Turkeys aren’t the ones feeling the impending doom of Thanksgiving. Some college-aged couples also must face the reality of the “turkey drop.”
Urbandictionary.com defines the “turkey drop” as “when a dating couple try the long-distance relationship thing when they go off to college in September. Typically, when Thanksgiving rolls around and everyone goes home for the holiday, someone gets dumped. Hence the turkey drop.”
If this sounds relatively familiar, don’t worry – you are not alone. This dating phenomenon has been recognized by psychologists as a fairly common event among first-year students.
To address this issue, UC Davis’ Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS) is holding a wellness workshop today at the ARC in meeting room 3 from 5 p.m. to 6 p.m.
“The truth is, the primary student complaint at all times of the year involves intimate relationships,” said Kate Leinberger, UC Davis CAPS Psychologist. “This is not surprising; it is not unusual for [relationships] to preoccupy a lot of student attentions.”
The workshop’s primary focus will not be strictly limited to this specific phenomenon of the “turkey drop,” but will instead have a larger focus on general relationship issues and ways to build healthy relationships.
Consisting largely of interactive activities, the workshop will allow students to reflect on their relationship values, experiences in prior relationships and ways to develop healthy relationship patterns.
“During college many students are figuring out what their values and hopes are for romantic relationships,” said Lindsey Brooks, Pre-doctoral intern and one of the presenters of today’s workshop.
“Along the way many students face challenges in the process. This workshop will provide students an opportunity to reflect on their experiences in relationships and gain information on relationships,” she said.
The turkey drop workshop, which will be headed by interns Lindsey Brooks and Marissa Berman, is just one of the many workshops held by CAPS.
The workshops are part of an ongoing series known as Wellness Wednesdays, and are designed to enhance general well being and are facilitated by CAPS in collaboration with Campus Recreation.
Past workshops have included “Coping with Financial Stress,” “Myth of the Freshman 15” and “The Art of Sleeping.”
“Workshops such as these provide an opportunity for students to sit down with a psychologist and evaluate what the breaking point is in an unhealthy relationship,” Leinberger said.
All workshops are held Wednesday evenings at the ARC in meeting room 3. Next week’s workshop, “Get Pumped Up for Finals,” will be the last workshop of the quarter. Students can find out more information on Wellness Wednesdays by visiting caps.ucdavis.edu.
REBECCA SHRAGGE can be reached at campus@theaggie.org.
