The Psychology of Retirement E-Book

Derek L. Milne

• Herausgeber: John Wiley & Sons
• Kategorie: Geisteswissenschaft
• Sprache: Englisch

Seitenzahl: 354

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2012

Beschreibung

The Psychology of Retirement is the first self-help guide to retirement based on highly proven psychological coping strategies. * Provides the most comprehensive and coherent account of the challenges of retirement and the associated aging process * Represents the culmination of over 30 years of clinical, teaching and research involvement in the main issues discussed within this book * Draws systematically on applied scientific theories, accepted professional circles, which are interpreted and communicated by an applied scientist * A constructive emphasis establishes the best possible coping strategies and perspectives

Leseprobe

Contents

Cover

Title Page

Copyright

Dedication

About this Book and Author

Acknowledgments

Chapter 1: The Surprises of Retirement

Stress and Retirement

About this Book

“Trevor”: A Case Study of Retirement as a Trauma

Understanding Stress

Appraisals and Assumptions: Making Sense of Stressors

The Importance of Coping

How Are You Coping?

Who are You?

Putting it All in Context

Redundancy and the Need for Work

Retirement, Social Support, and Close Relationships

Conclusions

Notes

Chapter 2: Understanding Retirement

What is “Coping”?

What is “Good” Coping?

An Example: Coping with Imprisonment

Research Findings

The Example of Loneliness

Case Study: Donald, a Teacher who Retired then was “Blinded by the Glare of Nothing”

Under-Estimating the Importance of Work

Vicious and Virtuous Coping Cycles

Conclusions

Notes

Chapter 3: Reframing Retirement

Case Study: Mae's Positive Perspective

Thinking Straight

The Good Life

Excellence in Life

Conclusions

Notes

Chapter 4: Relating in Retirement

Intimate Relationships

Partners and Depression: A Research Illustration

Grandparenting

Case Study: John and Kate Love Visiting Grandson Frank

Companion Pets

Conclusions

Notes

Chapter 5: Supporting Retirement

Social Support

Knowing One's Place

Case Study: Gareth the Gardener

Tourism

Religion and Spirituality

Conclusions

Notes

Chapter 6: Learning from Life

Reflection

Regrets

Understanding

Planning

Doing

Feeling

Case Study: Ben and Katie – Different Experiences of Retiring

Summary and Conclusion

Notes

Chapter 7: Learning for Life

Mind Over Matter

The “Inner Game”

Exercise: Healthy Body, Healthy Mind

Case Study: Brian, being Exercised by Retirement

Conclusions

Notes

Chapter 8: Conclusions

Happiness

Wealth and Happiness

Wisdom

Case Study: Dominic, the Long-Suffering Motor Engineer

Conclusions

Notes

Recommended Reading

Index

This edition first published 2013 © 2013 Derek Milne

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Milne, D. (Derek) The Psychology of Retirement : Coping with the Transition from Work / Derek Milne, BSc, Msc, DipClinPsych, PhD, CPsychol (Clinical; Sport and Exercise), FBPsS. pages cm Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-0-470-97266-3 (pbk.) 1. Retirement-Psychological aspects. HQ1062.M5495 2013 155.67′2-dc23

2012029608

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

Cover image: © thislife pictures / Alamy Cover design by Design Deluxe

For Jan, princess of my heart

About this Book and Author

There are many books on retirement, but this is the first to draw thoroughly on psychology, being the most relevant discipline for formulating the challenge of coping with the transition to retirement. In order to illuminate retirement through psychology, this book applies well-established theories, recent research evidence, retired peoples' personal experiences (in case study format), filtered through my own professional understanding of what helps us to develop through life, based on my work as a Clinical Psychologist with adults in Britain's National Health Service over the past 33 years. I also retired myself a couple of years ago, so have a personal perspective. Work on fostering human development with athletes, coaches, and university students is a further source of guidance.

Based on these foundations, this book provides a primer on coping with retirement by highlighting core issues and challenges, identifying positives, suggesting options, and encouraging an optimistic and constructive approach to this vital transition, complementing the traditional emphasis on the physical and financial aspects of retirement. These aspects of retirement are captured with a RECIPE for addressing this major and rather special transition:

ResourcesExerciseCoping strategiesIntellectual activityPurposeEngagement (social support)

Unlike earlier transitions, retirement offers a golden period that starts when working life ends. It is golden because it represents a long-awaited opportunity to develop particular talents and interests, free from the draining demands of work. It is also golden because the time and talent are there, as never before.

