Retirement, stress, and anxiety

Some people see retirement as their reward for so many years of hard work. However, this is a time that can also trigger anxiety, stress, and even depression. Here is how to cope with the unpleasant part of retirement and find a new purpose in life.

How many times have we thought about our ideal retirement, and imagined how we’re going to travel the world, finally spend extra time with friends and family, and explore hobbies such as gardening, painting, cooking, fishing, or playing golf? We decided that this is something common that everybody does. However, while we tend to think and plan a lot for financial aspects, we seem to overlook the psychological impact of retirement.

Initially, it can feel like a great relief to escape the workplace politics or a difficult boss, and generally, the daily grind. New retirees often deal with the sensation of a forever vacation disappearing after a few months. What happens that can make you lose the excitement? You may miss your sense of identity, purpose, and meaning, all coming with your job that offered your days structure and enough socialization.

From Lost to Fulfilled – Navigating Retirement Challenges

If once you were thinking about retirement with feelings of freedom, relaxation, and fulfillment, now you may find yourself feeling aimless, isolated, and even depressed. If you find yourself grieving the loss of your old life and feeling stressed about how to fill up your days, or you even notice that being home all day changes your relationship with your partner in a negative way, remember this: It’s very common for new retirees to experience mental health issues like anxiety or clinical depression, so keep in mind that no matter how much you’re looking forward to it, retirement doesn’t only come with benefits but can also bring stress and anxiety.

Some studies have linked retirement to a decline in health, and one ongoing study found that retired people, especially the new ones, are 40% more likely to experience a stroke or a heart attack.

When you’re adjusting to retirement, some difficulties can be linked to how much you enjoyed your job. There are some steps you can take to cope with stress, depression, or other common challenges in retirement.

If you’re already retired and you’re struggling with the transition, or you plan to retire soon, here are some healthy ways to adjust to this new chapter in your life and make sure you experience a retirement that feels happy and rewarding.

The challenges of retirement

No matter what your circumstances are, when your work life ends, this will change things for you; some will change for the better, and others will change in unexpected ways.

For example, retirement can feel like a burden that has been lifted, especially if your job was unfulfilling or left you feeling burned out. On the other side, if you enjoy your work and you find it gratifying, plus you build a social life around your career, retirement can feel like a challenge. Especially when you made sacrifices in your personal or family life for your job and you were forced to retire before you felt ready, things can get extra tough.

Another very important influence on how well you handle the transition is your outlook on life. If you generally keep a positive, optimistic viewpoint, you’re more likely to handle the change better than the ones who are prone to worrying and struggle to cope with uncertainty in life.

The most common challenges in retirement:

• Feeling isolated without social interaction with coworkers;
• Experiencing a decline in your self-worth, confidence, and how useful you feel;
• Losing your identity – What are you now that you’re no longer a doctor, designer, teacher, or salesperson?
• Feeling anxious about the extra free time, but usually less money to spend;
• Finding it hard to fill your time with meaningful activities;
• Struggling to relax and switch off the work mode, especially in the beginning;
• Maintaining independence while you’re with your spouse at home all day;
• Some even felt guilty about receiving money from a pension without working for it directly.

  

Tips to adjust

1. Embrace change

Even if we know that this is an inevitable part of life, it’s rarely easy to cope with change. Life usually changes as we grow older, and once you retire, it can seem like it changes even quicker. You find yourself in front of situations such as your kids leaving home, losing friends and loved ones, and facing physical and health challenges. It’s a natural response to face these changes with an array of conflicting emotions.

Same as you transition from childhood to adulthood, you can make it through the transition from work to retirement.

2. Adjust your attitude

What if you turn to see retirement more as a journey than a destination? Give yourself time to figure things out with the constant reminder that you can always change the direction if necessary. You can adjust your attitude by focusing on what you’re winning rather than the losses.

3. Build resilience

You can better cope with challenges the more resilient you are. Your age doesn’t matter when it comes to improving the qualities of resiliency. Focusing on this will help you keep a healthy perspective even when life is at its toughest.

When you’re able to acknowledge your emotions and you see no right or wrong, but you focus on your reactions, dealing with life becomes easy. Don’t bully yourself into feeling a way about retirement. Be aware of the mix of emotions you experience and accept what you’re feeling, whether you feel sad, angry, anxious, or grief-stricken. By acknowledging and accepting what you’re feeling, you’ll see how the most unpleasant emotions will pass sooner than expected. You can use tools such as recording your feelings in a journal or simply talking to a friend about what you’re going through to better cope with emotions.

4. Accept the things that you can’t change

The most exhausting thing you can do is to rail against events that you have no control over. No matter what the circumstances of your retirement are, simply accepting them will help you refocus your energy on what you have control over. The handiest thing you have control over is your reaction to obstacles, and the best part is that you have time to look back at examples in your life when you coped with change and remind yourself that you’ll be able to manage and pass this challenge as well.

5. Time to redefine your identity

Most people define themselves by what they do for a living. When you retire, you can see it as an opportunity to find new ways of defining yourself through activities and relationships that are not work-related. If you used to be an accountant, for example, now it can be your time to be an artist, a memoirist, a student, a mentor, or a loving grandparent.

You probably achieved many professional goals in life, and you know why it was so fulfilling. Because you managed to reach something you intended to, and you loved the process as much as the result. This is what gives us purpose and makes our lives meaningful.

That’s why is important to set new goals to strive towards. Having goals energizes us and helps us redefine our identity. The challenges and the excitement coming from following them are what keep us moving forward in life. Many retirees choose to focus on their own dreams and hope now that they are no longer the family provider.

Here is a book you might enjoy: How to Retire: 20 Lessons for a Happy, Successful, and Wealthy Retirement, by Christine Benz. You can order it on Amazon and let it inspire your retirement years. 

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