Coping with the Stress of Retirement

This article appears as part of Casey Weade's Weekend Reading for Retirees series. Every Friday, Casey highlights four hand-picked articles on trending retirement topics and delivers them straight to your email inbox. Get on the list here.
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Weekend Reading

Stepping into retirement involves more than just the absence of work.

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This life chapter can come with multifaceted challenges and opportunities, often bringing unexpected emotional and psychological stress due to changes in your identity, relationships, structure, and finances.

Further, stressors arising from retirement can shift depending on what stage of this transition you are in, which include:

📌 Preretirement: Planning and anxiety about the future

📌 Retirement Day: A celebratory but potentially bittersweet milestone

📌 Honeymoon Phase: Initial excitement and freedom

📌 Disenchantment: Feelings of boredom or loss of purpose

📌 Reorientation: Establishing a new identity and routine

📌 Stability: Settling into a fulfilling, balanced retirement life

How to cope: Your best retirement involves preparation and a focus on finding purpose, connection, and fulfillment. Proactive emotional and financial planning, maintaining social connections, volunteering, and engaging in hobbies are all ways to help manage stress in this significant life transition.