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Certain age markers drive more visits to therapy, but consider your options carefully for the best help.

More than half of retirees take on other jobs to pay bills and get ahead. Passion-driven work is the best.

Loneliness, risks of depression, and alcohol misuse climb during the retirement years.

“Often when you think you’re at the end of something, you’re at the beginning of something else,” the late Fred M. Rogers once said. Mister Rogers’ emotional intelligence impacts all ages of people who have big feelings around life changes, self-acceptance, new beginnings, loss, and loneliness.

The Emotional Roller Coaster

People anticipate the day they’ll have no commute, office gossip, or problematic people. Colleagues may offer gift cards, books, and travel advice, and pitch volunteer opportunities. Some fete with a party.

Those first few weeks may find the newly retired jetting to a well-deserved vacation. Some exhale responsi­bilities, sleep in, now off the clock. Yet for others, anxiety, disappointment, and despair surface when reality hits fantasy, especially if retirement was not their choice.

A business closes, artificial intelligence (AI) takes over a job, or a federal career ends amid RIF (reduction in force) or VERA (voluntary early retirement authority). In 2025, the term “fork in the road” quite aptly applied. Physically demanding jobs wear workers out; yet, with home and car payments, plus dependents, they cannot forgo work.

In a field clobbered by venture capital (VC) firms, even therapists have left practice rather than compromise licensure, ethics, and liability once they discover the downsides of large chains that lured them.

Recognize the Symptoms

An upcoming, zero-ending birthday summons reflection. Markers like 55 and 65 raise questions: Is this all there is? What have I accomplished? What’s left for me? How much longer can I survive in [said job]?

What if you’ve experienced a few months to decompress, then begin questioning whether ends meet amid inflation, housing, and other factors.

Mental health counselors see an uptick in requests due to anticipatory fear, sadness, and a loss of structure. Once retired, some experience morning chest heaviness, frequent headaches, tight muscles, aches and pains, evening dread, or a sense of malaise. Physical stress signs lead them to primary care doctors first.

As test results populate the patient’s portal and an anxiety diagnosis arises, referrals for counseling result. Research points to the relationship between depression and retirement; it’s not a normative part of growing older, according to a 2022 report in Clinical Interventions in Aging.1

Choosing the Right Help

Those who anticipate this crossroads might use employee benefits while still at work. From a cost perspective, it’s smart. Beware, however, that employee assistance programs (EAPs) have drawbacks.

Market consolidation and VC-backed companies have subsumed EAPs into profit-driven networks. Because EAP provider pay is low, you may be assigned to therapists starting out. When you’re age 50 plus, discerning retirement and finances, you’ll often benefit from a seasoned, similarly aged counselor.

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So, too, training matters. Social work degrees confer case management knowledge plus mental health care. To obtain a counseling degree at Johns Hopkins University, we were required to take career and life planning in addition to a range of clinical mental health and diagnosis courses.

If you opt for coaching, coaches who also have clinical licensure will better screen a client and slate them for mental health treatment when warranted.

Retirement Counseling or Coaching

If a client presents with anxiety, sadness, hopelessness, or worthlessness, hands down, I give them a mental health intake. They can also use most insurances to pay for my services. The 2022 aging study mentioned that Medicare reimbursement disincentivizes providers to accept Medicare. Yet, those on a fixed income often cannot afford $100 or more out of pocket for sessions.

Coaching, for new direction and life purpose, may mean fewer sessions, paid for privately at a negotiated rate. Because we tend to make life decisions based upon our values, I encourage values work, which is very experiential and thought-provoking, for all clients.

With a diagnosis, expect to monitor symptoms with short, weekly mental health assessments and delve into your circumstances. Research reports that marital satisfaction and strong, socially active relationships improve a retiree’s mental health. Marital therapy experience comes in handy. On the other hand, those who are removed from social networks and who move into residential long-term care are at greater depression risk.2

Ask yourself who you miss from work. Think of all interactions, down to the barista in the lobby. What was the number of meetings, walk-abouts, conferences, even accolades you received on a formal or subtle basis? Without steady contact, loneliness sets in, which former Surgeon General Vivek Murthy dubbed a public health crisis.3

Opting to Work Differently

Forecasting with a financial planner is wise, but when suddenly let go or forced out, it’s not too late. One in eight seniors has returned to work or plans to rejoin the workforce. More than half (54 percent) cite inflation and high costs of living as impacting their work/life decisions.4

Those without sufficient savings can focus upon a different, less stress-filled job. Temp agencies offer short-term projects. Accountants can keep the books for small businesses; those knowledgeable in language, math, or other subjects might tutor. Childcare workers babysit for working parents. Live in a tourist-popular location? Consider renting your home while you travel.5

Regardless of how you spend your days, passion-driven work helps best. Look at jobs with substantial employee discounts that lessen your cash outlay. Lastly, phase in retirement, working part-time or seasonally. This buffers the hit on your retirement portfolio while you add to Social Security.

Whether you’re preparing to retire or already have:

Write down changes you’d like: What do you want to see more of and less of, and what fills gaps so some things stay similar? This is a brain dump within a sectioned notebook for travel, volunteerism, and to-do lists. Ideas: Explore a new hobby or culture, learn a language or new software, tackle a clean-out project, or take up yoga, mindfulness, or gardening.

Identify mood and behavior changes, noticing irritability, lack of patience, anxiety, and hopelessness.6 In a 2024 study on retirement happiness, 31 percent of retirees reported feeling forlorn, while those who reported more happiness filled their time with social activities, exercise, hobbies, and travel.7

Don’t ignore problem behaviors. Compared to when they once worked, older adults often have higher alcohol con­sumption, less physical activity, poor dietary habits, and a higher incidence of smoking.8

Engage in cognitively protective activities that involve memory and problem-solving. Break out the puzzles, books, and board games, inviting others. Start a game night, card, or Scrabble group, or host a book club.

© 2026 by Loriann Oberlin, MS, LCPC

1. Dang, L et al “Spotlight on the Challenges of Depression following Retirement and Opportunities for Interventions,” Clinical Interventions in Aging, July 7, 2022; 17:1037–1056; https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9288177/

2. As cited in Dang, L, et. al., 2022

3. U.S. Surgeon General's Advisory: Our Epidemic of Loneliness and Isolation, and the Healing Effects of Social Connection and Community: https://www.decadeofhealthyageing.org/find-knowledge/resources/publicat…

4. As cited in Dang, L, et. al., 2022

5. Ceniza-Levine, C. “3 Options to Consider If You Retired Too Early and Need Income Again,” Forbes, Jan 31, 2026.

6. “Caring for Your Mental Health After Retirement,” UCLA Health, December 3, 2025; https://www.uclahealth.org/news/article/caring-your-mental-health-after…

7. MassMutual Research: Most Retirees are Happier in Retirement vs. Working Thanks to Financial Preparation, but More than One Third Report Feeling Lonely. March 13, 2024: https://www.massmutual.com/about-us/news-and-press-releases/press-relea…

8. As cited in Dang, L, et.al., 2022

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