How psychotherapy can help after retirement

Retirement means both losing something and freeing yourself from the burdens of a working man's life at the same time. One of the best ways to deal with the transition is with a good therapist. As time goes on, more and more people are seeking help from professionals.

If you think you are too old for this, you are wrong. Your mental health is directly related to your physical health and with the right therapy, you can improve your well-being many times over and solve all your old problems.

What are the benefits

As you age, your hormonal levels change. This affects literally everything: your sleep and physical fitness can deteriorate, for example. Old injuries and chronic illnesses also make themselves felt. In addition, your relationships are particularly vulnerable at this stage of life.

The right therapy can help you minimize the effects of these problems. You can find a new purpose in life, assess your weaknesses and strengths, see the outside perspective, realign your values, and enter a new life stage with peace of mind.

Loss of Identity

For many, retirement means losing their own identity. Athletes retire from sports and no longer know what to do. Women go through menopause - they are confused and this further exacerbates their understanding of themselves. It happens to almost everyone.

That's where therapy helps. It gives you the opportunity to rebuild yourself. In real life it seems unrealistic, but in the therapist's office you can calmly discuss everything that bothers you, consult and adjust your actions. Here you can try and make mistakes - it will only benefit you.

The therapist will help you assess your capabilities and build a step-by-step plan for personal development. Over time, you will adjust it to achieve better results. The population of Europe is now noticeably older than it used to be, so you are not alone in your problems and you will always find like-minded people.

Surviving loss

We always lose someone, no matter how old we are. As we age, there are so many losses that sometimes it's hard to bear. Acquaintances die, children start their own lives, someone just leaves the family. You end your career and leave it behind. You feel overwhelmed: no wonder, it's a lot of stress.

In these situations, it's important to remember that loss is inevitable. You shouldn't shy away from psychotherapy. The right therapist is not just a specialist, but your friend. If your therapist shares your interests and likes you as a person, you will feel even better after each session.

You may want to get rid of your emotions or start feeling angry. That's okay, too. You can finally breathe easy and reevaluate the way you look at the world. In such situations, a therapist will help you analyze everything and deal with your emotions. There is even a separate type of therapy for such cases - reminiscence therapy. It will allow you to share your experiences and get help in making sense of your life path in return.

New acquaintances

When you retire, it is especially important to make new friends and acquaintances. They will help you adapt to your new phase and you will have someone to spend your free time with.

An interesting way to make these acquaintances is to go to group therapy. But even if you prefer one-on-one time with a therapist, psychotherapy can help you learn how to socialize comfortably. Relationships with people need to be emphasized so that you don't start to feel isolated.

The harm of isolation isn't just that you feel sad. It makes you feel worse about yourself. In particular, isolation can worsen heart problems and badly affect your sanity to the point of developing mental disorders and dementia.

Explore yourself

Most importantly, therapy is fascinating. You begin to see sides of yourself that you didn't pay attention to before. Even if you are going through the transition calmly and have trustworthy people around, a therapist can help you see yourself in a new way and realize yourself even more effectively than before.