Post Early Retirement Anxiety

I have never considered myself an anxious person. Sure, I felt stress from time to time during my full time career. I might wake up with a queasy feeling in the pit of my stomach. This usually had to do with a particularly difficult or busy day, and would abate shortly after I started to mobilize. No sweat! Yet, I was wrong in surmising that the move to half retirement would cause these sensations to disappear. Strangely, unexpectedly, I still get that heart racing, angst filled feeling from time to time. It comes out of nowhere, lasts a few minutes to an hour, and then it’s gone. Even when all of the stress has been taken out of my life, post early retirement anxiety is a real phenomenon.

I used to search agonizingly to try to understand why. Now, in the least stressful time of my life, I realize that it may just be physiologic. An uncontrolled reflex of my body and not necessarily triggered by a specific event or cause.

I have stopped trying to focus on the why and started to look at behavioral solutions. And they have made all of the difference.

Meditation

I have always been a fan of meditation, but have found it hard to practice in real life. There usually seemed a reason to be doing something else. Building the time and emotional energy up to participate in this activity had stopped me in my tracks.

As of late, I have realized that there are a number of simple forms of meditation. They can be as straightforward as closing one’s eyes and counting backwards to a hundred.

Instead of trying to reason through feelings of anxiety, I have decided to take a different approach. Now, when the feeling comes on, I sit back and do a simple meditation. It might cost me a few extra minutes, but by the end I can already feel my body start to calm. My heart rate slows and the tension leaves my muscles.

I have started to treat post early retirement anxiety as a simple behavior. I counter this with other, more healthy behaviors. Meditation is one of them.

Exercise

I have always lived an active life. As we have talked about before on the podcast, there is a mind body connection and physical activity helps bridge financial and fiscal health. The two go hand in hand.

Although I try to set aside specific time during the day for physical activity, every so often I change my schedule up to accommodate for post early retirement anxiety.

If I feel those uncomfortable emotions bubbling up, I throw on some running shoes and talk a short jog or a long walk. I jump on the stair master or grab my son to go out and shoot some hoops.

In no time, I feel better. It is almost instantaneous. And also quite healthy. Not only am I allaying anxiety, but also moving my body and getting more cardiovascular fitness.

Music

It may not surprise you that growing up I was a fan of rap music. Yet, after my children starting to play violin, I have felt a growing fondness for classical music. It started with their lessons but has grown over the years. I am by no means a connoisseur or even particularly knowledgeable of this genre.

But I know what I like. I know what music makes my heart soar and calms my soul. A knowledge that is incredibly helpful when it comes to post early retirement anxiety.

When I feel my heart racing or an unexpected bout of nervousness, I can pretty much make them disappear by putting in my ear buds and cranking up Spotify.

Before I know it, there is a smile on my face, my heart rate has slowed, and I am as cool as a cucumber.

Final Thoughts

Slowing down at work has not made stress go away completely. Inexplicably, I still have some post early retirement anxiety. In this new chapter of my life, I have stopped asking why. It just seems physiologic. Almost behavioral. Something I can’t control.

So instead of trying to prevent it, I am developing new behaviors which help counteract the effects. These include, meditation, exercise, and classical music.

It’s working pretty well so far.