STRESS IN TRANSITIONING TO RETIREMENT

Retiring is a biographical rupture that disrupts well-established behavioral patterns and creates a period of instability of uncertain duration. It implies a series of changes, both external and internal, such as a loss of references, our self-image and what our social environment expects of us. As the end of a life phase, it alters the structure of one’s life and previously achieved social adaptation. We can consider it as a rite of passage in which an important part of our personal history comes to an end, and we assume a new social status as we cross the threshold of old age.

 

The transition to retirement generally occurs as an abrupt transition. Without any preparation or intermediate period, it goes from more or less just another working day to a new day without any assigned tasks. The individual way that someone experiences this transition will be influenced by their own personal meaning, conscious and unconscious, that they give to work. It’s clear that a job role doesn’t have the same importance for everyone. A job can range from being a born vocation for some to being an unavoidable obligation for others. But any newly retired person has to realize that they’ve just closed a full and lively chapter of their life and are leaving behind not only an entire arrangement of lifestyle and relationships, but also a significant part of their identity built on the basis on which success in adulthood is valued.

In all major life changes there’s always something lost and something gained. Losses set in motion a stage of experiencing grief, which may or may not be consciously experienced. It’s a normal psychological process of letting go of aspects of one’s former life that have irreversibly ended and adapting to a reality that’s been altered. The transition experienced by the newly retired person compels them to withdraw into themselves and revisit their past. This retrospective evokes various feelings associated with their achievements, failures, mistakes and injuries suffered or caused. The culmination of this process involves filling the void left by what’s been lost with new roles and commitments that can rebuild identity and give meaning to a period that’s just beginning.

As far as the gains are concerned, there is the experiencing of freedom, being masters of time and the appearance of new aspirations, fostered by new lifestyle possibilities that open up. It’s the beginning of a time to find one’s bearings in life, free from the constraints of work and with the option to achieve personal fulfillment by developing lesser-known or overlooked aspects of oneself.

Facing new circumstances

When facing a new and therefore unfamiliar situation, routines can be threatened and it’s inevitable to experience a certain level of anxiety that may manifest itself through fears and mild physical changes. In the case of retirement, the most common fears are: not finding new stimuli to keep active, becoming isolated or unseen, getting depressed or experiencing cognitive deterioration.

The responses of recent retirees are also influenced by one’s age, the manner of starting retirement and the financial consequences of the change in status. If retirement takes place at a mandatory age, that date is known in advance and is a regulated event not attributable to the employee. On the other hand, company-initiated early retirements represent an abrupt break in control and continuity of working life and might be interpreted as the result of insufficient job performance. Separation from a job is complicated by the need to manage feelings of inadequacy or frustration.

I’d like to point out that all the experiences and misgivings that I’ve described aren’t necessarily indicative of the existence of problems, nor should they be rejected or felt with shame or guilt. In general, adaptation to retirement takes place without dramatic breaks that divert the retired person from the path they’ve been travelling. It’s a significant change which they can react to by developing new adaptive strategies, or else regress by turning away from their previous commitment to life.

To lay the foundations for successful retirement, it’s important to avoid ill-considered or overly reassuring initiatives in the face of initial uncertainty. It’s advisable to take time to live in the present moment and look introspectively, since changes in circumstances force us to rethink our lifestyles. In this rediscovering of oneself, one regains the feeling that life is under control, which reduces stress and one can choose a path that brings purpose to a new life stage.

 

Bartolomé Freire, pretired psychiatrist and author of the book  La Jubilación, una nueva oportunidad (LIDeditorial).

References

Text published on Senior50.com: «Estrés en el paso a la jubilación – por Bartolomé Freire (Doctor en Psiquiatría)»