anyone else have a hard time dealing with retirement?

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  • Shells918
    Shells918 Posts: 1,070 Member
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    I "retired" 3 years ago from a very high stress career. It is a very hard transition and at times I still think about working.

    I keep a schedule, both daily and weekly to keep myself focused. I do a lot of cooking that I never had time to do before. I get to work out as long as I want without worrying about getting to work on time.

    My house is cleaner than it ever was.

    I read 5 books a week at least.

    I do crafts.

    It's such a different life than I had. I'm still not always used to it, and I still don't always love it, but I don't miss the stress and panic that were my daily companions.
  • Sandra37405
    Sandra37405 Posts: 20 Member
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    I retired over 3 years ago from the IRS. Since I really disliked my job (they were paying me to be stupid) I am now happier than ever. I had to make an effort to find friends and activities but it has paid off. My current goal is lose the weight. No excuses. I have no one to take care of but me (and the cats) and I need to do a better job of it.
  • LaceyBirds
    LaceyBirds Posts: 451 Member
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    wessx1 wrote: »
    I earned my MBA because i was once bored and wanted to do something useful.
    Lately
    whenever i get bored i do trainings,courses n siminars abroad ,i so far have around10 certificates of achievement and participation from accredited International Universities.
    Bordom might be a path to change ,you never know.
    All the best.

    I think this is a great idea. Go back to school for a certificate course in something you find interesting, or something you never thought you could do, like learn some art skills or a language. It will get you around people of like minds, keep you busy and possibly lead you to another part-time job, who knows. Since you like the outdoors, see if you have a local Audubon chapter in your area that needs volunteers. You could look into being a docent at a museum or some historical site in your area. You could also try local Meet-Up groups to find others to hike, bike and kayak with. There are lots of options of things to do, you just have to seek them out.

  • brenn24179
    brenn24179 Posts: 2,144 Member
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    minniestar55 wrote: »
    I'm having a hard time dealing with my husband's retirement...I'm active & busy but he has turned into a fixture on the sofa except for golf 2x weekly. Driving me insane.

    My husband is the same way, goes to McDonalds every morning with the guys. He is happy watching grass grow. I am a little envious, wish I was that contented. Seems like every day I find more stuff to do though, it may take time for some of us.
  • Ming1951
    Ming1951 Posts: 514 Member
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    When my husband retired he started mohave health issues, he loved retirement and sat too much. Our plan was to travel and we even bought a rv. While his driving is great handling the rv was uncomfortable, we eventually sold it. I couldn't stand having him home sitting all day so now I help a neighbor here or there with their kids by watching them a few hours so the mom or dad can get some errands done, or catch up on a few oz's if they worked night shift. While I love my husband its kind of hard when you were use to having the house basically to yourself with music up loud while cleaning and he doesn't like that and watches tv. Plus we have an adult daughter that suffered some BP setbacks. Now doing good but unfortunately cannot manage certain things like bills and money management so..that keeps us busy.
  • murf19
    murf19 Posts: 453 Member
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    I'd love to give it a try!
  • pinuplove
    pinuplove Posts: 12,874 Member
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    Sounds like you may be more of an extrovert who needs social interaction to be happy. I can see how that would make the transition to retirement difficult.

    There's nothing wrong with a second career! Find something you're passionate about and dedicate some significant time to it. Animal rescue or pottery or basket weaving or carpentry or making stained glass windows...the sky's the limit! Hell, learn to fly :smiley:
  • rybo
    rybo Posts: 5,424 Member
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    Not retired, but have been laid off a little over 4 months...I HATE it. I don't know how I'd ever handle retirement. For a while I was ok, but the past month or so have been horrible.
  • MissMaggieMuffin
    MissMaggieMuffin Posts: 444 Member
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    @brenn24179 Your earlier post said you enjoy biking and hiking - any chance that there is either a hiking or biking/cycling club in your area? One of the hiking clubs in our area actually has a schedule that includes mid-week day hikes and it is mostly retired folks that go on those. Similarly, a cycling club has a smaller, split-off group that gets together during the day. The post-hike or post-bike socialization is a huge part of these groups.

