Loneliness Can Be Beat In Retirement

Loneliness and the need for companionship may be a bigger challenge in retirement than aches, pains and sickness will ever be. And don't be quick to take it lightly.

It's one of those things that you cannot ignore in preparing for a balanced and fulfilling life after retirement.

It is not easy to wake up one day and find out you no longer have a routine. You may begin to feel that you've lost some control, some respect even.

All of a sudden, you find that no one asks your opinion anymore. Sometimes it could get so depressing that some have even gone so far as losing the will to live.

I'm not dramatizing here or overly exaggerating this issue. Did you know that the suicide rate climbs progressively with age? That's how serious loneliness and the lack of companionship is.

To face this challenge, it's important to plan to fill your life with meaningful, constructive activities such as educational travel and regular association with others. It is so important to have friends in your life.

And, friends don't need to be limited to those of the human kind. Sometimes a pet friend may be what you need to bring back that feeling of responsibility...the feeling of being needed and being depended upon.

In a recent Australian survey, people were asked why they owned a pet. The outstanding reason given was for companionship. They sometimes act as a substitute for having children around. For others, they serve as protection.

Regardless of your reason for having one, you will most likely derive great pleasure and benefit from your pet's companionship, affection, and loyalty.

Here are two things you need to be aware of, however. You must be balanced in taking care of yourself and your beloved pets. Be mindful of certain dangers in owning a pet.

First be aware of certain diseases they can carry if they're not properly cared for. An example is Toxascaris, a parasitic roundworm disease found commonly in dogs and cats, is known to cause blindness.

Second, you can become so obsessed with your pet friends that you may tend to isolate yourself totally with them. You must try to remember that although your furry friends can certainly bring much joy to you, they can never replace or equal good relationships with other people.

Return from Loneliness in Retirement to Retirement Living