VALENTINE'S DAY THE SINGLE WAY

Being single can be a challenge on Valentine’s Day so how can you survive the day with your wellbeing intact?

- OLIVIA DEVEREUX-EVANS

Shiny red love balloons and overpriced meal deals hitting the shops can mean only one thing – it’s Valentine’s Day. It’s a time many single people dread, as they endure loved-up couples gushing on social media.

Beyond the clichés, being single on Valentine’s Day can stir up real feelings of loneliness and isolation, especially for those longing to be in a relationship or feeling pressure to be partnered.

It doesn’t help that studies show being single can negatively affect your health. This is because the simple act of physical touch has proven health benefits. Kissing, hugging and having sex boost the ‘cuddle chemical’ oxytocin, which lowers the stress hormone cortisol while upping the happy hormone dopamine. It also reduces inflammation in the heart and, according to one study, lowers cholesterol.

Conversely, those deprived of affection can be more susceptible to secondary immune disorders, depression and other mood disorders, according to Kory Floyd, professor of communication at the University of Arizona in Tucson.

It’s now even thought that you can die of a broken heart. ‘Takotsubo cardiomyopathy’ or broken heart syndrome occurs when a shock, such as the death of a loved one, causes a surge of adrenaline to shut down the left heart ventricle. Affecting around 2,500 mainly women in the UK each year, one in 20 cases are fatal.

Thankfully, such extremes are rare, but the negative impact on mental health of unwanted singledom is all too common, says psychotherapist and anxiety expert Kamalyn Kaur. “Social media, TV and adverts place a large focus on romantic love, which can make single people feel excluded,” she says.

But it’s not all doom and gloom. There are benefits to staying footloose and fancy-free.