Avoiding the retirement blues

I always thought that a beautiful environment such as Greyton (where I am lucky to live) usually enhances one’s happiness. But now I’m not so sure. Recently someone mentioned that, in her opinion, Greyton has an unnervingly high number of depressed people, many who have struggled to adjust to retirement. I would never have thought so, but then I don’t belong to any of the informal networks that gather and distribute such information.

This got me thinking. Maybe a beautiful environment  where we so often choose to spend our retirement years, presents people with unusual dangers. It can lull us into thinking that spectacular views, rustic charm and the attractiveness of life in the slow lane are the very stuff of a happy retired life. Alas, it seems this is not so.

The danger of retiring in a beautiful village like Greyton is its power to enchant us into believing that context rather than content is the basis of a happy life. However, the sages, saints, shamans and sangomas have all in their own way pointed out that it is purity of soul that brings contentment. Like snails we bring our baggage with us wherever we go. A beautiful place may help, but it’s internal peace that counts.

Depression is an awful and extremely common illness. It hits all of us at some time or another, and is apparently relatively common in retired people. Some depressions are so severe that only serious medical intervention can help the poor sufferer. Less severe depressions are more preventable and may be kept at bay by a few everyday protection mechanisms. The first is the importance of social connections. Two studies reported in the newspapers recently highlighted the importance of regular interaction with other people. The first concerned bridge players. Both the social interaction and the use of the brain seemed, on average, to energize and prolong the lives of bridge players over a random control group that didn’t play bridge (best I start playing bridge)! The other study found that people who regularly drank and socialised (and argued/debated issues!) at their local pub or at friends houses also, on average, tended to live longer than the control group (no need for me to start here - been well practiced for years J).

For those of us who are neither bridge players nor regular social drinkers, relax! The statistics refer to the average, and of course none of us are average. There are many forms of social and intellectual engagement available to us all; we just need to choose the ones that work for us as unique individuals.

Finally, depression seems not to visit us as readily when we have “a reason for getting up in the morning”. Jewish psychiatrist Victor Frankl discovered from his studies of life in Auschwitz that those prisoners (including himself) who felt they still had something important yet to do were the ones who survived the horrors of the concentration camp.

So for those of us feeling anxious that without an engaging work life, we may soon become depressed (even though we have recently bought our dream house in our dream village), there may be some practical steps one can take. First, we can start looking for contentment inside and not just from our exterior environment. Second, we can join or form a social group that preferably engages our brains as well as provides fellowship. Third, we can get involved in making a positive contribution to the future of others and ourselves, something that gives us a reason to get up in the morning. None of this is a certain, easy cure for retirement blues. But maybe it’s worth considering.