Acknowledgments

I am much indebted to the many people who have encouraged and supported me during the preparation of this book during 2011–12. Many of them have taken the trouble to read draft chapters and to offer suggestions, helping me to improve the flow or richness of the material. Others have simply allowed me to outline my thinking and have offered their valuable reactions. In particular, I am hugely indebted to my partner, Jan Little, for her patient and skilful work on improving the book's flow and coherence, not tomention her general interest and unstinting encouragement. Duncan Gray also deserves a special mention for sharing an unflagging interest in the book's development, and for his stimulating thoughts (e.g. on happiness and money). Similarly, my “case study” contributors should be applauded for tellingme about their retirement experiences, warts and all.Within the book they have pseudonyms, and some non-essential details (as far as the book is concerned) have been changed, to protect their anonymity. But to give them the credit that they merit, here are their real names: David Blackwell, Margaret Clark, Lynn and John Joyce, Celia and Jim Keegan, Kevin Robson, Tom Smith, Douglas Thomson, and Keith Turner. Priceless assistance with typing my taped material was provided by Karen Clark and Barbara Mellors at New castle University. Graphic artist Angela Butler produced the figures. Research Assistant Laura Maddison searched the scientific literature for relevant studies, helped by Annabel Boon. Valuable feedback on draft material was kindly provided by: Christina Blackwell, Kath Bland, Nichola Burns, Jessica Chapman, Pam Durkin, Ian James, Kath Muat, Roger Paxton, and by all of my case study participants. Interesting ideas and general support was gratefully received from Kirsty Maddison, Alec Milne, and my golfing buddies (Joe Convery, Joe Dickinson, Rob Pratt, Neil Robson, and Alan Watson).

1

The Surprises of Retirement

Retirement: is this our final act, the dimming of the light, the inescapable descent into hopeless senility? The traditional answer is an emphatic “yes,” as indicated by the dictionary definition: “To give up, to go away, to seek seclusion, recede or disappear.” But recent decades have seen a transformation in the possibilities that are ushered in by retirement, at least in Western society. Improvements in life expectancy mean that, for most of us, there will typically be 15–20 years available for quality living before we truly recede. This is reflected in a review by Baltes in the American Psychologist:

During the last decade, we have witnessed a growing success story regarding young old age. Because of medical, technical, social, economic and educational advances, the overall …life for 60- and 70-year olds has made major strides in indicators of health and psychological functioning. For this period of the third age, cultural and social forces in industrialized countries have been able to offset, for the most part and for most individuals, the weaknesses inherent in the biological life-span.1

In writing this review, Baltes credited the Roman philosopher and statesman Cicero (106–43 BCE) as being the original champion of retirement. Cicero wrote an essay on old age in his early sixties, arguing that a properly-managed retirement provided opportunities for continued personal development. Drawing on Stoicism, he particularly emphasized that the waning interest in “bodily pleasures” removed a major distraction from self-actualization: “Nothing is more directly destructive to the dignity of man than the pursuit of bodily pleasure.”2

Therefore, a new dawn beckons in our “young old age,” and a better current definition might be: To recede from working life and make a transition to a new life phase, one where new opportunities for happiness and personal development beckon. On this more optimistic definition, the challenge becomes one of ensuring that we make the most of our final major opportunity to make our life as successful as possible. The idea of making a transition between different phases of our lives (e.g. from adolescent to adult) originates from research on topics like bereavement and other kinds of trauma, though it also applies to seemingly positive changes, like retirement. There appears to be a fairly typical pattern, which starts with emotional turbulence. In the case of retirement, this might include excitement and a “honeymoon period”; in the case of trauma it is more likely to feature numbness, anger, disbelief, and denial. After three or four months there may be some change (similar in both the “positive” and traumatic situations), including confusion, a loss of confidence, and depression. However, if the transition follows a “normal” pattern of adjustment, then over the following three months or so we should see growing acceptance, more exploration of ways forward (e.g. developing a social hobby in retirement), a return of confidence and a changed, more adaptive engagement with everyday life.