I Get This

I don't mind parties, nor do I mind birthday parties, but I hate my birthday parties.

Being the center of attention, and being expected to be happy, is something that I found profoundly depressing, particularly since my 20th birthday. 

Faking it when the party is not about you is one thing, but when it IS about you, it is intolerable.

Still, I handle it better than the the man working at Gravity Diagnostics, who had a full blown panic attack after, despite his explicit requests to his managers, was thrown a party at his place of work.

After suffering the panic attack, he spent the rest of his break in his car, and a week later, his bosses fired him because they did not like his attitude.

Well, Gravity Diagnostics is now $450,000.00 poorer as a result of their reckless indifference to the well-being of said (unnamed) employee:

Days before his birthday in August 2019, an employee at a Kentucky-based laboratory asked his office manager to not arrange a celebration for his birthday.

It wasn’t the fear of getting older, but rather an anxiety disorder that can spur “panic attacks in stressful situations,” according to court documents. The employee, who was hired in October 2018 by Gravity Diagnostics, did not want a celebration because “being the center of attention” can trigger his disorder, the documents state.

When the company threw him a lunchtime party against his wishes, it triggered a panic attack and he left abruptly to spend his break in his car. Four days later, after his office managers confronted him about his reaction to the party, he was fired from the Northern Kentucky company, court records show.

He eventually sued Gravity Diagnostics, and this week, a jury awarded the man $450,000 in damages for his lost wages and emotional distress.

Thankfully, those who know me respect my desire not to have a party, or a celebration of any sort, on the anniversary of my birth.

Not holding a birthday party for the employee is literally the least you could do.