Retire VA 24 - 10

Retirement or Evolution?
You Choose
WRITTEN BY DAN SMITH
It's not always easy but adjusting to retirement can be rewarding.
R
etirement can be an
emotional roller-coaster,
according to helpguide.org:
" The loss of identity, routine
and goals can impact
your sense of self-worth, leave you feeling
rudderless or even lead to depression. "
But it doesn't have to be that way.
Biographer Ken Conklin of Botetourt
County quotes tennis great Serena
Williams: " I have never liked the word
'retirement.' It doesn't feel like a modern
word to me. I've been thinking of this as
a transition, but I want to be sensitive
about how I use that word, which means
something very specific and important
to a community of people. Maybe the
best word to describe what I'm up to is
'evolution.' "
Associate professor of psychology
Danielle Findley-Van Nostrand of Roanoke
College, a developmental psychologist,
emphasizes she is not an expert on retirement
transitions, but she recently worked
on a project with student Claire McDonald
surveying older adults with caregiving
needs. " We found [that] loneliness was
buffered against when certain psychological
needs were satisfied, " says Findley-Van
Nostrand. " Those were autonomy (maintaining
a sense of agency and control over
oneself), competence (feeling generally
capable and efficacious) and relatedness
(feeling socially connected to others who
are important to you).
" ... In a retirement context I think it's
Ken Conklin: More time to write.
worth saying that these needs may fall
" Loneliness was
buffered against when
certain psychological
needs were satisfied. "
DR. DANIELLE FINDLEY-VAN NOSTRAND
Roanoke College
to the wayside if folks aren't actively
choosing lifestyles that facilitate their
attainment. Often, these needs are satisfied
to some degree with [activities] in
retirement, that shift some, which can
drive loneliness and in turn emotional
adjustment. "
Another finding, she says, " was that
feeling generally comfortable with technology
use predicted greater satisfaction
of those needs. Technology can facilitate
needs regardless of age, but it may
become more important in retirement
when other socializing contexts (like
employment) are removed or altered. "
She says that research " suggests
retirement can be quite beneficial for
well-being and physical health. However,
it's important to consider psychological
aspects; it's perfectly normal to struggle
a bit in transitions. " If struggle continues,
" they should seek help. "
Conklin, who recently wrote " Norvel:
An American Hero " and is a retired technology
professional, says, " I want to stay
relevant, so staying active with things that
do that feels more like evolving than the
feeling that the word 'retirement' conjures.
It just doesn't make a lot of sense
to me when people ask me if I started
writing after I retired. I've been writing
my entire life, but I now have more time
to do that, along with other things that
keep me relevant in my mind and in the
lives of others. "
Retired Roanoker Connie Stanley has
a theory: " I have noticed that gender and
type of career and position affect how
people transition. Many women I know
10 Retire-VA.com / RETIRE-VA 2025
DAN SMITH / COURTESY OF DANIELLE FINDLEY-VAN NOSTRAND
http://www.helpguide.org http://www.Retire-VA.com
Retire VA 24

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Retire VA 24
