantic and wonderful without actually having to be in love. - Set boundaries
If you feel more like being alone and skipping the whole Valentines theme, it is okay to decline invitations and just continue your normal day as usual. Or if you feel like pulling a “hermit”, get your favourite foods and work from home. Just because it’s a popular holiday does not mean you are obligated to participate. In the end, it’s just another regular day. - Tune into gratitude
When we are feeling low, it is incredibly impactful to tune into the feeling of gratitude. This does not mean you engage in fake positivity, it’s more a reminder to the self that our brain can create a gloomy reality for ourselves. However, there is always a silver lining. Write a little gratitude list or do a short meditation focusing on all the things that make you feel grateful. Some examples could be having a long shower with your favourite hair mask, being able to cook your favourite meal, having sweet people in your life, being financially stable, being able to run or dance or move in any way, having the opportunity to travel or binge-watch your shows. But most of all, remembering you are safe.
Acts of kindness
Last but not least, a great way to feel connected to others AND yourself is by performing acts of kindness. Maybe Valentine´s Day can be an opportunity to spread some love, light and kindness, instead of it being this big deal of a day. Hold the door open for someone, buy the coffee for the next person in line, smile at the people you pass on the sidewalk, get your friend a little study snack, send a sweet message or call your mom, ask someone how they are doing and most of all, be kind to yourself. Go get yourself those flowers. You deserve it.