Guwahati: “I felt a sudden loss of motivation to wake up early in the morning, a feeling of restlessness took over me,” recalled a retired employee of Indian Oil Corporation Limited (IOCL), reflecting on his first day after retirement.
Retirement, often presented as the culmination of a lifetime of hard work and dedication, can be an overwhelming and isolating experience for many people. The abrupt change from a structured routine and social connections can leave people feeling adrift, vulnerable and disconnected from the world around them.
For some people, the transition to retirement can trigger depression, a silent, insidious condition that can erode joy, relationships, and even the will to live. As the days blur together in a haze of emptiness, dreams of a relaxing, fulfilling life after work begin to fade, replaced by the harsh reality of a mental health crisis. However, this may not be the case for many people.
The IOCL employee, to overcome his anxiety, kept himself busy with social work and joined senior citizen clubs.
When The Assam Tribune In a statement, Dr Mythili Hazarika, Head of the Department of Clinical Psychology at Gauhati Medical College, said that retirement cannot be blamed for depression in senior citizens. However, retirement is a major transition in life as people are usually busy balancing their work and personal life, and this sudden change can have an impact on their mental health. “But this impact on mental health can be positive or negative depending on the individual’s personality, pre-retirement planning, family support, physical health, human connections, etc. If the individual has these strengths, he or she may not be prone to depression.”
“An employed person usually has a strict schedule where they wake up at a certain time and plan their daily activities around it; however, after retirement, the routine is disrupted, leading to boredom, low motivation, a feeling of aimlessness, etc. Some people may experience difficulties in managing time, altered sleep patterns, decreased productivity and disorganization in life, which negatively affects mental health,” he explained.
Former Chief Secretary to the Government of Assam, Kumar Sanjay Krishna, who retired in 2020 (currently serving as the Chairman of the Assam Electricity Regulatory Commission), shared the first thought that came to his mind when he woke up on the first day after retirement. He said, “36 years of full-time service, after that, suddenly, you have nothing to do today. That was both a feeling of losing something and a feeling of relief. But I didn’t feel this on the first day, right after my retirement. The feeling comes slowly after a couple of days, when you realise that your importance is diminishing. One doesn’t necessarily feel depressed, but you get this feeling that the world has changed.”
“Psychologically, when we work we have a purpose in life, and this work becomes our identity. For example, most civil servants lose their powers and status after retirement. If these labels are their only identity and define their happiness, then this could affect them after retirement as when they lose these labels, some people feel worthless,” said Dr Hazarika.
In this regard, the former chief secretary said, “We cannot say exactly, but of course, a ‘chair’ is something that gives you respect, power and many other things. However, along the path of life, you may have many other things, for example, good friends, other interests, etc. If you have interest in things and activities other than your job, you will not feel totally lost once you retire.”
In addition, social life can also be a factor in depression, as some people socialize through work. These people work until 5 or 6 pm and form a social circle with their colleagues, without wanting to expand it outside the office. After retirement, people lose this social circle and become isolated, the psychologist said.
Highlighting the social factor, retired IAS officer Sanjay said, “I believe that a working person should take interest in activities other than his daily work like playing tennis, cricket, watching movies, dining out with friends etc. I did these things while in service because I believe that one should not limit the circle within colleagues but widen his circle of friends from different walks of life like school friends, college friends, people you met in community clubs etc. If you limit yourself to the people you work with, you will feel lost after retirement.”
Dr. Hazarika further emphasized that depression is a chemical imbalance of the brain, so everyone necessarily suffers from depression. These may be factors, but not everyone has to go through this after retirement. Those with propensity or risk factors, such as being genetically prone to depression, are more likely to suffer from depression. If their parents had depression or any psychiatric problems, then these stressors might diagnose them with depression during old age.
According to Dr. Mythili Hazarika, some of the symptoms of depression are:
- The person suddenly feels sad
- Feeling lethargic
- He is not willing to do activities that he used to do with great enthusiasm.
- Lack of interest in anything
- Feeling of hopelessness, helplessness and worthlessness.
- Sleep cycle disturbance
- Not wanting to eat anything, weight loss
He reported that an individual has to feel these things for at least 14 days in a row to be diagnosed with depression, noting that not all of the elderly population is prone to depression.
Dr. Hazarika mentioned some activities that could help a person overcome depression. Some of them are listed below:
- If a person is diagnosed with moderate to severe depression, then they should be prescribed an antidepressant, while counseling will help with mild depression.
- For psychological reasons, people need to establish a new routine such as a regular wake-up time, plan daily activities, lead a balanced lifestyle after retirement, participate in new activities, volunteer for NGOs, work part-time, give a sense of purpose to life, renew social connections by joining clubs or communities, or reconnect with old friends, engage in physical activities, etc.
