Why Thanksgiving May Leave Us Feeling Lonely [EXPERT]

Thanksgiving is just around the corner, a time to share the company of family over a table overflowing with comfort food. But for many of us, this time of year is a mixed blessing at best. For all the turkey, stuffing, potatoes, and pie, we often leave the table feeling profoundly empty inside.

Thanksgivings past may cling to your memories like a shadow, reminding you of times you had a man in your life sitting at the table. You don't necessarily want him back, but you miss having someone to share the holidays with. Someone whose eye you can catch across the table when your aunt keeps pushing her fruit salad on everyone, the one with the mystery ingredients. Someone to snuggle with afterward in front of the football game, when the post-turkey coma hits. There's nothing quite like closing your eyes and leaning against the solidity of his warm body. Those small moments are what bliss is made of. How To Meet Mr. Right EXPERT

You might be dreading the well-meaning yet stinging questions from family. "Have you met someone yet?" (Subtext: "You don't have much time left!") "Whatever happened to that nice guy you brought to the family picnic last summer?" (Subtext: "Why can't you keep a man? Or at least settle — like I did.")

For some of us, spending Thanksgiving with family brings out the insecurities we felt as children, the sense of feeling trapped, powerless to change anything about our lives. Because let's face it: We don't choose our families. We may love them, and we may even enjoy their company, but often, spending the holidays with them only underscores not having a man in our lives, a man who is a part of the family we do choose.

Finding a guy we really connect with on every level isn't just about intimacy, sex, and friendship. It's about building family with a man. It's about inviting each other into our existing families, including the lives of our children. The strength, confidence, and love we get from a healthy relationship helps us to fully enjoy every holiday. It provides balance and perspective, so we can shrug off the aspects of the season and of our relatives that leave us feeling like we'll always be emotionally sitting at the kids' table. Should You Bring Him Home For Thanksgiving? EXPERT

Even those of us lucky enough to have a family that genuinely supports us will feel the urgency of creating our own version of this family. So why do we put love on the back burner during the holidays? This is the time when it's more important than ever to find a man to share the season with. Yet so many of us act as if getting through alive is all that matters.

People are out and about, more social than ever this time of year. From office parties to festivals, celebrations abound. Yet, instead of taking advantage of the season to date more and date better, we focus instead on our fears. We close up and shield ourselves against the painful reminders of our loneliness, and these shields only push people away further. How To Find The One in A Sea Of Many EXPERT