LOS ANGELES - s4story -- Does Valentine's Day make you wish you had someone to love (and to love you)? Don't despair—there are ways to dispel loneliness during the Valentine's Day hype, and you just might find a new love by engaging in some of the following activities.

·      Volunteer

Think about who you would get the most satisfaction from helping and search online for where you might be most needed. VolunteerMatch.org and CreateTheGood.org are sites that list volunteer opportunities in your community. Not only would you be making a positive change, you would meet others with similar values.

·      Foster or Adopt a Pet

You may find a pet to be a loving companion. A cat can give you comfort, while a dog gets you out on a daily basis where you will meet other doggie lovers. You then instantly have something in common and something to talk about. Petting a dog or cat releases the "love hormone", oxytocin, in both the person's and pet's brains, according to scientists at Monash University (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25647172).  Oxytocin creates a feeling of being loved and insures a strong bond.

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·      Join a Group

If you have a hobby join a group of people who share that interest. Every city has an abundance of professional association functions, alumni events, and civic organization meetings. Find group activities on websites such as meetup.com (http://www.meetup.com/). These may involve developing a new skill, discussing a topic, or participating a sport.

·      Sign up for a Course or Fitness Center

Seek out classes that interest you at your local university, or join a gym.  Both men and women are attracted to the other's sweat, reports a Swiss study (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC16...), which explains why health clubs are popular hunting grounds! Don't forget to reach out and connect by asking for advice or noticing when someone needs help.

·      Read a Good Book

Selecting a book from the library or bookstore gives you an opportunity to interact with others before going home to read. Escape to another world through an engrossing fiction or learn something new through a helpful nonfiction. My book, Love Demystified: Strategies for a Successful Love Life (http://amzn.to/2EtJxgc), gives you more suggestions on how to avoid Valentine's Day blues.

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About

Beverly B. Palmer, Ph.D. is the author of Love Demystified: Strategies for a Successful Love Life.  As professor of psychology and a psychologist, her knowledge and clinical understanding uniquely qualify her to demystify love. The American Psychological Association lists her as a scientific expert on interpersonal attraction and relationships for journalists to consult. She has been happily married to her psychiatrist husband for 50 years.