Retirement: Anxiety Happens!
After retirement, anxiety and depression happen. This phase of life includes the retirement transition period (adjusting from work life to retired life) where anxiety and depression are relatively common.
Oddly enough, it’s not something that people talk about. Just a few years ago, there was little on the internet about retirement anxiety. Now, finally, the topic is growing as people speak up.
During this odd period of life, you may experience retirement worry and anxiety seemingly for no reason at all.
This sometimes happens even if you voluntarily retired, with plans on what to do post-retirement, and then BAM! What Happened?
Anxiety and depression are not kind — to the mind or physically. Knowing you are not alone, reading the stories other retirees have written, will greatly help you.
You retire and suddenly:
- You’ve lost your identity… who are you?
- You have all this free time, time with no commitments, something you waited for all your working life… but you are not happy.
- Your head is running in circles, anxiety runs amuck, never-ending questions with no answers.
- You do little all day, every day, bored, lazy, and you hate being like this… but you don’t do anything about it. You are stuck.
Many years ago, a speaker at a series of Pre-Retirement Programs talked about what happens at retirement. She advised on the stages of grief:
- denial (Oh No, Not ME! I can’t be retirement age, can I?)
- anger (They forced me out, I hate retirement, my job was so wonderful… not.)
- depression (What do I do all day? Nothing. All my carefully thought out plans went out the door. Couch potato, here I come… )
- acceptance (Hmmm, not so bad, found purpose and feel contented, life is so good!)
We usually associate grief with death but we can grieve many life changes, like when a home burns down, or when we lose a job, or a family member, even a pet. We can also grieve when we retire… the loss of work identity is huge.
Often we don’t even realize how much of our self-respect is tied up with our work status… life revolves around work. Friendships (we think co-workers are real friends) often revolve around work too… but often co-workers prove to be that, only co-workers.
Retirement is a life-changing transition period and HOW you choose to live your retired lifestyle IS a choice. Right?
Oddly enough, all our working years, we wish for freedom. We can’t wait to be happy and free in retirement.
Everyone has been asking: “When are you going to retire?” and adding… “Man, I wish I could.” Yeah, sure… sounds so good at 30, 40, even maybe 50, but when you are at retirement age, this question (and the answer) is completely different.
But, in your own time, you make the decision and choose to retire.
Then comes the day we walk out the proverbial retirement door, wild and free for the first time since grade school, right?
Woo hoo!
We are excited.
Heck, we are FREE from the everyday drudge of working life!
We can do what we want to do — all day, every day!
Then we ask:
Who Am I?
— and —
What Do I DO with the Rest of My Life?
Previously published at my site. Many anxiety stories, written by readers, at the bottom of the page. You are not alone. https://www.retirement-online.com/after-retirement-anxiety-and-depression.html