I still remember that day I was talking to a doctor friend of mine and I casually asked him if he was seeing any trends with baby boomer and senior patients.  Without much thought, he said, “we are seeing higher incidences of addiction, depression, and even suicide.

I was blown away. I thought he was going to say something like more knee and hip replacements, sex-based drug requests, or increasing rates of Alzheimer’s or Dementia. As a result, I have famously become the source for what I call the Dark Side of Retirement.

Will depression be part of your life in retirement? (Photo Credit: Shutterstock)

After hearing that I dug into the research and was astonished by what I found:
The National Institutes of Health report that, of the 35 million Americans age 65 or older, about 2 million suffer from full-blown depression. Another 5 million suffer from less severe forms of the illness.

Depression is the single most significant risk factor for suicide among the elderly. Sadly, many of those who commit suicide did, in fact, reach out for help – 20% see a doctor on the day they die, 40% the same week and 70% the same month.

Suicide is the 11th leading cause of death in the United States, with an aggregate rate of 11 suicide deaths per 100,000 Americans. Suicide rates are highest among people over the age of 65, according to the American Association of Suicidology (AAS). That age group makes up 12.5% of the population and accounts for 15.9% of all suicides.

According to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, the proportion of older people treated for a combination of cocaine and alcohol abuse tripled between 1992 and 2008. For this group, in 2008, cocaine abuse was the leading cause of admissions involving drugs (26.2%), with abuse of prescription drugs a close second at 25.8%.

This is also why I advocate for retirement coaching and planning for the non-financial aspects of retirement.  Too often people enter retirement with plenty of money but lose their sense of purpose, feel alone, less relevant, and either become depressed or turn to drugs and alcohol to try and fend it off.
Reality is not everyone is aging gracefully; they’re not as mobile and capable as they were before; and many are finding themselves alone instead of surrounded by “peace and love.”

Combine statistics and research on divorce, physical well-being and social networks and you have the making for a massive paradigm shift in retirement that demands more time and energy be committed to planning for the non-financial aspects of it:

Fact is, the dark side of retirement is all-to-real, and requires new and existing retirees to make specific plans to help them avoid these dangers. Creating a successful transition from the workplace to life in retirement requires people to embrace the fact that for every hour invested in traditional retirement planning an equal amount of time should be spent on issues such as:

• Replacing their work identity
• Establishing a healthy and active lifestyle
• Staying socially connected and involved
• Resolving relationship wants and needs before they turn into points of

Making the transition into retirement is not always easy or automatic.  Therefore, people must acknowledge the challenges they may face and seek out tools, resources, and professionals to help them address aspects of their mental health.