Here's how to beat the hype and overcome loneliness on Valentine's Day
Valentine’s Day is one of those holidays that haters love to hate
NEW YORK — Elise Plessis hasn't been in a long-term relationship for 26 years. It's by choice, yet she still suffers FOMO when Valentine's Day rolls around.
“I'm the singleton of the family and the friend group,” said the 53-year-old Plessis, who lives in Manitoba, Canada. “Valentine's Day makes me feel hopeless, like a loser who can't find anyone who wants me.”
But she won't be sitting at home cursing her fate, self-imposed after she tired of “toxic” hookup culture. Instead, Plessis plans to do what loneliness researchers and psychologists advise: She'll be helping others as a way to get out of her own head.
In her case, she'll be helping others find love. She became a certified matchmaker last year and has organized a speed-dating event ahead of Valentine's Day.
“I figure if I can’t find love, it's the least I can do,” Plessis said.
Valentine's Day is one of those holidays that haters call “forced," commercialized and downright expensive to pull off if expectations are to be met. This year, the day of romance that has grown into a celebration of all-around love and friendship is the first since the U.S. surgeon general issued a public health advisory last spring declaring loneliness and isolation an “epidemic” with dire consequences.
Dr. Vivek Murthy, the country's top public health watchdog, warned that widespread loneliness poses health risks as deadly as smoking up to 15 cigarettes a day. It costs the health industry billions of dollars a year, he said.
About half of U.S. adults say they’ve experienced loneliness, he said. The problem has been stewing since well before the pandemic, worsening in recent years.
“It’s like hunger or thirst. It’s a
Read more on abcnews.go.com
