Single Awareness Day In February: Embracing Single Life

Singles Awareness Day (February 15th) can be seen as an unofficial celebration of single life and looking at the potential challenges that can come with being single. Singles Awareness Day was created as a response to a culture often highly focused on love and relationships. For this reason, it’s typically celebrated the day after Valentine’s Day, and most people wear green as it’s the complementary opposite to red.

If you’re single this February, it may be beneficial to investigate how to celebrate Singles Awareness Day and how to cope if you’re struggling with being single. You might take yourself on a date, practice self-care, and nurture your other connections. If you’re struggling with feelings of loneliness or negativity around being single, consider speaking with a therapist in person or online.

The history of Single Awareness Day 

Singles Awareness Day is typically celebrated on February 15th each year and was founded to focus on embracing a single relationship status, instead of romantic relationships and marriages. The general idea of Singles Awareness Day is for people to celebrate love for themselves, as well as platonic love between friends and family. Some people might celebrate this holiday instead of Valentine’s Day because they don’t like the corporate-focused nature of Valentine’s Day celebrations or want to remind romantic couples that singlehood can also be positive and fun. 

The origins of National Singles Day are unknown. Still, some say it may have been born in 2001 when a group led by a high school student named Dustin Barnes decided to celebrate singlehood on February 15th in protest of Valentine’s Day by selling chocolates and candies at a huge discount. After high school, the holiday was then celebrated at Barnes’ university, Mississippi State University. Barnes copyrighted the holiday in 2015. Since then, the holiday has grown from the Mississippi State University campus to a nationwide event. In general, Singles Awareness Day is a day for anyone who wants to celebrate being single. It can be celebrated alongside Valentine’s Day or instead of it. 

Statistics and viewing singlehood in a new way 

According to Forbes, dating in the U.S. has taken a turn, and a significant amount of dating is now taking place online. Overall, over 44% of singles are meeting partners on dating apps. 

At the end of 2023, over 47% of the U.S. population was single, which is almost half of the dating pool. Being single is not necessarily rare, and many people choose to remain single instead of dating for a variety of personal reasons. 

Being single can be a positive or neutral experience. However, for some, it may be negative, possibly contributing to loneliness and a fear of the unknown. Reframing thoughts about what it means to be single can be one way to celebrate Singles Awareness Day. The absence of a romantic partner can have certain advantages for single people, but it doesn’t necessarily have to be an innately positive or negative experience. Instead, you might choose to live in the moment by focusing on your daily life and the positive connections you make, even if they aren’t romantic. 

How to celebrate Singles Awareness Day 

If you’re celebrating Singles Awareness Day this year, consider taking the time to explore what being single means for you. Below are a few suggestions and popular options. 

Take yourself on a “self-date” on Valentine’s Day

On Singles Awareness Day, singles might end the night with a hot bath and a spa treatment to thank themselves for their own company. Doing so may take focus off relationships and resolve any sense of being left out after Valentine’s Day. 

Practice self-care throughout February

Self-care can be a way to celebrate singleness while improving your mental, physical, and spiritual health. Self-care can take various forms, and it doesn’t have to only involve activities that better your physical self, such as exercise or hygiene practices. You can also try the following practices: 

• Having a sensory wellness day, where you practice one self-care activity for each of your senses.

• Eating nutritious foods

• Getting yourself a treat at the store

• Attending a support group

• Practicing skills you want to develop, such as playing an instrument

• Learning a new skill or taking a class

• Finding a new hobby

• Dressing up in clothes that help you perceive yourself as attractive

• Journaling about your day

• Spending quality time with family and single friends

• Playing with your pets

Try a self-reflection exercise

Self-reflection exercises can be positive ways to learn more about yourself despite your single status. Reflection can mean thinking in more depth about your thoughts, feelings, and behaviors. However, you can practice specific skills that may make reflection easier, such as the following: 

• Reflective journaling

• Goal mapping

• Having reflective conversations with a therapist or coach

• Meditation or mindfulness focused on reflection

• Answering self-reflection questions you find online

• Writing a letter to your future self and past self

Nurture other connections

Romantic connections can be meaningful and important, but they aren’t the only connections people can make in life. Some people may struggle to value friendship and family connections in the same way they might value romantic love. However, forming strong friendships and keeping in touch with people you love platonically can be just as important. 

