Valentine’s Day may upset lonely people – psychologists

YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 15, ARMENPRESS. Valentine’s Day may upset lonely people, St. Petersburg University psychologists said.

“Lonely people feel depressed on this day,” psychologist Oksana Zashchirinskaya said. “The reaction of teenagers is particularly sharp. They think the more Valentines cards they receive on this day the more popular they are. It is unpleasant to be neglected for any person, but teenagers may be upset more than anyone else.”

“There may be problems for couples, too,” another psychologist, Elvira Karpova said. “Some couples break up on Valentine’s Day because they feel their expectations are not met,” she noted.

Valentine’s Day is a Western tradition borrowed by Russia only recently, Prof. Valentin Semyonov, Director of the St. Petersburg University’s Sociological Research Institute, said.

Russia has another holiday, the Day of Family, Love and Fidelity, marked on July 8. This holiday is rooted in the Orthodox culture, the professor said.