Ever read “The Emperor’s New Clothes” ?
My kids loved listening to a story of adults being so foolish. I loved knowing I’ve never made an ass out of myself that bad. I don’t think....
Looking through patient’s charts, it’s shocking how much I find the diagnoses of anxiety and depression.
It’s almost always.
Like the new shirt and pants of the aging adult, everybody in nursing homes wears anxiety and depression around.
But like the emperor’s new clothes, are they really there? Is something else going on that anxiety and depression are the symptoms of? I’m not smart enough to be a doctor, but I think there is.
I think they’re the result of losing purpose, meaning, and control in our lives.
Retirement is a wonderful idea that we all aim for. We grow up thinking it’s when life finally becomes our own.
But the reality is retirement takes away a lot of our important life roles. Our jobs and professions held a lot of our identity, friends, and meaning in our lives. It kept us focused on something.
Each day of work was something to accomplish. We had a routine. We might have hated it, but believe it or not, the structure was good for us.
Without goals in life, no matter how small, we struggle to find a purpose.
Without a purpose, life has little meaning.
Without meaning, we can be left wondering what’s the point of living. I’ve seen too many people, “Waiting for the lord to take them.”
No wonder so many people have anxiety and depression in their last decades.
It’s ironic that as we dream about finally doing what we want in retirement, we actually become much less active. Retirement brings about a mental, emotional, and physical slow down.
We’re much less mentally stimulated as our previous responsibilities fade away. Our daily emotions flatten as the amount of our interactions shrink. Physically, we feel like our bodies are finishing up, and we can’t stop the decline.
Anxiety and Depression affect up to 20% of the aging population, but the CDC and the Geriatric Mental Health Foundation state that they’re chronically under diagnosed.
Here’s a question to ponder....
If more than 20% of the aging population have anxiety and depression, what percent of those diagnosed were also focused on staying medically and physically healthy?
No one knows. But my guess is not many.
What we do know is that there are actions we can take to stave off, and even reverse anxiety and depression.
In the book, “Younger Next Year,” Chris Crowley and Dr. Henry S. Lodge say that besides physical exercise, the most important thing to do in retirement is to create new meaningful relationships.
Get out of the house and make new friends.
Medical research shows that meaningful relationships have a massive benefit to our physical and medical well being. So the more the better.
There’s also tons of research that physical exercise is just as effective, OR BETTER than medication for anxiety and depression. Increasing our physical abilities in our 2nd 50 gives us a huge piece of control back, and dramatically increases our life freedom.
If you think you have anxiety and/or depression, see your doctor. If they give you medication, take it. But then change your life in a way that gives you new purpose, meaning, and physical control.
Strong bodies and lots of friends are the new look at 2nd50strong.
And by all means, wear the clothes you like.
Get strong as hell,
Coach Ken