The answer to the question in the title of this article is much the same as the answer to questions about other depression risk factors: It depends. Depression is rarely cut and dried; environmental, social and biological factors co-mingle in unpredictable ways, and every individual reacts to that mash-up differently. So when you add retirement to the equation, the best you can say is that it might increase the risk of depression in some, but not in others.
“The relationship between retirement and depression is not straightforward,” says Dr. Susan W. Lehmann, clinical director of the division of geriatric psychiatry and neuropsychiatry at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. “We lack a lot of good empirical evidence on the impact of retirement.” For some, she says, mental health improves when they retire. They have accomplished what they wanted to do, are ready to move on and look forward to retiring. Others find it hard to recapture the meaning they had in their job. “That can put them a little bit at sea,” Lehmann says. “They enjoy the structure, the camaraderie, being part of team. Work is a source of validation that is very satisfying. For those people, there is sense of loss.”
[See: Am I Just Sad — or Actually Depressed?]
Both men and women are at risk, even women who don’t work outside the home. “Women who are homemakers may ‘retire’ — and we call that ’empty nest’ — as these women have been the CEO of their family,” says Dr. Philip R. Muskin, a board certified geriatric psychiatrist and a professor of psychiatry at Columbia University. “When the children leave, they are not prepared for the end of their responsibilities.” Women who work outside of the home are no more or less vulnerable than men to retirement-induced depression, he adds.
The key to a successful and happy retirement, they both say, is preparation. Any major change in life, whether it’s getting married, having children, moving, changing careers or dealing with illness or death, causes stress, and stress is a primary risk factor for depression. Retirement is no different. “It is a normal period of transition, and most people go through this period and don’t need help,” Lehmann says. “But if retirement is causing the person to be irritable, to lose interest in things, to seem to have lost their bearing, professional help is great idea to get unstuck.” Lost bearings, she says, are not necessarily the same thing as depression but might become that.
Steps to Successful Retirement
Retirement is generally a happy time, at least at first. One study of data from about 18,000 men in the U.S and 16 countries in western Europe found that men reported much higher levels of well-being and satisfaction right after retiring, but those levels of happiness crashed soon after. Over time, though, happiness tends to stabilize.
However, those who have not prepared to retire or are forced to retire suddenly because of job loss, health problems or other unexpected reasons are not likely to feel the same way. “Any situation where the retiree has no choice but to retire places the person at risk,” Muskin says. That is true for every worker, from white-collar executives to blue-collar laborers. “I think the key is not what someone does but if the person defines him or herself by what the person does,” Muskin says. “Many people are what they do, and it defines them. A construction worker who retires following an injury, even if the injury leaves him still able to live a good life but he can’t fix things, may feel he is no longer the man he once was. The physician who retires is just as vulnerable if she defines herself only as a physician and has no other interests. If all a person has done in life is work, then without work, what is there?”
Successful retirement is about finding something else to define oneself. There are a host of options for that, including finding other work to bridge the gap from full employment to full retirement. A study in the Journal of Occupational Health Psychology of more than 12,000 subjects found that those who take a temporary or part-time job after retirement reported fewer major diseases and better daily functioning than people who stop working entirely.
[See: 10 Ways to Live Healthier and Save Money Doing It.]
Volunteering is also helpful in making the transition to retirement. A 2013 study in the Journal of Aging and Health concluded that people living in retirement communities reported fewer symptoms of depression and higher satisfaction with their lives if they engaged in low to moderate levels of volunteer work than those who didn’t volunteer. Another study, in Psychology and Aging, found that older adults who volunteered 200 hours per year — about four hours per week — were 40 percent less likely to develop high blood pressure over a four-year follow-up period than non-volunteers. (Interestingly, overdoing it with volunteering can have the opposite effect. One study out of the Australian National University discovered that those who volunteered more than 15 hours a week reported a significant decrease in their satisfaction with life and emotional health.)
There are many other ways to make a life after work meaningful. Travel, hobbies, college classes and music lessons all become more accessible when the daily grind is left behind. Some retirees find satisfaction in becoming a mentor to a younger worker in their company or field.
But those things also take planning. “That planning does not start on the first day of retirement, but starts years before retirement,” Muskin says. “We jokingly say ‘develop hobbies,’ but for many people, hobbies do not replace the personal value one places on work, the accomplishments at work and the self-esteem one has from work. Feeling ‘useless’ is a possible result in retirement, and that makes someone vulnerable to feeling depressed, though not necessarily having the illness of major depressive disorder.”
[See: 8 Unexpected Signs You’re Depressed.]
Stay Flexible as Situations Change
The American Psychological Association’s online handbook ” Life Plan for the Life Span” says that three in five older Americans see retirement as a time to be active and involved, start new activities and set new goals. But, again, that doesn’t just happen of its own accord. The guide suggests:
— Begin retirement planning early in your career, and update it often as health, financial and other situations evolve.
— Seek the help of retirement planning resources or a professional retirement planner.
— Consider both the pluses and the minuses of a part-time or “bridge” job between full employment and full retirement.
— Prepare in case you need to retire sooner than expected for health problems, downsizing or early buyouts.
— Consider how your work and leisure interests might be explored in some volunteer capacity.
Finally, keep an open mind, Lehmann says. “Accept that this period of transition is going to be a period of adjustment until you find your footing. Some people have this fantasy idea that retirement is the ‘golden years,’ and they can be disappointed if, when they are ready to retire, life comes in and it doesn’t go as planned. Stay flexible and open. You can still find meaning with a different plan.”
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Can Retirement Be a Depression Risk? originally appeared on usnews.com
