14 Signs That You Could be in a Post-Retirement Depression
We spend the better part of our lives cultivating routines. We establish a wake-up time where we adjust to the day’s upcoming activities. Then, we move to getting ready for the day’s activities. This includes showering, washing your face, making up, getting dressed, and eating before heading to the third portion of the routine: work. Whichever career you choose, you head to work, ready to work a shift, complete your tasks, and then return home for downtime. The next day, you repeat the process.
After retiring, that routine shifts into a new one, void of the third portion of the schedule. You no longer return to work, which flusters some retirees and sends others into a post-retirement depression. Questions like, “Who am I without my job?” “What is my purpose as a human? Did I choose the right path?” float through retirees’ heads when experiencing this post-retirement depressive state. Look out for these signs and symptoms of post-retirement depression to take action.
1. Grieving
We, as humans, grieve whenever we lose something. Since we spent most of our adult lives showing up to work surrounded by colleagues, we’ll surely miss the friendly air and routine associated with work. How do we move on without access to the career we love? Retirees fall into depression upon realizing all they’ve lost by retiring: constant cash flow, colleagues, a schedule, perhaps their purpose. But they fail to realize the possibility of re-establishing all of those things in a new setting. Yes, the adjustment period may pose difficulties for the retiree, but numerous options diminish that impact. Speak with a counselor, delve into support groups, entertain your time with new friends and clubs, and revel in this newfound free time.
2. Isolation
A lot of people refer to their colleagues as friends. Instead of keeping the relationships professional and strict in the office, they expand their friendship network outside the office, inviting colleagues to coffee, over for dinner, and the like. While retirees still communicate with their colleagues, they see less of them, as they no longer run into them in the workplace. For some people, their work setting is the only social setting they step into each day. Taking that away creates intensified feelings of isolation. However, there are always alternatives to each issue. Making new friends, entering new spaces, and speaking with professionals help fill the gap.
3. Feeling Empty
What makes you feel alive? What friends do you spend time with? What hobbies do you partake in? What about your career? Many people rely on their careers to satisfy them until they retire. Now, they’re confused, wandering around, wondering why they feel stinging aches of emptiness. Without doing their work, they yearn for something to make them happy again. Here’s where the importance of finding clubs, new friends, new spaces, and new people to hang out with comes up.
4. Loneliness
Ever heard the adage, you can be alone but not lonely? That applies to jobs. In regards to working, people mill around you. Every corner you turn, you find someone asking you for something or needing you to help them with their to-do list. Surrounding yourself with other retirees or existing friends and family decreases feelings of loneliness. Staying active also helps with the anxiety penetrating loneliness.
5. Disorientation
Disorientation refers to confusion regarding location or identity. Disorientation manifests during major life changes or traumatic experiences, with retirement pointing to the former. Imagine spending a great time in one place, repeating the same actions for 40 years. One day, you pack up, never to return to the location or perform those actions again. Of course, shock and disorientation will cloud your life and judgment. Activities that help reorient retirees include creating routines, learning to live independently, joining new organizations, and speaking with loved ones or professionals.
6. Loss of Purpose
A family member bases his entire life on his duties as a doctor. He’s around 90 years old, though he won’t retire because he can’t picture a life without helping the ill and injured. Retirees commonly come across a loss of purpose after retiring. Sometimes, this feeling relates to finding your purpose through your chosen profession, raising the question: What am I without my job? A positive part of being a human is the multi-faceted purposes we can have in a lifetime. You are not limited to possessing one reason to live across your lifespan. Develop a new hobby, learn a new skill, take up a repressed activity, or maybe even pick up a part-time job to increase social interaction.
7. Identity Loss
Identity loss ties into loss of purpose, though rather than focusing on “What am I without my job?” it asks an individual, “Who am I without my job?” Many people spend their lives describing themselves by their profession when a profession cannot encapsulate a human’s behaviors or values. A profession points to potential behaviors or values, yet nothing concrete. Reflect inward to learn about the qualities and behaviors that make you you.
8. Stress
Stress refers to external or internal factors that affect everyday life. It causes panicked sensations, physical illnesses, and enhanced emotional expressions. Retirees may confront stressors related to the future, the loss of their job, their family’s future, or anything that easily spirals into a snowball of worry. Following a routine and engaging in activities reduces anxiety in retirees.
9. Anxiety
What will you do when you wake up and have nowhere to be? Anxiety refers to an uneasy feeling related to stress. Where some people experience work anxiety, retirees might showcase anxiety symptoms regarding the absence of work. Failure to maintain a routine following retirement can add to anxiety as well as future financial stressors. Sticking to a routine or speaking with a medical professional and financial advisor reduces anxious feelings in retirees.
10. Sleep Disturbance
According to Market Watch, retired people lie in bed longer than non-retired people, which upsets the circadian rhythm. The lack of a work schedule tricks retirees into staying in bed past their wake-up time. People dealing with depression also stay in bed for extensive periods, whether or not they feel fatigued. Depressed people remain in bed to combat their perceived lack of purpose or disinterest in beloved activities. Likewise, staying in bed during the day could cause insomnia at night. Rely on a sleep schedule or speak with a medical professional about sleep disturbances.
11. Loss of Interest in Activities
A loss of interest in activities is symptomatic of depression, post-retirement or not. Losing interest in once-enjoyed activities points to underlying factors like loss of purpose, grief, isolation, feeling empty, and disorientation. Say a retiree once adored golf. They worked on the weekdays and golfed on the weekends, looking forward to one while doing the other. Taking the work out of the equation causes them to play golf without anything to look forward to during the week. Although they love the sport, they can’t muster the energy to return to the golf course. However, surrounding oneself with loved ones, forcing oneself to participate in loved activities, or asking for professional intervention all assist with this symptom.
12. Self-Care Struggles
Those demonstrating issues with self-care practices might have a tough time coping with the transition between pre and post-retirement. Amid depression bouts, self-care is the last thing anyone gives any mind to. Daily showers turn into weekly showers, and eating falls to the back burner. The overwhelming depressive thoughts and feelings overcome any sliver of personal worth or self-love. Retirees facing these hardships can exercise, force themselves to stick to a routine, practice mindfulness, and speak with a friend or a mental health professional for further guidance.
13. Eating Fluctuations
If eating is a comforting activity, you might eat more when depressed. If you can’t stomach food during depressive episodes, the amount of daily meals decreases. Stay on top of eating with a meal schedule and an accountability buddy. Placing yourself on a nutrient-rich diet helps fill hunger pangs, satiating hunger for longer than fast food or unhealthy choices.
14. Irritability
Whenever something disturbs our lifestyle, we display irritation. Transitioning from a busy life to one remiss of a job may bring out the worst in a retiree. This irritability could move inward toward a retiree’s loss of job or inability to see past the retirement blues, or it could reach others in unexpected tantrums. Getting a grip on post-retirement irritability incorporates meeting new people, joining and participating in new activities, engaging in self-reflection, working on mindfulness and meditation, and/or speaking with a mental health professional.
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