As January prepares to give way to February, shrugging off the freezing temperatures and creeping towards sunnier days, London’s lonely hearts may start to flutter.
Despite the promise of a new year and new beginnings, January is often the month that brings the most misery to people – and then February brings with it a whole new set of romantic challenges.
Namely February 14.
Relationship expert Dr Adela Apetroaia, aka Love Doctress, explained that this temporary blue state stems from the sense of an ending that accompanies December, a month where break-ups are seemingly becoming ever more common.
“People feel the need to reassess their lives at the end of the year,” she revealed.
“They look back and ask themselves if this is what they want and where this is going.
“They think about their accomplishments throughout the year, their future, where they want to be in life and obviously that includes their relationships.”
THE LOVE DOCTRESS WILL SEE YOU NOW: Dr Apetroaia
Because many of these relationships may have appeared to be going well on the surface a break up often comes a surprise to one partner.
Numerous books, TV shows and films show many finding immediate comfort in food, alcohol or even jumping immediately back into the dating, or one night stand, pool.
But the Love Doctress explained that these bring little more than temporary relief.
She explained: “Actively talking about your break-up, relationship and what went wrong or right is quite helpful.
“You need to spend some time thinking about what it meant – learning from it is the most important thing.”
If experiencing relationship troubles Dr Apetroaia said it’s better to confront the problem rather than let tensions simmer .
She provides a service for people with relationship troubles or those who are recently single.
“We try to come up with a series of small steps and challenges to go through that will ultimately make them feel better,” she said.
“Instead of just telling them what to do, we work together to process things and help them find their boundaries again and understand that they are someone without needing to be with someone else.”
Featured picture courtesy of Silvia Cruz of Glitterland Studios, with thanks
Inset picture courtesy of Sorina, with thanks
