NEW YORK ( CNN ) -- Hope was afoot in Times Square during the third annual Good Riddance Day -- the unofficial holiday on which luck-strapped individuals are encouraged to rid themselves of the ending year 's setbacks and prepare for the future . `` We decided that people should have time to get over any regrets before New Year 's Eve , so a day like this makes sense , '' said Lori Raimondo , the vice president of marketing for the Times Square Alliance and creator of the event . `` We hope one day it becomes a national holiday , '' she said . Hundreds of hard-knock-yet-resilient participants on Monday were handed black markers and white sheets of paper emblazoned with `` I want to say good riddance to , '' and encouraged to write down their problems . Some also brought old credit card bills or pictures of fizzled out flames . Celebrants were then instructed to throw the sheets and papers and photos into an industrial-size paper shredder . To many , if only symbolically , it offered a palpable release of personal burdens and struggles from the past year . `` There 's something about writing problems down and releasing them , '' said Rama Mandel , 45 , from the Bronx . `` There 's a freedom you feel that just puts you beyond the things holding you back . '' Mandel , who works with children with special needs , wrote down three words -- resentment , procrastination and fear -- on three red pieces of construction paper . `` I 'm going to replace those words with 'power , action and faith , ' `` she said . `` This is a new beginning . '' Liz McCarvill , 44 , from the Manhattan 's West Village , admitted that she visited the event to post it on her blog . However , she was inspired by the concept and decided to participate . `` I just want to say goodbye to preconceived ideas and things that hold me back sometimes , '' said McCarvill . `` It 's a great time for a new start . '' Tian Donghai , 25 , of China , said he studies computer science at Penn State University . About seven months ago , he was rushed to the hospital after a blood clot appeared above his right eye , he said . `` My friends were terrified , '' said Donghai . `` So this year , I say good riddance to poor health . '' Some people used the opportunity to remember the loss of a loved one . Sue Domino , 45 , was with her family when she wrote the name of her mother , Constance Rose Trainer , who at 73 , died suddenly in October of a stomach aneurism . Her mother , who lived in Pennsylvania , had never seen Times Square . `` She would have just loved to see this , '' said Domino . `` She was supposed to be here with us . '' Participation in the event appeared to be up this year , said Minerva Martinez , a spokeswoman for the Times Square Alliance . She attributed its popularity to Facebook and Twitter alerts . `` It 's definitely getting viral , '' said Martinez . `` I think people can really use this to get on with their lives . '' Many participants admitted that with New Year 's Eve looming , the thought of the one that got away is still a staple in last year 's regrets . `` No matter what the state of the economy or joblessness , people always move on from past relationships , '' said Raimondo . `` There are a lot of ex-boyfriends ' names being shredded right now . '' Tina Wong , 33 , from Harlem , said after a series of bad dates this year that left her wondering if there are any good men in the city , so she says `` good riddance '' to bad dates . Experts say the benefits of destroying a past memory on paper in hopes to expedite the recovery is debatable . David Amodio , an assistant professor of psychology at New York University , said that writing down trivial things and then destroying the writing be an effective way of moving on . However , the technique losses effectiveness when dealing with more substantial life changes . `` If you robbed a bank and wrote it down on paper and threw it away , it probably does n't help you all that much , '' said Amodio . `` I think the same applies here . ''
Hundreds show up in Times Square to get rid of 2009 regrets . They wrote down regets on paper that was then shredded . Regrets ranged from debts , to old loves , to things missing in their lives .