For many of us, we’ve spent time during our working years daydreaming about the idyllic Golden Years of retirement. We envision peace, joy and fulfillment in retirement, with no bosses, no schedules and ample free time to enjoy all the things we couldn’t do when life was in busier phases.

Therefore, it comes as a surprise to many when post-retirement blues set in, or when recurring depression doesn’t magically lift in this  long-imagined reprieve from life’s stressors.

Retiring Can Cause Mixed Emotions

Despite our reveries, it is not uncommon for retirees to experience sadness, disappointment, listlessness, or depression. We need not succumb to these blues entirely, though. By taking a holistic approach to wellness in retirement, we can mitigate the emotional challenges of this significant life transition.

Total health includes intellectual, social, physical and spiritual wellness. A retirement plan that incorporates healthy strategies in all of these areas will reduce the likelihood of suffering from “retirement blues.” While the strategies for coping may be adjusted to account for the changed resources of this new period of life, we can successfully prevent and manage depression after retirement.

Implementing consistent interventions that address intellectual, social, physical and spiritual needs will facilitate a smooth transition into retirement and will support those who are already experiencing depression. Read on for some strategies that support retirees’ mental health.

Intellectual Health: Structure

Having ample free time and flexibility are often the impetus for retirement. And being “off the clock” on your own terms can be a tremendous relief. In general, our mental health improves if we can sleep when we want, engage in leisure activities, and allot our own time in alignment with our values. But a life with no routine can quickly devolve into depression in retirees.

A daily routine and schedule, even one that is loose and flexible, supports our mental health and can increase satisfaction and contentment in retirement.

Maintaining structure in your day can help prevent depression in retirement by improving your sleep, reducing stress associated with decision-making fatigue, minimizing procrastination, and orienting your retirement life to your own priorities. Consider setting two to three “anchor” events in each day.

Schedule an outing, block time for a chore, or sign up for an activity with a definite start and end time. Your day needn’t be booked solid, but having some structure can help you stay active and mentally engaged during retirement.

Intellectual Health: Challenge

Practicing a new and/or challenging task can help maintain and improve cognitive function. The best benefit comes from activities that tap into unused skills or require problem-solving skills. A daily crossword puzzle can keep the mind sharp and so can learning an instrument, solving a mystery game, or growing plants for the first time. Try something different.

The key is to select things that aren’t too easy for you and that require some effort. Keeping your mind active and challenged can stave off unnecessary cognitive decline and depression.

Social Health: Connection

One known benefit to working is the built-in connections it provides. In the workplace, even in the most autonomous roles, we are part of something and connected to a whole. Post-retirement it may become less clear where we belong. For decades we identify as part of the workforce, and after retirement that part of our identity has to be redefined.

Mental health in retirement is enhanced when we feel we belong. To whom are you connected and what communities are you a part of in your retirement?

Some retirees have an integral role in family life and that provides the sense of belonging they need to prevent depression in retirement. Others are involved in a religious community, a residential community, a club, local politics, or an activity group.

We don’t need to be especially outgoing to benefit from connecting with others and being a part of something. Connection doesn’t have to be in the form of exuberant conversation or parties at a neighbor’s house. A sense of belonging improves mental health for social and reserved folks alike.

Physical Health: Stress Management

Stress management begins with stress prevention.

Clearly we can not avoid all stressors. In fact, we often have very little control over what life throws at us. Yet there are ways to minimize the daily “friction points” that cause unnecessary stress. A daily routine, as discussed above, helps prevent stress by reducing the decision-making demands of each day.

Similarly, you might find ways to automate some of your daily processes or select convenience options to simplify your life. If driving is stressful to you, take advantage of a senior transport service or ride share. If the grocery store overwhelms you, order groceries online for delivery. And if the state of the world causes panic, reduce your consumption of news for a while.

Select the company you keep very carefully, and opt out of social drama. Recognize when your stress level is increasing and take action to calm and soothe yourself.

Physical Health: Body Care

To help stave off depression in retirement, it is also essential to take good care of your body. Sustained health and mobility can only enhance mental health. For most retirees, some physical health issues are inevitable. A lifetime of wear and tear can lead to aches and pains, chronic illness, restricted mobility, and other health problems. Start with where you are and what you have — even if what you have is a list of ailments — and take the best possible care of your body under the circumstances.

Rest, hydration and nutritious nourishment are key for everyone. Physical exertion, balance work, and stretching  can benefit most people (with doctor’s clearance). Massage, reiki, acupuncture, pedicures and facials may be the icing on the cake for some. Your body has served you for decades, and retirement can provide the opportunity to support your physical health and pamper your physical body.

