Introduction
The last period of human life is called old age, which is accompanied by certain age-related problems. When people reach the maturity of their prime and peak professional productivity, they enter a new stage of life. They begin to age gradually, respectively, the increase of their professional skills and potential creative decreases. Thus, during the transition of individuals to a new stage of life, significant changes in life occur, which causes certain problems. Hence, it is crucial to identify problematic life situations that arise in connection with age transitions from adulthood to retirement.
The Literature Knowledge
It is important to note that the transition from adulthood to retirement creates many changes in human life. Therefore, they adapt to new life situations and face problems. According to official statistics, about 35% of elderly people suffer from depressive disorders, which significantly worsen their quality of life after retirement (Fernåndez-Niño et al., 2018, p. 7). Age-related depression is more often diagnosed in women than among men and tends to be chronic. The disease has to be mandatorily exposed to qualified treatment (Segel-Karpas, Ayalon, and Lachman, 2018b). Otherwise, it can cause deeper mental disorders and a decrease in physical health.
The most common cause of depressive disorder in the elderly is their retirement. Once a person retires, loses their job, they begin to feel useless to society. All this leads to the appearance of depressive thoughts, and the exacerbation of chronic diseases, especially in the cardiovascular sphere (Segel-Karpas, Ayalon, and Lachman, 2018a). Moreover, the appearance changes, mature people begin to age faster and change physically. Consequently, this can provoke mental disorders, which is reinforced by the deterioration of the social and economic situation. Elderly individuals feel that they are unfit for work, which leads to feelings of resentment and insult. Senior citizens often have low revenues, which significantly limits their desire to buy new things, travel and even sometimes basic necessities (Kail and Carr, 2020). These thoughts and the awareness of their social redundancy encourage elderly people to stress and, as a result, nervous system disorders.
The Case
It is essential to mention that Anna Collins was an active woman and constantly participated in all events. The woman worked as an accountant until retirement, which is why she was constantly in society. At the same time, she led an active lifestyle and was improving herself regularly. Hence, when Anna Collins reached adulthood, her life began to change. At first, her health condition did not allow her to attend many events, and later she went on a retirement. Accordingly, the ordinary life changed and caused certain psychological challenges that the person could not cope with. Therefore, the female gradually lost interest in life and withdrew into herself. She felt that reaching retirement age changed her life negatively. Even when there was an opportunity to socialize, Anna Collins refused to play chess with friends because she believed that it would not replace her previous experience. Consequently, she gradually began to suffer from depression.
Support
Social tools can help women cope and transition to a new stage of life. For example, with the passing from adulthood to retirement, Anna Collins lost her job. Accordingly, she cannot be in a workplace where people share the same interests as her. Therefore, to facilitate this change, it is possible to offer a woman an online job that requires mathematical abilities. Hence, Anna Collins will feel that she is contributing to society and at the same time she will not have to make an effort to come to work and work full time. Additionally, another method to overcome depression is to visit centers and elderly people, where there is an opportunity to practice yoga, swimming or attend goop classes under the supervision of an instructor. Therefore, it will allow a person to continue doing sports and communicate with people at the same time. Accordingly, these strategies will not return the female’s youth, but will not significantly change her lifestyle. This will lead to the fact that Anna Collins will stop suffering from depression and will become an active member of society again.
Impact
The problem of people feeling depressed due to the age transition from adulthood to retirement is familiar to me. Since my grandmother also went through this stage, she gradually became depressed due to the sudden change in lifestyle. Nevertheless, I noticed it immediately and talked to her about the importance of adapting to new living conditions. Thus, I discovered that there was a club for seniors in the city and helped my grandmother to attend it. There, she found new people of her age and realized that retirement is not the end of life, but an opportunity to start a new page of life.
Conclusion
Hence, the transition from one age category to another causes certain difficulties for people. As a rule, it is associated with psychological problems due to the inability to perceive the new lifestyle. Therefore, often retired people feel depressed and cannot overcome this problem on their own. Accordingly, such a strategy as socialization, which can be manifested in visiting a club of similar-minded individuals, sports or online work is an effective solution to problems.
Reference List
FernĂĄndez-Niño, J. A. et al. (2018) âWork status, retirement, and depression in older adults: an analysis of six countries based on the Study on Global Ageing and Adult Healthâ, SSM-Population Health, 6, pp. 1-8. Web.
Kail, B. L. and Carr, D. C. (2020) âStructural social support and changes in depression during the retirement transition:âI get by with a little help from my friendsââ, The Journals of Gerontology: Series B, 75(9), pp. 2040-2049. Web.
Segel-Karpas, D., Ayalon, L. and Lachman, M. E. (2018a) âRetirement and depressive symptoms: a 10-year cross-lagged analysisâ, Psychiatry Research, 269, pp. 565-570. Web.
Segel-Karpas, D., Ayalon, L. and Lachman, M. E. (2018b) âLoneliness and depressive symptoms: the moderating role of the transition into retirementâ, Aging & Mental Health, 22(1), pp. 135-140. Web.