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I retired 8 months ago and since then I have had more episodes of rumination and intrusive thoughts,  I use distraction a lot to help this which usually works , I don’t know whether this is due to the lack of structure in my day and that prior to retiring I worried about work, although I do try to stay busy .

I wondered if anyone else out there has experienced this ?

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Hi Dalia,

Retirement can leave you with time on your hands and if this isn't filled constructively it's common for rumination to take over the free 'brain time.' My advice is to create a new structure to your day and take up new interests that keep you busy, give you focus and something to work towards.

For me it's been a series of voluntary jobs and studying which keep my mind occupied, give me something to get up for each day and make me feel I'm moving forwards to a fulfilling future rather than focusing on the past and feeling my life is gradually coming to its close. 

And remember retirement is to be enjoyed, not endured. :) 

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Snowbear is spot on Dahlia. 

I experienced the same problem as you when I retired - I didn't have that bus-i- ness, and OCD homed in. 

My wife and I rescheduled the chores and household and family tasks with me taking on more and I got busy helping her run her Mum's affairs. 

And I got back into some CBT. 

After her Mum passed away and we and the family had concluded her affairs, we got busy refurbishing our home then moving to a downsize property. 

When I have finalised fitting what we have to keep into our new home, there are plenty of local opportunities to find beneficial things to do. 

OCD loves a vacuum and will try to fill it. 

If we follow a structure, keep stress under control and occupy ourselves beneficially, then that helps to keep our disorder at bay. 

 

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  • snowbear changed the title to Retirement

I don't think he'll mind me saying (as he"s said himself above) but Roy struggled very badly with an OCD relapse following his retirement.  This change in lifestyle and the huge vacuum it creates takes some adjusting to.  As both he and Snowbear have suggested ,it's all about restructuring our life and building new interests and forming a new routine.  

Happy retirement :)

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1 hour ago, Caramoole said:

I don't think he'll mind me saying (as he"s said himself above) but Roy struggled very badly with an OCD relapse following his retirement.  This change in lifestyle and the huge vacuum it creates takes some adjusting to.  As both he and Snowbear have suggested ,it's all about restructuring our life and building new interests and forming a new routine.  

Happy retirement :)

I don’t mind at all!

It was always our intention to move to our beloved Midlands (where I grew up)  when I retired from my work in London and we have now achieved that. 

We have a temporary setback as my wife has gone down with hypothyroidism and a urinary tract infection.

But when we are settled in, and she is fully fit,  we plan to do some voluntary work at the charity shop in the village, and probably get involved in our village United Reformed Church. 

 

Edited by taurean
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Thank your all for your supportive comments , I have taken them all onboard, it was a shock although and everyone keeps saying isn’t it lovely to do nothing! It wasn’t, now beginning to build up a structure.

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