• Home
  • Services
    • Phone & Video Services
    • Individual Therapy
    • Couples Therapy
    • Family Therapy
    • Premarital Counseling
    • VIP Relationship Intensives
    • Luxe Couples Retreat
  • About
    • Our Team
    • Our Office
    • FAQs
    • Career Opportunities
    • Contact
  • Testimonials
  • Blog
  • Schedule Now

We proudly serve all of Florida. Enjoy your appointment in office, or via phone or video. Call us (904) 302-5340 or schedule online.

Location
Individual, Relationship, Couples & Marriage Therapy - Jacksonville FloridaIndividual, Relationship, Couples & Marriage Therapy - Jacksonville Florida
  • Home
  • Services
    • Phone & Video Services
    • Individual Therapy
    • Couples Therapy
    • Family Therapy
    • Premarital Counseling
    • VIP Relationship Intensives
    • Luxe Couples Retreat
  • About
    • Our Team
    • Our Office
    • FAQs
    • Career Opportunities
    • Contact
  • Testimonials
  • Blog
  • Schedule Now

For the Valentine’s Day Haters…

I know a whole lot of people who really can’t stand Valentine’s Day. It often seems like more people dread it than look forward to it. Valentine’s Day gets a bad reputation. People don’t like a lot of things about it. They say it’s cheesy. They say it’s just an attempt by greeting card companies to make more money. They say it creates awkward, forced cliché, stressful, and/or inauthentic “romantic” experiences that are anything but. Some of those who are single say it highlights the fact that they aren’t in a romantic relationship, rubbing salt in an already painful wound.

I get it. I do. Especially that last argument. Love, or the lack thereof, is painful. Love is also really scary.

So what do we do? We make ourselves feel better by acting like we’re too cool for Valentine’s Day.

And that makes me sad.

Well, maybe not sad, but disappointed. Maybe that’s to be expected of a couple’s therapist, but regardless, I can’t help but feel the need to advocate for Valentine’s Day. After all, love is pretty darn important. Why shouldn’t we celebrate it? It doesn’t have to be expressed in the forced, cliché, ways it’s most commonly known for. You don’t have to spend a gazillion dollars on overpriced roses, buy heart-shaped boxes of disgusting assorted chocolates, and make reservations at an expensive restaurant three months in advance to do Valentine’s Day “right.” And you don’t even have to be in a romantic relationship.

I want to challenge you to use Valentine’s Day as an opportunity to practice gratitude for the relationships in your life, romantic and otherwise. Maybe you decide to follow in the footsteps of Leslie Knope of NBC’s Parks and Recreation and celebrate Galentine’s Day instead (you can watch her describe it for herself here). Maybe you choose to forego the expensive flowers and fancy dinners and instead cook together at home. You could designate the night as a “screen-free evening” and take a walk outside, holding hands and talking, or blowing the dust off your old, neglected board games. You could set aside time to write an actual, old-school letter to a long-distance friend.

And if it’s too painful to go there – you’ve been wounded and feel too scared to pursue a relationship, romantic or otherwise – I encourage you that you don’t have to live that way forever. Isolation and loneliness don’t have to be your fate.  Maybe it’s time to think about doing the work to heal those wounds and start the process of cultivating healthy, safe, enriching relationships. We are here to help you on the journey, should you muster up the courage to take those first scary steps.

 

Share
1

Let's get in touch

Send me an email and we'll get back to you, as soon as possible.

Send Message
Improve your relationship with our 30-day relationship challenge. Download It Now

About us

Family Therapy Associates of Jacksonville is a VIP therapy center in Jacksonville, Florida, comprised of highly specialized relationship experts and therapists. We provide individual, premarital, couples and marriage counseling/therapy, and aim to help you experience the thriving love life you deserve.

Find us here

  • Family Therapy Associates of Jacksonville
  • 2950 Halcyon Lane, #605, Jacksonville, FL 32223
  • 904-302-5340
  • 904-800-1211
  • www.ftajax.com

Fresh from our blog

  • Should You Really Have Scheduled Sex?
  • #RelationshipHelp: 5 Apps to Improve Your Relationship
  • How To Stay In Control Of Your Wedding Plans With Grace

POLICIES

Privacy Policies

Patient Rights, Terms & Other Policies

© 2023 · Family Therapy Associates of Jacksonville · Website developed by Dr. Tabitha Johnson. This website and all content within is for informational purposes and is not intended to diagnose, assess, provide treatment or advice. The content within this website is not a substitute for professional or medical services.

Prev Next