Are You Ready for ‘Turkey Dump’ Season?

By Kayla Chandler

Thanksgiving is three weeks away, and with it comes that unfortunate time when many college couples break up.

Dubbed “Turkey Dump” or “Turkey Drop,” the experience is said to affect mostly first-year students. In spite of new technology, like Skype and texting, long-distance couples often break up right before the holidays.

Why? For many, it may boil down to the old-fashioned phrase “relationship goals.”

Haylie Davis, sophomore public relations major from Dallas, said that if you don’t tell someone what you want from your relationship as a friend or as a girlfriend or boyfriend, they aren’t going to know unless you express that.

Breakup Chart

Google searches for “turkey drop” (which spikes every November), “breaking up with girlfriend” and “breaking up with boyfriend.” Numbers represent relative, not absolute volume. Source: Google Trends.

“It’s a huge thing to communicate with each other,” Davis said. “Unspoken expectations lead to silent resentment.”

Kelsey Sanders, a junior public relations major from Midland, Texas, said jealousy is a big issue in relationships.

“I believe it’s because people have trust issues,” Sanders said. “You really have to trust the person in order for the relationship to prosper.”

If you are not fighting with your significant other, get started. Experts say arguing in a calm manner can help a couple grow.

Baylee Kleman, third-year student in human development and family studies from Amarillo, Texas, said it is important to listen to both sides of the story in an argument.

“Don’t lash out,” Kleman said. “Once the argument is finished, be done with it, and say nothing more about it to avoid it ever coming up again.”

She also mentioned a few essentials: intimacy, trust, commitment, interdependency and mutuality.

Cydney Schleiden, a graduate student studying marriage and family therapy, said married and committed couples often use therapy to work through conflict.

“Therapy is a great resource that gives you tools to use outside of the therapy room,” said Schleiden.

Seeking advice is a good thing, along with becoming aware of a relationship’s roadblocks to happiness, she said.

And those witnessing struggles in their parents’ marriage should never feel responsible for the conflict.

“I encourage them to seek out positive role models or mentors,” Schleiden said. “I encourage them to discover themselves apart from the home they grew up in. I encourage them to realize their self-worth.”

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