While most everyone looks forward to retirement, it can hit some people in a less than favorable way. The sudden loss of purpose and structure can be overwhelming, leading to a depressed state that can be difficult to overcome. If you feel lost, lonely, and depressed in retirement, take the situation seriously. Not only do you deserve a happy and healthy retirement, but depression is a serious condition that often calls for professional help.
Find A Personable Counselor
Whether on a temporary or permanent basis, a counselor can help you find your way in retirement. While it's always good to have someone to talk to, a professional counselor understands the causes, symptoms, and way out of depression. Even if you're not seriously or clinically depressed, you know you're not happy, and that's just not right. Eventually, though, mild or occasional depression can become a devastating condition that affects your health, thinking, and quality of life.
Find Yourself A Purpose
You could volunteer somewhere to help you feel needed again. When people are thankful for your presence and look forward to seeing you, your entire mood is boosted up to where it belongs. If you have a particular talent or interest, look for an organization where you could apply that. For example, if your career was in finance, use your experience to counsel people having money problems. If you love literature, help people learn to read. There are numerous ways you could lend a hand while finding a fulfilling purpose at the same time.
Find Good Friends
Sociability is important, especially as you get older. Loneliness can actually be detrimental to health, adding physical symptoms to your growing depression. Connect with people from your old job or look for new pals in your neighborhood. Join groups, show up at town meetings, or do whatever it takes to mix and mingle your way into positive relationships.
Find Fitness
A healthier body supports a healthier mind, and going to a gym on a regular basis or jogging through the neighborhood is going to be a good picker-upper for your mood. If you have any physical limitations, ask your doctor before committing to an exercise routine, but definitely add fitness to your retirement itinerary. It's also a nice way to meet new people.
Find Your Passion
If you're not an artist or musician with an obvious and overflowing passion, start trying new things until you find something that really makes your heart go pitter-patter. Passion drives the soul to new heights, lifting your spirit and, hopefully, pushing the depression out of your life. If you're persistently or clinically depressed, you're going to need a counselor to help you out of it; however, in the meantime, falling head-over-heels for something you're passionate about is sure to help in some capacity.
Retirement isn't all about slowing down and doing nothing; it's simply a matter of not working your nine-to-five all week long anymore. You still need to feel needed, appreciated, and interested in life. If you find depression taking over, don't accept it as a normal part of the process, because it's not. Find more things that make you happy and keep you involved, and definitely find a good counselor to talk about your feelings. No matter what initiates depression, if you're not careful, it can really overtake your mind, body, and life, and that won't make for a very enjoyable retirement.
For more information, consider going to counseling for depression.
Share27 August 2019
I suffered depression for much of my life, and I lived with it for years before seeking help. I visited a psychiatrist and received an antidepressant prescription along with a referral to a counselor. I filled my prescription, but I put off making an appointment with the counselor. The medication began to help, so I decided that I didn't need to see a counselor after all -- or so I thought at the time. After a couple of months of medication, a close friend of mine died of an illness. I then learned that even though the medication helped my depression, I still had not learned the coping skills I needed to deal with traumatic life experiences. That even motivated me to seek counseling, and it helped me immensely. I created this blog to remind others that medication can help when suffering with depression, but counseling is also extremely important.