Why do we often get sick on our birthday? Even lifestyle influences it

On the eve of their birthday, many people feel unwell, fall ill with viral infections, are accompanied by trouble, bad mood, homesickness, anxiety and even depression. Is it a coincidence or a pattern?

psychologist, expert in building harmonious relationships

If you feel sad on the eve of your birthday, perhaps it’s not just a bad mood.

Why you can get sick on the eve of the holiday

Exaggerated expectations

Many people associate birthday with a holiday, gifts, attention and fulfillment of wishes. And everyone, whether they want it or not, thinks about their “perfect” day. About how we would like to celebrate it, what surprises to get. Most often expectations do not coincide with reality, which spoils the mood, motivation drops, old offenses resurface, and stress level increases. The body weakens, and as a consequence: “Hello, illness!”.

Feelings of unfulfillment

On the birthday it is customary to summarize the results and set new goals. And the bigger the gap between expectations and reality, the more disappointed we feel in our lives. After all, everyone wants to realize their potential to the maximum. As a result: stress – weakness – disease.

The situation is quite different for those who somehow consider themselves successful. Such people, as a rule, celebrate the holiday with pleasure, because they feel able to make it exactly as they want it to be. When the two concepts of “want” and “can” clash, illness doesn’t come.

Sometimes our perceptions of our success diverge from reality, not because we haven’t accomplished anything, but because the achievements seem unimportant to us. This phenomenon is called imposter syndrome. How to fight it, told in the article.

Lack of energy

It is believed that on the day of birth we are given a certain amount of energy for the next year. Thanks to her we can realize dreams, achieve goals, build relationships with people, monitor our health. It is believed that by the end of the “astrological” year, resources run out, weakness appears and we become more susceptible to negativity. Especially difficult to experience this period are those who are prone to hypochondria, increased anxiety, perfectionism.

Low self-esteem

On the eve of the birthday of everyone consciously or unconsciously begins to summarize the past year. Sometimes comes disappointment and, as a consequence, a depressive mood with all the ensuing consequences. In addition, there are special expectations and hopes for the holiday itself: who will come, how will congratulate, whether it will be possible to celebrate as desired.

People with low self-esteem are at risk of morbidity before the birthday: they do not consider themselves worthy of this holiday. And if this is confirmed by something indirectly (for example, no one congratulated), instead of joy comes a sense of dissatisfaction, depressed mood, which reduces the body’s defenses.

How to avoid this

Ksenia Obukhova

certified psychoanalyst

Don’t deprive yourself of the holiday and learn to notice the good. Here’s how to do it.

Let go of the old

End your year the right way: let go of all the old things that have outlived their usefulness, finish your business, pay back your debts. Pay special attention to taking stock. Remind yourself what good things this year has brought, what special events, achievements, victories have happened.

Do meditative practices

The technique of keeping a diary will help. Write down everything positive that happened to you during the year and during the last month, even the smallest things. For example, you found a new friend, bought a new thing, went on vacation. You need this to reprogram your brain to notice the pluses instead of the minuses. Breathing practices and massage can also help you reduce anxiety symptoms and relax. Read how to do breathing exercises correctly in our previous piece.

Make realistic plans without devaluing yourself

This will help you avoid disappointment. If something goes wrong, remember that difficulties are given to us in order to strengthen our spirit and become stronger. Study your mistakes, analyze what they taught you. This way you will begin to feel kinder to yourself. Look at your failures from a different angle. Give up the desire to always do everything right. Do not forget, your importance has nothing to do with the number of those who congratulate you or come to the holiday.

Try to lead a healthy lifestyle

A busy lifestyle wastes a lot of energy that could be spent on achievements. Therefore, you should start the new year of your life correctly – for example, adjust your diet, get rid of bad habits, take up sports.

Do not drown in your sores and work on your self-esteem. And then the day of your birthday will not cause horror, but only pleasant emotions. If you can not do it yourself, do not be afraid to seek help from specialists.