Side note: Diet, exercise, sleep and stress reduction all impact cognitive health, so body care is another support for your intellectual health.

Spiritual Health: Purpose

Work provides a clear purpose and focal point for our day. When we awake on a workday, we know what the next step is, and we have a pretty good idea of how our day will be spent. Work also allows us to make concrete contributions to society, which creates a sense of purpose and fulfillment.  Our skills, expertise and contributions are valued by others and essential to the functioning of the whole. Humans generally thrive when they feel valued and know their contributions are important.

Feeling a lack of purpose can cause listlessness and depression. Upon retirement, it can be hard to identify our purpose, as it is not quite as clearly spelled out for us anymore. Without work, how do we construct a life that feels purposeful?   The answer typically lies in providing something of value to the world around us.

The “something of value” varies greatly from one individual to the next, but often falls under the categories of helping, creating, enhancing, fixing, producing, educating, or supporting.

Many people find that caregiving fills their days and provides a sense of purpose. The recipient of this care may be an ailing spouse, preschool grandchild or any individual who depends on you. Caregiving can be consuming and difficult, but allows us to feel we are serving a purpose.

Some other ways to maintain a sense of purpose include mentoring someone, writing a memoir, building furniture, serving on a board or otherwise volunteering your time or expertise. But you don’t necessarily have to do any of these things to have purpose. Ultimately, sharing yourself with others is valuable in and of itself. Your existence serves a purpose in this world and you don’t have to do anything to earn that.

Spiritual Health: Prayer

Prayer comes in different forms, including saying a rosary, chanting or meditating. Regardless of your preferred method of prayer, the act of pausing to commune with your higher power has benefits beyond measure. Some find comfort in reciting rote prayers and some prefer to appeal to God in a free-form conversation. Some just stay still and listen.

Whatever the form, prayer can provide peace, comfort and clarity. A moment of prayer can provide a brief retreat from the busy world. Prayer also has been shown to reduce blood pressure and to reduce stress, so can be another tool to support your physical health.

Another Consideration: Timing of Retirement

This consideration does not fall under any of the aforementioned categories of health but is something that you may want to think about when approaching retirement. While planning the exact time of one’s retirement is not always feasible, to the extent that there is any choice, a careful selection of your retirement date can help prevent depression in retirement.

For example, in our region, retirement at calendar year-end can mean that friends and family are  likely housebound due to winter weather, or even “wintering” out of state. Grandchildren may be in school or college and any friends who work in education are certainly unavailable. This can make for a long and lonely winter for new retirees. At the same time, retiring during winter might be just the right thing for a skier or someone in an active winter community.

The primary consideration is not climate, but rather the availability of one’s network, resources, hobbies and activities. Think about what you would like to be doing and who you would like to be with after your retirement, and plan accordingly to support a smooth transition into this new phase of life.

Experiment With This Holistic Approach

There is no magic trick to maintaining good mental health in retirement but experimenting with this holistic approach can help boost your mood and energy. If these ideas are overwhelming, a professional counselor can help you implement these practices or provide an empathic ear when you need to share. If you are a Friends Life Care member, you can speak to your Wellness & Care Coordinator to get some ideas on what a holistic approach means for you.

Feeling down or depressed in retirement is not uncommon, but it is not inevitable either. You can stay ahead of it by enhancing the intellectual, social, physical and spiritual practices in your daily life.

Just by making a few shifts, your Golden Years can shine. Enjoy them!

 

Contributed by Angela Dobrzynski

Angela Dora Dobrzynski, LPC is a Licensed Professional Counselor and a Certified Grief Counseling Specialist. She has a private practice in Downingtown, PA where she specializes in grief and non-death losses, as well as significant life transitions. She is the author of Unmoored, a book that can  help you ride the waves of grief and take those first tentative steps ashore.

Her approach draws from stress and health psychology, holistic health coaching, solutions-focused treatment, strengths-based philosophy, EMDR, and Cognitive Behavioral interventions. She holds a Master’s degree in Counseling Psychology from Rosemont College and a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology from Stockton University. Visit her website at www.angeladora.org

 

 

 

Grieving can be caused by loss of something dear and important in one’s life – like the end of a career and retirement. Friends Life Care appreciates this post about retiring happily, written for the eMeetinghouse blog. Friends Life Care is a mission-driven nonprofit that has been helping older adults to thrive at home as they age.  Connect with us if you have questions for one of Friends Life Care’s Plan Counselors on joining.  Or, if you are a member, for your Wellness or Care Coordinator. We’d love to hear your comments.