Retirement Depression

The prison guard who retires and helps a convict escape. Can she possibly think they will get away with it? More likely retirement depression. Death wish. Decided to go out with a splash.

Retirement depression. Some have no home life or hobbies to go to. Job is like family. A social experience. Retirement a big adjustment.

How to avoid it?

How to avoid it?

You canā€™t possibly be going to suggest going back to work. Not a good idea.

Regards,

ImAGolfer (retired '03)

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Have a plan for how you will use your retirement. Donā€™t just drift and atrophy.

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"The prison guard who retires and helps a convict escape. Can she possibly think they will get away with it? More likely retirement depression. Death wish. Decided to go out with a splash.

Retirement depression. Some have no home life or hobbies to go to. Job is like family. A social experience. Retirement a big adjustment.

How to avoid it?"


Make better acquaintances?

Howie52
Retirement seems to be busier times than when I worked ā€” but
less unwanted travel.

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Retirement depression. Some have no home life or hobbies to go to. Job is like family. A social experience. Retirement a big adjustment.

Work fully expected DH to be back from retirement in a year. He found he really liked being a contractor, for much better pay and no free hours worked. We started hiking more, playing pickleball, eating better, taking over some of the chores from me. Started up at the gym taking a couple of classes a day. He accepted fewer assignments and worked fewer hours.

Contracting was a really nice gradual transition to full time retirement.

IP

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The prison guard who retires and helps a convict escape

She was not retired. She was a current employee (otherwise, there is no way the prison would have let her leave with the inmate).

It was supposedly her last day of working at that facility (no idea if she was transferring or retiring). She was the Assistant Director at that facility. She was only 56 so it is unlikely she was retiring.

She was scheduled to retire.

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Retirement depression. Some have no home life or hobbies to go to. Job is like family. A social experience. Retirement a big adjustment.

How to avoid it?

One has to get busy somehow. Mother started quilting, father learned how to play an organ. Both are avid readers. My eldest sister makes small quilts, about stuffed animal size and donate them so when police or Childrenā€™s Services give a (donated) stuff animal to little kids who are suddenly in a new environment they have a quilt for that stuffed animal.

My wife and I both volunteer at a nearby food bank three days a week and the volunteers have become a second family. My wife also has family members nearby that we visit regularly. We also go to yard and estate sales on occasion. And once in a while we have a ā€œvacationā€ to the coast or to visit my mother a 4-hour drive south of us.

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I retired, and way early. Then again Iā€™ve always been pegged as an underachiever, so it was easy for me to just be lazy and lie around for a while. Gave a turn at writing, wrote some short stories that were better than average, two books which never got past chapter 3. Got further into home handyman stuff, and have a lovely (and unemployed) life ever since.

Yes, I wore my job as my budge, but I got over it pretty quickly once I realized the alternative was to do whatever I wanted whenever I wanted, including nothing.

Mrs. Goofy, by contrast, retired, got bored, unretired, had corporate problems, retired, got bored, unretired to the same company, had a fulfilling few years, then decided she was done and retired again. Sheā€™s been happily accumulating girlfriends and a hobby making jewelry ever since.

Itā€™s not all the same for people, it depends on financial condition, family, stress, temperament, and a host of other things. If itā€™s really bothersome I would suggest counseling; sometimes having an independent ear is better than unloading on a spouse, who is constrained from telling you what you donā€™t want to hear.

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"Yes, I wore my job as my budge, but I got over it pretty quickly "

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Budge?
Well, everyone should be glad that you are no longer walking around with a parrot on your shoulder.

Howie52
Arrgh.

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I talked in great detail about my retirement planning a few years ago:

https://discussion.fool.com/quotlooking-forward-to-this-34196854ā€¦

Figure out what makes you happy and do it.

I talked in great detail about my retirement planning a few years ago:
ā€¦
Figure out what makes you happy and do it.

That works for what yā€™all do leading up to your retirement too. :wink:

Congratulations!

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We also go to yard and estate sales on occasion.

You wouldnā€™t believe how my Estate Sales Iā€™ve gone to acting as driver, body guard and moving ā€˜hold tableā€™.

Regards,

ImAGolfer

DW was laid off from full-time job.Returned as part-timer with no benefits.
Sheā€™s been at the same plant 50 years.Sheā€™s now gone 10 years without a penny raise.

She complains a lot about that to her co-workers but wonā€™t go to her boss because the last time years ago she was told they wanted her to go back full time & take on more responsibility.

She doesnā€™t need to be there financially ,but stays because she likes the people she works with (& has not made any plans to occupy her time after leaving).
As the years go by, more & more of the people she enjoyed working with have quit, retired,or died.

I told her go to her boss & demand a raise.If itā€™s not immediately forthcoming or requires going full-time, then quit without notice (again, she doesnā€™t need to work so no worries over asking for a recommendation).

She feels what she does, even though clerical, would require her to stay & train up a replacement avoid fouling up some rather large company contracts.

My response- TOUGH PATOOEY!

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Sheā€™s now gone 10 years without a penny raise.

They donā€™t even do that in China. Has the boss gone 10 years without a raise?

ā€¦would require her to stay & train up a replacement avoid fouling up some rather large company contracts.

Require?? If they ā€œrequireā€ her, then they should pay accordingly. If they donā€™t, then thereā€™s your answer.

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If I complain about something long enough and donā€™t make different choices, nothing changes except Iā€™ve made the choice to accept whatever Iā€™m complaining about.

I would surmise your wife is fine with what she makes because she gets good feelings from ā€œworkingā€. Some folks are worried about being bored and unproductive, unsure what they would doā€¦ā€¦no reason to get out of bed in the morning, no sense of purpose, you get the idea. So sheā€™s getting what she chooses and itā€™s human nature to complain. ā€¦it draws attention to themselves and their selflessness.

Armchair counselor dog

I am not a victim, I can make healthy choices.

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I think my husband has thrived in retirement, after a successful career.

We moved to our Old Folks Home but he didnā€™t retire for the first 7 years here. When he retired last year some of his clients continued, but pro bono, so he has appointments with them. Then he was elected Chair of the Resident Council ( 800 residents here) and apart from another serious volunteer obligation in the ā€œreal worldā€ he now enjoys choir ( we are performing a duet for the concert) his bridge games, the PBS News, reading, his word games, his ā€œGreat Discussionsā€ group, his daily lap swimming, his time with his daughters and their families, Date Night with me on Wednesdays,(we explore restaurants as we moved to a new area when we came here)ā€¦ and times when he chooses to lie in for a lazy ā€œget up lateā€ morningā€¦
I have never heard him say he was bored or antsyā€¦

And the thing I love bestā€¦he has retained his dry British sense of humor. So every day there is still something for me to laugh aboutā€¦

Maryanne

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Maryanne ~

This is a lovely picture of a successful retirement!

Robyn

And the thing I love bestā€¦he has retained his dry British sense of humor. So every day there is still something for me to laugh aboutā€¦

Maryanne

Brits have a sense of humour? Way I heered it, one shouldnā€™t tell a Brit a joke on Friday ā€¦ he might laugh out loud in church.

CNC
:grin::laughing: :sweat_smile: :joy: :rofl:

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Dear Cliff,
British humor ( spelt humour) is so subtle Americans donā€™t understand itā€¦it isnā€™t slapstick, obvious, vulgar, or trite.

(That is me being really NASTYā€¦OK? We love you anyway)

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