Psychological Issues Faced By The Retired

Retirement has the same effects on the Employed and the unemployed. Whether you were working all your life or you were a homemaker taking care of children and household, the essential features are identical barring a few. Retirement essentially is a disengagement from active work life and a transition to a less busy life.

By the time we reach young adulthood i.e around age 25, we have already taken up the roles that we are going to play for the rest of our lives. The age from 25-65 is a hectic time for both genders in various roles. It is also the age when big decisions are either taken by us or enforced on us according to the societal norms. People get into lifetime agreements of marriage, childbearing, planning for future investments and engage themselves meaningfully in all the roles that they take up.

Retirement is not just giving up your job as an office goer, bread earner, homemaker, bread maker, caretaker; but also giving up all the responsibilities that were part of your identity and hence results in an identity disruption.

There are massive social and psychological issues that revolve around the entire situation.

Psychosocial factors and ageing

By the time people retire, they start to be categorized as the “old” and senior citizens;  they suddenly get time to come to the realization that their life has just passed by. They come to the realization that the have become granddads and grandmoms from newlyweds or careerist young individuals. Now they do not have to take care of anyone. Also, they do not need to earn for their parents and children. Consequently, there is a change in their social image. This might look like a natural process to many of you but it comes with a lot of psychological adjustments that need to be undertaken.

Loneliness and depression

Old age and retirement often comes with grief and loss of a spouse by death which adds to the complexity of the situation. Loneliness is a devastating and underestimated condition especially for the elderly. They face a loss of social contacts leading to feelings of rejection, neglect, low morale, low self-efficacy etc. which leads to severe depression and other mental illnesses that go unnoticed as a natural behaviour of the old age.

Loss of identity

There is a sudden change from being Valid to being Invalid as a Person. In addition to the loss of identity due to the role in society and family, there is a physical loss of identity due to age. The body becomes more fragile and the mind starts to degenerate.

Excessive Nostalgia

With a transition into the phase of retirement, the person looks both backwards and forward to his life. Co-incidentally since this phase of retirement comes with ageing, it becomes a major catalyst for looking back into one’s life.  Additionally, the evaluation that comes with it. It is time for reflection into his achievements and failures which often results in nostalgia and lost opportunities. They come to the realization as to what could have been done better and what was always out of their control.

Other factors that lead to Mental illnesses in elderly, is diminished self-worth, trust, decision paralysis, and void of retirement. There is also a search for meaningful engagement, death anxiety and an attempt to move towards self-actualization.

If your parents, in-laws or people whom you know, suffer from these psychological problems;  please visit a therapist or counsellor who can help them overcome this stage of life with lesser turbulence and peace.