    I know your most recent post suggests that the adjustment is going well, but these are just some thoughts..............
  • 3rdof7sisters
    3rdof7sisters Posts: 486 Member
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    brenn24179 wrote: »
    WELL SOME TIME HAS PASSED, I have been working at a job and it got so stressful, drained me, terrible coworker and I think I have PTSD from the experience I swear. It gave me an attitude adjustment. I like retirement now. Maybe I had to have a crappy job to realize how nice retirement is. No one bossing me around, giving me advice, telling me what to do sounds pretty good right now!

    LOL, I know the feeling! Glad to hear you are adjusting!
    I am looking forward to it (12/31/17), but have kind of mixed feelings as I work very long hours and am kind of wondering what on earth I will do with all the "extra" hours in the day.
  • markrgeary1
    markrgeary1 Posts: 853 Member
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    I was fortunate to retire almost 4 years ago at age 56. I was done with the corporate world. It honestly took a couple of years to accept and start to enjoy. I had too much of my identity associated with my high pressure job.

    Now I have no idea how I had time to work.

    There's a great resource for people who are thinking about retirement or have retired at early-retirement.org. It's a great site that allows folks to share experiences with others. It's called early retirement but there's folks on there from 20s to 80s.

    Topics include investments, health, what will I do all day...

    Actually someone there pointed me pointrd me to MFP.
  • brenn24179
    brenn24179 Posts: 2,144 Member
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    yes, I found a walking buddy this year, someone I use to work with. My hubby is only 56 so still works.
  • brenn24179
    brenn24179 Posts: 2,144 Member
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    I think it is getting easier also as I get older, I am 63 and some of my friends are beginning to retire so maybe I will have some buddies to do stuff with. Yes, I love being with people!
  • Packerjohn
    Packerjohn Posts: 4,855 Member
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    rybo wrote: »
    Not retired, but have been laid off a little over 4 months...I HATE it. I don't know how I'd ever handle retirement. For a while I was ok, but the past month or so have been horrible.

    Best of luck.

    My job was eliminated in a corporate restructuring mid December. I am still officially employed until the end of 2/17. If there are no jobs internally, I'm out. At almost 61 and 37 years employment, I get an actual pension, keep my insurance plus one year pay as severance so not a bad deal.

    The first few weeks were fine as it was the holidays, plus I helped one of my sons move out of state. Now it sort of sucks. I workout about 3 hours a day, am rapidly cleaning stuff out of the house. I am definitely going to go back and work someplace. However, I'm holding off until September (if I don't drive myself nuts) to hopefully get a contractor job at my old employer. I had a pretty specialized finance job, and other employers around my area would not pay for that specialized experience, a contract job would.

    After September, if no contract work will look at full time employment either in accounting/finance or some other area totally. I just started a personal training certification class at the local JC. May do something with that.

  • goldthistime
    goldthistime Posts: 3,214 Member
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    I found group activities, especially tennis, filled some of the void. I enjoy being part of a team, feeling like you are working side by side to accomplish something (even if it's not that meaningful of a something).
  • Need2Exerc1se
    Need2Exerc1se Posts: 13,576 Member
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    Oh, I wish I could answer this question with certainty, but alas I am not quite ready to retire yet. Well, I am actually SO ready to retire right now, but our finances aren't quite where my husband and I agreed they should be before I consider it.

    But I have so many plans for retirement. Actually, my retirement will consist of a lot of work for me. But it will be work I love rather than work I get paid for but only like. I don't plan on having time to get bored.

    If you are bored why not find something you enjoy and work at it. Whether it's volunteer work, gardening, crafts, whatever. Surely there is something you enjoy other than earning a paycheck.
  • sgt1372
    sgt1372 Posts: 3,979 Member
    edited February 2017
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    Been retired for 10 years. Love it!

    Always busy doing something. Never a dull moment. Currently spend most of my time cooking and working out.

    Would NEVER get a job again. Why bother? I get paid for all the work I did in the past. Get up when I like. Do whatever i want, the way I want whenever I like.

    It doesn't get any better that that!!!
  • Evamutt
    Evamutt Posts: 2,340 Member
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    I got laid off a very high pressure,very fast paced job 3 yrs ago.I worked that particular job for 5yrs. I used to be an avid reader before that but my mind wouldn't stop racing so i couldn't read untill recently. I wouldn't call myself type A, but I don't like sitting around, I need things to do so, meaningful things, so I'm volunteering alot more now that I retired at the animal rescue I didn't have much time for when I was working. There's nothing wrong with working part time or how ever much you want. We're all different. I don't like it when ppl tell me to relax, I am relaxed doing what I enjoy doing.

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