Birthday Blues: Here's Why Some of Us Feel Sad On Our Natal Day; How to Beat It?

Having birthday blues? You are not the only one. Every year around their birthday, many people experience a time of sadness for no particular cause. Birthdays, like other holidays, will leave us feeling disappointed and upset at times. Hence, many people may opt not to celebrate or not tell anyone when their birthday arrives.

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Birthday Blues: A Curious Occurrence

Many individuals show a distinct trend during their birthdays. Their mood tends to change, and they become restless or depressed. They're suffering from a case of the birthday blues.

Birthday blues (birthday sadness), according to BetterHelp, are often triggered by fear of uncertainty or fear of age. Softer words like this can mask the complicated truth that many people face. Furthermore, the fleeting existence of birthday depression makes it much more comfortable to ignore.

Birthday depression may contribute to negative emotions. It will eventually lead to a depressive episode. Hence, experts recommend treating birthday sadness seriously and with respect and empathy. You need to address some of the reasons and issues later in this post.

What if the person who is feeling birthday blues has no friends or family? This scenario is real among the elderly, who often spend their birthdays alone.

A study titled "Birthday blues: The association of birthday with self-inflicted death in the elderly" noted the increase of self-inflicted deaths rose in the 30 days before and after a birthday among people aged 75 and over.

Why Is It So Difficult to Cope With Birthdays?

Although there are several explanations why someone may be sad on their birthday, Science of People has compiled a list of the most popular ones:

Social Media

It used to be simple to celebrate the passing of our birth in a non-obtrusive fashion. Now that we have social media, someone else is enjoying a wonderful time on their birthday. It can make us feel as if our option of celebration is insufficient.

Nostalgia

Birthday blues can be worsened by nostalgia. For example, if your present condition does not reflect the amount of happiness you recall from your childhood.

Fewer well-wishers

Few people don't have a broad group of friends or relatives. Or they may have a huge number of "true friends" - people who don't care enough for them to gather behind them on their birthday. Since they have no one to celebrate their birthdays with, they can suffer from birthday blues.

'Less' love

You could still count on your family to lavish you on your birthday when you were a child. People pay less attention to you as an adult as you grow older.

Lack of milestones

Unmet expectations from the previous year often trigger birthday sadness. It can be tough to deal with the impression that you are not where you should be in life on a birthday.

Birthdays act as a sign that we are growing older. It's the day we technically turn a year older, even though we might feel the same as we did yesterday. Big anniversaries like 30, 40, and 50 will reinforce the fact that time is running out.

How to Get Rid of the Birthday Blues

It can be tempting to hang up the phone and pretend the day isn't happening, but for those who want to celebrate without feeling nervous, this may be tough. Medicine News Today gathered a list of ideas for a happy birthday.

Get your day off to a good start

It's a smart thing to start to think positively right away. As a result, a person would be in a good mood to spend the rest of their day.

It could be useful to begin each birthday by making a list of items for which you are grateful.

Other strategies involve having a special breakfast and doing something happy to start the day, such as watching a movie in bed or going for an early morning run.

When anyone has to go to work on their birthday, they may want to treat themselves to a soda or other favorite treat on the way to bring more spice to their day.

Focus on the right way to celebrate the day.

Birthdays are days when being a little greedy is appropriate. If anyone likes lavish parties, they should attempt to hold one on their special day. If they would rather spend quality time with their families, they could make plans to ensure that this exists instead.

On the other hand, doing something they hate on their birthday will make it more difficult for them to enjoy themselves.

Don't schedule too much ahead of time

A birthday with so many plans can be exhausting and add to the burden. If birthday blues are a concern, keep it comfortable and clear to minimize the odds of anything going wrong.

Keep expectations in place

It's better to prevent disappointment if you're honest about what to expect from a birthday. This is particularly true for receiving calls from family members with which a person may have a tense relationship.

Whatever kind of day it is, a person should continue to reflect on the good and be grateful for any contribution made by friends and family, no matter how trivial. No matter what, doing so would make them feel special.

Keep yourself occupied

If the birthday blues are about to spoil someone's day, it might be best to miss it entirely. Keeping busy and occupied means that the day moves quickly and that the day's events are easily overlooked, allowing a person to go on with their life.

Keep a good outlook

Rather than lamenting a lack of success and berating oneself, it is much more constructive to rely on what has been achieved in previous years. An individual would be more able to rise above their birthday blues and remember what makes them proud if they do so.

Check out more news and information on Psychology in Science Times.

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