I have just successfully completed a birthday. Something not as simple as it sounds, for I am in the age range where most women watch for additional wrinkles in the mirror and try to figure out what to do about them at best. At worst, people easily fall into a low self-esteem gutter of wondering why their lives have not gone as planned.

Moi, I think it is time to think about birthdays in different ways.

I explained it to another mental health professional, who happened to be sitting in a nearby office, and who is six years older than me, almost to the day. She had a birthday a few days before mine, and was clearly in the throes of a birthday related depression, telling me how beautiful she used to be, and how good life was when people still paid attention to her.

Now granted, when my husband and I first moved to Southern California I wondered if they institutionalized people over 40, for they were simply not seen on the streets. Of course, I understand better now. First they give them multiple face and body lifts. Then, they move them to collectives in Palm Springs, where they sing off-key in certain piano bars.

Birthday depression is a common problem, and not something people often go to a physician for. It is usually something dealt with in terms of common wisdom, often repeated, rarely effective. It is more a subject of support groups than of research. Read more on How To Survive Your Birthday…