ASK DR LOUISE

Write to Dr Louise, PO Box 39410, Moreletapark 0044, or email [e-mail].

I’M STRUGGLING TO ADJUST TO RETIREMENT

Q My wife and I recently became pensioners with a lot of fanfare and good wishes from the people we used to work with. I was a chartered accountant and my wife used to be a pharmacist.

It seems as is my wife is adapting well to being on pension but I find it boring and tedious. Most of the people at the retirement village where we live are just into gossiping – something I’m not interested in.

The result is that I have not really made friends with people here because I don’t trust them – they continuously talk badly about each other behind the other person’s back. I find my days are just dragging on. I am everything but happy at the moment. How can I change this?
Barry, email

A Retirement is a major life transition, and being happily on pension is something of an art and takes effort. You have to think about your new lifestyle and intentionally plan it. It is not just about doing “what comes naturally” because then you just drift along.

Look at your life and think about how you want things to change on all levels – your eating habits, exercise routine, how you spend your days, quality time with your wife and so on.

Talk to your wife about how you’re feeling and make decisions together about what to do so both of you can be happy and enjoy your well-earned retirement. Also, keep in mind that being retired doesn’t mean you shouldn’t work at all anymore, even if you don’t need the money. You can now work at your own leisure and choose only the work you want to do.