1 Make it a girl’s day. Go out to lunch with your girlfriends, have a cup of coffee and chit-chat about boys, or do dinner with your other single gal-pals. Valentine’s Day shouldn’t only be about couples – it should be about love of all kinds. And what better to celebrate than the love you have for your pals.

2 Organize a Secret Admirers Single Girl’s gift session a’ la Santa. Get a group of girls together and draw names out of a hat.

Then deliver things like, chocolate, her fave movie, teddybears, or other special things that you know she’d like.

3 Forget what day it is. Hide the calendar, flip it to March, or just don’t look. Valentine’s Day is just like any other day. Just because Hallmark sells those cards with hearts on them for February 14, doesn’t mean you have to participate.

4 Hang out with family. This seems to be a great retreat to any depressing occasion that you don’t want to or can’t partake in. Sitting on mom and dad’s couch, for instance, will be so comforting. Top it off with a cup of cocoa and you’ll just reminisce about the times you were young and could care less for Valentine’s.

5 Have a party at your house! (After Having Parents Agree of course!).Invite your girls over for food, movies, music and dancing! Break out the karoke machine too- but to  mix it up, suggest a theme for the party that everyone wear pink (or black if you’ve really caught the single awareness bug) and make a playlist with girl empowered songs!

6 Pig out! Go get your favorite snacks. Let yourself have all the things you usually feel guilty consuming, and this time, don’t feel the least bit guilty. Just eat!

7 Remember that being single is fabulous. Ahhh, it’s the old age saying that single gals say to ourselves when we’re home on Fridays, dateless. But wait, being single IS fabulous! There’s no lying there. Who wouldn’t want the endless opportunities? The world is your oyster

8 Have a eye- candy marathon. Weather it’s Johnny Depp, Zac Efron, or Robert Patterson rent your fav celebrity crush’s movies (or TV series too!) and treat yourself to some fun – and drooling!

9 Grab some single gal pals and go to dinner! Dress up all glamerous and go get something to eat. Don’t hurry (unless Mom is telling you to) and tell hilarious guy stories that will make the table be all smiles. Or make up a Valentine’s game and play for dessert!

10 Since you aren’t spending money on a guy, spend it on yourself. Treat yourself to a manicure, pedicure, or both! Don’t forget to take Mom, a sister, or a best gal pal along.

11 Remind yourself that many couples are unhappy. Valentines – schmalentines. Did you ever stop to think that a lot of these guys and girls out during the holiday may have lots of problems? Just because they’re eating a meal together on February 14, doesn’t mean they’re happier than you. In fact, some are probably quite the opposite.

12 Eat some ice cream. No, it doesn’t make you sad and pathetic. It makes you awesome because you can handle the sugar and you deserve it. And don’t get some sugar-free sorbet. Get the really good stuff – cookies and cream, mint chocolate chip, or anything that your stomach is grabbing for!

13 Read countless fashion magazines and strategize for your spring wardrobe. You can make Valentine’s Day a productive one by planning what you’re going to wear when spring hits. It’s only a month or so away!

14 Enjoy yourself. No matter what you do on this day – or any day for that matter – always enjoy yourself. You may not have that “other half” that attached people have, but does that mean your life is any less fabulous? No way. To each their own, and love your life.

15 Read a great book. “Where The Heart Is” is my personal favorite. Anytime I was down about not having found the “right one” yet, I read it and it always changes my perspective. Find an inspiring book that will get you back to down-to-earth thoughts that have nothing to do with cheesy stuff with hearts on them and forced dating.

16 Throw a slumber party. Go back to the time in your life where you and our friends would giggle about boys, not cry about them. On Valentine’s Day, get together with your BFFs and have some fun. From playing silly games like Truth or Dare to making s’mores, this will prove to be more fun than an awkward date with a guy you’re lukewarm for.

17 Eat chocolate. It has been known to cheer women up, which is why so many of them turn to it during times of turmoil. Indulge in a box of truffles or a yummy candy bar. My personal favorite are Hershey Kisses. What’s yours?

18 Spend the day celebrating True Love. Not that junk they try to tell you will make you feel better- the real thing should be celebrated every day. Go find a couple that have been married for a long time (think twenty, thirty years) and ask for stories of how they met and when they got married. It will make you smile.

It’s rarely an easy thing to do, in fact, it’s quite the opposite. It doesn’t even have to be somebody that you were “with” a long time, but just somebody you’ve been so in love with for longer than you can remember. Actually, psychologists say that love is like a drug. It feels so good and gives us a natural high, and when we lose it, we don’t know how to cope. They have rehab for drug users, they even have stop-smoking programs for smokers who want to quit. But when the person you love leaves you, just like that, there is no rehab for you. Your family and friends may be supportive, but will mostly just tell you to move on. “Forget it and enjoy being single”, they’ll say. If only it were that easy.

If you dwell on losing your love, people think you’re “obsessed,” just like teen blogger Tempest puts it. And this fact is so true! We’ve all had friends who try to make us feel better, and maybe even guy friends who try and help us “forget.” But you can’t help wonder what they’re doing, and if even part of them still loves you… or if they ever did. Real life writer / blogger Janet agrees that “ignorance is bliss,” and we couldn’t agree more.

Maybe you will end up back together again, and maybe you won’t. Either way, you want your relationship to end on a high note, with happy memories. You do not want to feel worse than you already do. Something I’ve learned, is that staying innocent (and by that I mean thinking most people have morals like you do) is better than knowing the whole truth. Seriously.

The most important thing you need to remember is this. You have probably heard the old saying, “Distance makes the heart grow fonder,” which means that when people are far apart, they fall more in love. This is actually not true at all! It’s as far from the truth as possible. Psychologists agree that people generally fall in love with people that are closest to us, and that we see or talk to more often. So, if you can distance yourself from this person you are forced to fall out of love with, the best thing to do is to keep as busy as possible, even though it’s not easy. And, you’ll probably think about them constantly, wishing they were there with you… or wondering what they’re doing at that exact moment in time. You’ll wonder what your lives will end up like if you stay apart, and what it could’ve been like.

Some people have a hard time just becoming single again. Some girls haven’t been single for as long as they can remember. They may have had boyfriend after boyfriend with really no breaks in between. Now, suddenly, there’s no implied Friday and Saturday date nights, hanging out on Sundays, someone to text constantly, or someone to hear “I love you” from when you’re down.

Finding a replacement for everything you’re missing should help you with getting over ex the fastest. Make sure there’s always a Friday and Saturday night plan in place, or whatever days you and your ex used to hang out together. Better yet, have a plan for every night! Go out instead of watching sappy love movies and wishing he was there. If you don’t have many friends because he took up most of your time, fight your fears and make some! Fight every urge to call, text, IM, or email them. If they try to get a hold of you, wait a day before getting back to them. Let them squirm a little bit. Keeping your mind and body busy is the best thing you can do. By the way, do things that are actually fun to you. Don’t just hit the gym because it’s something to do. That will just make you think you’re getting your body all gorgeous for him and you can’t wait to show off your arms / abs to him.

Doing things that are new, exciting, and things you have never done before may just be the best remedy for getting over ex. You will probably wish he was there to enjoy things with you, but he could’ve been. He isn’t, and it’s totally his loss. Keep on being the best you that you can be and have fun. Constantly. For other ideas on fun things to do when you’re single, you may want to check out this article. Some of the ideas may be helpful in your case, but not all will be.

One thing you should keep in mind, is that having a brand new crush can change your life for the better! Seriously, finding someone new to crush on might be one of the best ways of getting over ex. It can be exciting and give you that “newly in love” feeling. -SZ