Embrace Your Singleness

My love life is a total joke, and I’m not mad about it. The reality is that I’ve never been the kind of women that WANTS to be in a relationship. When most of my friends were talking about their crush, I was either drinking or reading about fashion. No, I’m not an alcoholic, what I’m trying to say is that my passion for fashion, my family, and my social life have always been more important than guys (actually, any aspect of my life has been more relevant than love relationships).

Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy dating and having a guy next to me, but sometimes it can get so boring or stressful. I'd rather be worrying about the next step in my career. So even though I've been single the majority of my life, that doesn't bother me, but for some reason, there's always a season in which dating is my only concern, and guess when is that? FEBRUARY of course!

When I realized I felt miserable during this month almost every year, I started to think that there was something wrong with my life, but talking about it with friends, I noticed that I wasn’t the only one, in fact, have you heard about Seasonal Affective Disorder? I promise it's real and it happens until February. This is not to make you feel depress and be proud of it, but for you to know that IT IS OK and you’re going to get over it after February. The SAD is a type of depression that begins with the winter, but the symptoms tend to be worse during December, January, and my least favorite February; studies are varied about the causes, but I personally think that it’s because the vacations are over, everybody is sick and of course now you have to start thinking about Valentine’s Day.

But anyways, I started my research because I needed to find something to make me feel better about my non-valentine-date situation. And I found it, so if you’re going through the same situation, and it’s not your first time, I don’t want you to feel bad about yourself, but instead, I want to demonstrate you that being single during this month (or the rest of the year) is not that bad.

What I found is that, in general, falling in love could make you sick, and who wants to be sick? Not me, thanks! Studies demonstrate that love “triggers your brain to release stress hormones;” girl, it's a fact, love makes you stressed out. While being in a love relationship you could also lose your appetite, so forget about the romantic dinners we all dream about when we’re alone, because you won't even eat anyways; and for those thinking that’s what they need because you’ll loose those pounds you’ve been trying to get rid of, think again because love can make you also gain some weight (you see what I’m saying?), psychologist Maryann Troiani, Ph.D., co-author of Spontaneous Optimism, says “Dissatisfaction in the relationship can lead to passive-aggressive eating behaviors... which will lead to weight gain.”

Additionally, when you’re in love, you’re most likely to make impulsive decisions. I already make enough bad decisions in my life, so I don’t need somebody else motivating me for more risks. And if this wasn't enough, love can also make you feel like having panic attacks, but wait for the final touch: you'll also stop sleeping enough, and we all know the consequences of missing out on sleep. To explain this, experts say that when you’re in love “your brain is flooded with chemicals, like dopamine, and norepinephrine. Those chemicals make you feel like you’re on a speed high. That’s why you have so much energy, and can stay up all night just looking in each other’s eyes.” So that’s why you wake up looking like a cute little lemur after a night with your guy.

I don't need more, but if you need something else to convince yourself that you’re in a better position than all the couples around the world, let me –please- give you more:

• One in three teenagers has experienced violence in a dating relationship.
• Single people exercise more.
• According to the Journal of Finance and Accountancy (2001), the average of married people with credit cards debt was 36%, over only 21% of singles.
• Singles are more likely to find jobs.
• The longer you stay single, the longer you’re going to be married (if you decide to get married then).
• In 2014, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that 124.6 million Americans 16 years and older were single, that's 50.2 percent of the population.
• Single people have better friendships and family relationships.

Enough! I think you’re going to be fine now... I hope this helps you, and if you find yourself sad again about being single (especially on Valentine's Day) you should go for a drink. Either way, I found that being in love is also like being drunk so take that as your option.