If you don’t have close friendships, consider making new friends by joining a meetup group, a club, or a support group in your area. You can also meet new people by going to local events. Singles Appreciation Day can offer an opportunity to focus on the people in your life who aren’t necessarily romantic interests but can still bring joy to your days. 

If you already have friends or acquaintances, try to keep up with these connections by starting conversations, inviting them to hang out, and taking initiative. You can show love to friends in similar ways as you might show it to a romantic partner by spending quality time together, giving gifts, and hugging if you are both comfortable with physical touch. A study from 2013 showed that all forms of human connection can lead to improved physical and mental health. 

Practice your love language with yourself 

Some people identify with the five love languages model by Gary Chapman when considering how they show and receive love in romantic relationships. However, you can also practice your love language toward yourself. Consider the following: 

• Physical touch: Put on lotion, take a hot bath, hug yourself, wear soft pajamas in a bed with new sheets, take a spa day, massage your feet, get a massage.

• Acts of service: Clean your house, hire someone to help you clean, get yourself a meal, fill your gas tank, take a day off work for your mental health.

• Quality time: Watch a TV show or movie you love, listen to music, spend time alone to reflect, journal, partake in your hobbies.

• Gift giving: Get yourself a treat, buy a new outfit, pay for a service, make yourself a gift from scratch, create a DIY project.

• Words of affirmation: Write a letter to yourself, practice affirmations, leave positive sticky notes around your house.

How to cope with loneliness as a single person

If you’re experiencing extreme loneliness, feel sad, or believe you need a romantic relationship to be happy, it may be beneficial to try the following coping skills. 

Find the positive sides of being single 

Being single doesn’t have to be a negative experience. Below are some potential benefits of singlehood:

• You may only have yourself to focus on.

• You may have more time for your hobbies and self-reflection. 

• You can spend more energy on friendship and family relationships. 

• You may have the freedom to go where you want and do what you want. 

• You can get to know yourself more profoundly to be ready for a healthy romantic relationship in the future. 

• You may accumulate less debt or spend less money.

• You can avoid relationship conflict.

• It may be less stressful for you. 

• You can work through commitment challenges without a partner present. 

• You may have more time for healthy lifestyle changes, such as exercise. 

• You can celebrate life on your own. 

Explore the causes of loneliness

Loneliness often arises due to an underlying thought or emotion. For example, you might have self-defeating beliefs, such as, “I can’t function without a partner,” or, “I need to be with someone to know I am loveable.” These beliefs may form from childhood experiences or challenges with others throughout your life. Low self-esteem can also contribute to loneliness. 

By understanding the causes of loneliness, you can build a healthier relationship with yourself and understand when your thoughts or beliefs may not be accurate. You can challenge these thoughts with facts and observations. 

For example, if you believe you can’t feel happy without a partner, you might tell yourself, “I’m not happy right now, but I can examine the causes behind my unhappiness, and another person won’t necessarily cure my emotional pain for me.” You can then take steps to make yourself happier through your actions, developing critical emotional control skills that may serve you positively in a relationship. 

Give yourself what you seek in others 

In some cases, loneliness stems from a desire to get from others what you might be missing or wanting more of in your personal life. For example, you might think a partner could make you more loveable, attractive, funny, or wanted. These desires may stem from the belief that these labels don’t fit you when you’re single. 

Find ways to love yourself

Finding ways to love yourself, feel attractive on your own, laugh at yourself playfully, and know you are wanted by yourself may reduce these thoughts. One way to learn how to give yourself what you’re missing may be to connect with a therapist who can help you identify the root of these beliefs. 

Talk to a therapist

A therapist can be a valuable resource if you’re struggling with self-love, loneliness, or acceptance. You’re not alone, and you don’t have to have a diagnosed mental illness to go to therapy. A therapist can guide you through self-love exercises and support you in finding a relationship if you’re looking for one. They may also help you get more comfortable with singlehood if you’re not ready to enter the dating world. 

Consider online therapy

If you face barriers to in-person therapy, such as social anxiety, financial challenges, or a remote location, you might also try online therapy through a platform like BetterHelp. With an online platform, you can also utilize features like group sessions, which you can attend once a week with various themes. You may also meet with your therapist via phone, video, or live chat sessions once a week. 

Studies show online therapy can be effective. One study found that internet-based interventions were generally effective in treating anxiety and insecure attachment challenges, which can be frequent causes of the fear of being single. The study also found that the improvements in anxiety were usually sustainable six weeks after the study, with promising results for future studies.