10 uncomfortable truths about Valentine's Day
Many of us believe that February 14 is marked happily in the mental calendar of most people who have a love corresponded.
Despite this, Valentine's Day also has drawbacks. There are many criticisms that are made to the festivities based on the purchase of gifts. While most of them are based on morality, they also from the field of study of psychology it is easy to find reasons to relativize the virtues and sensations that awaken in us during the day of lovers.
10 aspects of Valentine's Day that will cause you discomfort
Let's see ten reasons why this day is really a double-edged leaf:
1. Valentine is a brand in the calendar that makes you direct attention to a fundamental question : Do I have the couple that I expect? If I do not have it ... what have I done wrong to not be able to celebrate this day? And is that the day of lovers is unique in raising the bar and, in fact, it is also making out of nothing the very ribbon to measure.
2. Is it really compulsory to buy this? Not only because of the high environmental cost of mass marketing of roses, but because of the emotional dependence that consumerism can create. And, let's face it, Valentine's Day has its roots in the tradition of giving things away. Without this kind of gift, it becomes another day. The question is: how much are we willing to spend on these gifts, and to what needs do they respond?
3. Valentine's Day can precipitate a loving break in couples in crisis, according to a study conducted in 2004. It seems that this day can act as a catalyst for romantic relationships, making them more unstable and accentuating the problems that are dragging along.
4. The gift also makes the business card function personal, a psychological phenomenon that could be summarized in: "that's how fantastic I am and that's how great it is the gift I offer you". You've seen American Psycho? Well, that.
5. Valentine's Day has another vanity component. Giving things to a loved one may seem like an act born of the heart and pure altruism, but it really is not like that at all. A study suggests that, for men, the main reason that leads them to make a gift is ... The duty . And also, by far.
6. The same study mentioned above indicates that 25% of men expect something in exchange for the gift . 89% of those who buy lingerie, in fact, think of themselves. Go go
7. Valentine's Day, in conjunction with Father's Day and Mother's Day are ways of compartmentalize the forms of love . A loving relationship that does not fit those definitions is less recognized, as if by force it had to be of less importance.
8. Have not we already said it? Valentine's Day has a "Saturday night" effect : social pressure makes staying at home doing nothing depressing (and we know that being at home with low spirits is a direct route to the fridge).
9. If you liked the movie Amélie, attention, because Valentine's Day is an attack on the philosophy of small details of the life. Crossing the 24 hours a day of love involves crossing a kind of small Las Vegas in which a lot of huge and bright posters encourage you to taste love at your own pace, freely and as you want.
10. As last, and not least of all, this is a date that reminds you of your partner's questionable tastes at the time of asking or offering gifts. The Valentine's card industry is a mine of nonsense.
In short, it can be said that Valentine's Day is, like the rest of the days of the year, a moment in our lives that we have to learn to do not take us too seriously . Both for its shadows (the inability to live fully this day according to our expectations) and for its lights (the fact of believing that, unlike the rest of the days of the year, on Valentine's Day the essence of pure love crystallizes) . Let us accustom ourselves to not let social pressures narrate the way in which we have to live life next to someone special.
