How to Deal With Birthday Blues

My little brother’s birthday is in a few days, even though he’s just turning four, he was sad to find out that he wouldn’t be able to go to Chuck E. Cheese on his birthday like we had been talking to him about for months.

I have friends who have birthdays next month and as of now, celebrations for them might not even happen at all now due to COVID-19.

Birthdays can be a time of sadness for many reasons.

Some people had a traumatic thing happen on one of their birthdays that now steals the joy from future ones.

Some people are away from friends and family on their’s and feel alone.

Others simply don’t like acknowledging the passing of time, which is understandable, it can be a scary and sobering thing.

I have a hard time around my birthday since it’s right after Christmas, a time where everyone is talking about visiting their relatives when my outer family is dysfunctional and the familial love everyone speaks of is not there for me or my immediate family. By the time my birthday comes, I typically feel very isolated.

What can you do when you’re feeling down about this?

 

    1. Think about how much you’ve been blessed with time

There’s so much in our lives to be thankful for, including our lives.

Jesus died for you and you can have hope and a future in Him.

“For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.”-Jeremiah 29:11

You have so many great opportunities in this life to do so much good.

If you haven’t been the Christian you need to be, or if you’ve never obeyed the Bible, I believe that everyone gets a chance to do just that and the fact that you’re still alive means that you still have that chance. Read: Acts 2:38, Romans 10:9-10, Mark 16:16, Romans 6:1-18

 

      2. Be honest with yourself and others

It’s okay to feel sad and it’s okay to be open to others about how you are feeling. Your friends and family want to be there for you in the hard times, but you need to let them know when you are going through those times.

The phrase “Happy Birthday” doesn’t mean you’re obliged to be happy on yours, it simply means that we are happy to know you, we are happy you exist, and we are happy that even though life can be hard and painful at times that you haven’t given up and are still here with us.

“For his anger endureth but a moment; in his favour is life: weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning.”-Psalm 30:5

Happiness fades, but in God, we can have peace and joy.

“Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that ye may abound in hope, through the power of the Holy Ghost.”-Romans 15:13

      3. Make a list of all you have to be thankful for

My mom use to make me do this all the time when I was down and taking my life for granted, it is a great reminder of how much we have and how much beauty there is in life.

 

    4. Focus on what you can improve this year of your life

Who says that New Years is the only time to make goals?

Taking the time on your birthday to look at yourself in the mirror and thinking about your priorities can be a productive way to make your birthday about more than just loneliness or any other negative emotion.

If you’re reading this and your birthday is coming up, happy birthday! I’m sorry if you are feeling down about it, I know how hard it can be to focus on the positive instead of the negative, but you are so much stronger than you even know.

As someone who also struggles around and on their birthday, we both need to focus on being thankful in this time, it will be hard, but we are both capable of it. You are not alone.

^“In everything give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.”-1 Thessalonians 5:18

I am thankful for your life and I know so many others are as well. ❤

Do you also have a hard time on your birthday?

How do you deal with “birthday blues”?