PSYCHOLOGICAL PROBLEMS AMONG RETIRED PEOPLE

Many people experience loneliness and psychological problems in old age, either as a result of living alone or due to lack of close family ties and reduced connections with their culture of origin, which results in an inability to actively participate in the community activities. It has been documented that elderly are more prone to psychological problems and depression is the commonest geriatric psychiatric disorders. In fact the elderly in India face a multitude of psychological, social, and physical health problems. Although work practices are becoming increasingly diverse and flexible, with far fewer people staying in a single job for thirty or forty years, still there are many men retiring today who have been working in one role for many years. For these men, who have not experienced much variation in their daily routine for a long time, such a major change of lifestyle is often very stressful. Although they are more likely to own their homes, those dwellings are more likely to be substandard. They are more likely to be in poorer health than their urban counterparts. Yet, their health and long-term care needs are less likely to be met owing to problems in the availability of health and social services and the obstacles to delivering services in rural areas, including low population densities, limited transportation, and longer travel distances. No one can avoid and escape aging, but most individuals can opt to age productively. Retirement plans and policies should be enabling, allowing executives to address the new adjustments they need to adopt when counting down to retirement.