(Credit: © Sarayuth Punnasuriyaporn | Dreamstime.com)
One morning you’ll wake up and won’t have to go to work. How will it feel? Relaxing? Lonely? Exciting? Terrifying? Or, might it encompass all of these? Retirement changes everything. You won’t really know how it feels until you get there. Knowing about and preparing for the potential stresses of retirement will help you navigate those changes with confidence.
One meta-analysis found that 28% of retirees were depressed. Another study showed a 6% to 9% decline in mental health during the first six years of retirement. Conversely, research has also found that retirement lowered the risk of depression by 20%.
An article from Harvard advises against doing too much or too little, what is too easy or too difficult. The research is conflicting, but we do know that a moderate amount of stress is good for us. It activates our brains and keeps us engaged.
The following are some of the major sources of stress in retirement:
- How you retire. If you plan for retirement and look forward to it, you’ll handle the stress of change well. If you had to retire because of age, illness, or to care for someone else it may be more difficult.
- Daily structure. Suddenly having 40 hours of free time a week can shock your system. This is especially true during the first few months of retirement, even if you’ve planned activities or trips.
- Relationships. It’s easy to feel isolated and disconnected. Your closer friendships may have been with colleagues, and you may lose those connections.
- Isolation. A study from the Pew Research Center showed that in the United States 27% of people aged 60 and older live alone, with women almost twice as likely as men to live alone. Plenty of research shows that isolation isn’t good for mental or physical health.
- Finances. Financial stress may increase in retirement. It’s hard to feel completely free of financial concern if you’re no longer seeing a paycheck or watching your savings grow. About a third of Americans are worried about how they’ll pay for healthcare in retirement. Some carry debt into retirement, such as a mortgage. As people are living longer, there is concern about stretching out savings to the end of life.
Stages of retirement
Robert Atchley’s book, the Sociology of Retirement, describes seven stages of retirement, during which the sources of stress may differ.
People usually go through the stages in order, but some skip some phases, or some stages may be prolonged. There may be some back and forth between stages.
1. Pre-retirement.
This stage covers five or more years before you retire, with a focus on financial planning. You may be thinking about downsizing or moving to a more favorable environment. You may be stressed just by thinking about getting older, wondering if your money will last, or not having a solid plan for retirement.
Making a clear plan will limit your stress. Meet with a financial planner to discuss your goals for retirement. Now is also the time to start living a healthier lifestyle that will carry your good health into retirement. If your organization has an employee assistance program, see if they offer coaching about retirement.
2. Retirement Day
This may mean a gift or a party. Even if the day is a celebration, it can be stressful just to pick the day and the finality of it. It may not be celebratory if you were forced out by age or company layoffs.
You can cope by reflecting on your career achievements. List things for which you are grateful about starting this new phase of life.
3. Honeymoon Phase
This is when you do things you didn’t have time for, such as spontaneous trips, or immersing yourself in your hobbies. You may enjoy some losses, such as no alarm clock, or no tiresome commute. This phase lasts for a variable amount of time, depending on your mindset about retirement and the activities you’ve planned.
This is the easiest stage of retirement. Enjoy it. It can be satisfying and exciting. Keep a journal of positive experiences and feelings to refer to during the tougher stages of retirement. This is also a time to write down your advance directives. Determine your financial and medical powers of attorney, should a time come when you are not physically or mentally able to speak for yourself.
4. Disenchantment
That heady feeling that you can do as you please starts to wane with too much unstructured time. You may experience the start of another unplanned day with trepidation or become anxious about spending money when you’re not making money. It can feel like, “Is this it for the rest of my life?”
Focus on the things you enjoy about retirement and work at solutions for the parts you don’t like. Once again, think about career achievements, your gratitude list, and the journal you were writing in during the honeymoon phase. Be intentional about getting together with friends or family. Develop a new skill. Do you have an artistic side? Have you always wanted to paint or sculpt? Volunteer and make a difference in someone’s life. Drive for Meals on Wheels, assist in a classroom, use your skills abroad doing mission work, even join the Peace Corps if you want to come out of retirement.
5. Reorientation
In this phase the task is to find a new identity, and to have a sense of purpose.
Establish a new routine. Have regular sleep and wake times. Exercise your body to maintain bone and muscle strength, as well as to maintain a healthy weight. See friends and family regularly. Look for a way to engage in your community.
6. Stability
This is also known as the reconciliation stage. Your new identity is solid and you’re finding fulfillment in purpose. As always and like everyone, you’ll have both smooth and rough times, but you have the inner tools to navigate those without great disturbance of your sense of self or undue fear. You may be dealing with the loss of your spouse or friends, develop chronic illness, or have a downturn in finances.
Lean on the strategies that you formed during earlier stages.
The seventh phase is termination, which is close to the end of life. We won’t discuss that here.
Retirement is one of life’s most significant passages. It’s normal to feel overwhelmed sometimes. You may experience anxiety or depression. If the uncomfortable feelings persist over prolonged periods of time, seek out a mental health provider. If you are a person of faith, seek out a leader of your faith community for guidance and the company of other believers. Encourage each other.
Preparedness for these stages will ease the stress associated with them. You’ll be closer to the retirement about which you dreamed, with purpose, connection, and accomplishment.
Faith A Coleman MD
