Worst Time of the Year for Breakups?

Oh, Valentines Day. One of the most dreaded yet most celebrated of the holidays. For some, this holiday may raise sadness and depression. In Abraham Morgentaler's article he explains some affects Valentines Day brings. For those who are single they have to endure the marketing for the bells and whistles of romance. Morgentaler doesn't stop at the stress Valentines Day has on all the single ladies and gentlemen out there. He goes on to speak out on the behalf of couples who lack physical intimacy and those couples that want to discontinue but Valentines Day steps in their way.

Morgentaler goes on to describe what Valentines Day really is, the last reason for forced togetherness. The forced togetherness starts in November with Thanksgiving and works its way through December and January for Christmas and New Years. Valentines day is the last big holiday, for a while, that requires togetherness and happy feelings. As Morgentaler describes, February 15th is a standstill. There is nothing left for cracking couples to look forward to and leaves them option to move on.

Although the focus seems to be on the affects of Valentines Day, Morgentaler's main objective is to help people who just got out of a relationships (whether it was right after Valentines Day or not). He gives out 3 points that can be summed up like so: 1) Regardless of age and circumstances Break-ups are painful, but pain actually alleviates in time 2) Relationships shouldn't be compared to movies and there is always something you can learn from them and 3) There was a reason you were attracted to a former lover and you should acknowledge and appreciate that fact.

Although Morgentaler covers something as fluffy as Valentines Day, it doesn't make this a bad article or unhelpful to the world of psychology. Romance and personal relationships are what keep a humanbeing on its feet. Learning how to deal with the ending of long lasting personal relationships is a useful piece of knowledge. I believe that this information could be helpful to those who need a better understanding of the "rules" of Valentines Day.




Morgentaler, M.D., Abraham. Worst Time of the Year for Breakups? Feb 17. 2009. Psychology Today. 18 Feb 2009.
<http://blogs.psychologytoday.com/blog/men-sex-and-testosterone/200902/worst-time-the-year-breakups>