Behind the Mask: Maintaining Good Mental Health During our Retirement Career

Letter from the Editor…

Lynn Sciberras

Continuing to approach my eligible retirement date causes with high anxiety, which is the opposite of how it should be. me to think more about my next chapter in life, what it will It’s a definite change initially and will not be without challenlook like, how I will spend my time, what new adventures ges entirely; however, more often than not, change presents and challenges I will find. With this in mind, I realize more many great opportunities. and more that retirement planning is necessary as it can be daunting if approached too early or too late, even haunting for that matter, so it remains on my radar yet in the back of my mind for now. Overthinking can cause anxiety. We work more than a third of our life to get to that stage called retirement, what I call a ‘new norm’. When I phrase retirement this way with those I speak and engage in conversation with, the initial anxiety is reduced tremendously. John I never thought about retirement as a career, by its definition does a great job in his article below, he delves deeper into alone, “work or a profession”. Looking outside the box, we these aspects and outlines ways of maintaining good mental live longer, we are social beings; we need to remain menhealth in our retirement chapter, so I invite you to read on. tally and physically active and need to engage in something we enjoy. Really, no different than a working PEER SUPPORT / CIS RESPONSE TEAM CONTACT SHEET career, except with more time to fill Name Station Shift Email Address Phone # in retirement! We retirement, like a career, hopefully, lasts many years, Jenn Greenlaw Lynn Sciberras HQ/Comms HQ 4 Days jennalex1923@gmail.com lynn.sciberras@toronto.ca 416-220-8425 647-409-3135 so I think of it more as a journey of Chris Rodrigues/MHP Sean O'Connell 322 333/FP 3 Days/wk Days tfseap@toronto.ca sean80446@gmail.com 416-338-9557 416-510-2673 (continued) learning plus other asMike Sehl Cary Stather 143 244 A A michael_sehl@hotmail.com cstather@sympatico.ca 647-200-2065 289-314-8100 pects of living (travelling, hobbies etc.), all hope to be enjoyed in lonMarcus Martyn Jones Joshua Kramer Louis Chow 324 331 344 A A A m.martynjones@gmail.com jkramer_27@hotmail.com ChowL@live.com 416 873-0954 519-831-0184 647-401-0821 gevity and good health! In this way, Brian Mc Alinden Hugh Doherty 212 332 A A bmcalinden@me.com hugh.doherty@sympatico.ca 905-391 -5118 416-433-0446 ‘retirement career’ makes sense and Rodney Johnson John Malcolmson 226 322 B B johnston@torontofirefighters.org johnmalcolmsonpeerteam@gmail.com 647-223-2121 416-553-6046 is the one I want to see through and not as a destination but a journey! Louise Chen Robert Jackson Dan Hansen 115 333 421 C C C louise.deanne.chen@gmail.com robertjackson@hotmail.ca danhansen0839@gmail.com 416-919-8098 905-419-4545 226-387-3557 To be able to do this, I need to have Darren Taylor Sidney Zigah 142 143 D D darren.taylor@rogers.com smkz45@hotmail.com 416-697-7842 416-990-0044 my physical and mental faculties, Dave Smith John Drimmie 235 235 D D das_051379@hotmail.com johndrimmie@gmail.com 905-424-4407 905-903-2574 to make decisions around activities and to be able to function reasonRob Vandenberg Tony Mellozzi Adina Kaufman 243 315 133 D D D rob.quartus@gmail.com tony_rockclimb@hotmail.com adina_kaufman@hotmail.com 905-377-3123 416-562-0253 416-949-5359 ably well to fulfill them. Bernie Leufkens Alan Thomas Retired Retired tapemeasure92@hotmail.com ibasquarepeg@sympatico.ca 905-449-3047 416-540-6610

Over the years, I have spoken with many TFS staff who enter retirement

Chaplains

Ted Leck Chaplain Barry Parker Chaplain Todd Riley Chaplain

Communications 416-338-9000

NORTH tleck@rogers.com SOUTH bparker@stpaulsbloor.org WEST toddriley@outlook.com

City EAP 416-392-6633

647-461-4047 416-271-7540 416-318-9167

Maintaining Good Mental Health During Our Retirement Career - John Malcolmson Retirement as Another Chapter in Life

We day-dream about it and imagine it as that perfect Chapter. We talk about it, we look forward to it. But do we plan for it?

I’ve read that many spend more time planning a two-week vacation than a life event that may last as long as their working career. Planning for this life event should start about five years before our actual retirement date. While we all may not be 100% ready for retirement, having a plan helps us prepare mentally and financially for what’s ahead.

Looking at retirement as a career change may help provide a lens that keeps us focused on all the events that happen during this phase of life. Why?

Careers are planned; we work to achieve this outcome. People outline objectives to develop personal skills, progress in responsibility with an organization and maintain a healthy balance in life during the employed phase of life. Retirement has the same success when planned in the same way.

During our career with TFS, we are provided with training and resources to recognize the cause, effect and symptoms of stress exposure. It’s important to keep in mind that the exposures accumulated during a career retire with you. Knowing that those same stress exposures will disappear may provide relief, but the trauma and stress experienced can stay with you. I have compared each exposure to a rake-full of leaves that you put in a bag, as we do each fall. Eventually, the bag becomes too full to put in more leaves, starts to break down and gets too heavy to pick up. But there we are, still working to get another bag to fill. We take these bags of leaves with us into retirement so they need to be managed in order to maintain good mental health in our retirement career. They may be a distance away but the exposures have occurred and still need to be managed.

Retirement is not a continuous holiday where the sun is always shining during happy hour, sad but true. Our working career presents stresses and challenges and we still establish goals. Retirement is best planned the same way. Set goals, anticipate lifestyle changes including that shining sun during happy hour, and also prepare for any unforeseen circumstances.

Retirement has changed. The retirement experience of present generations is different from previous generations because of improved health, opportunities, activity levels and finances. These are positives that can reduce stress during retirement. The effects of ageing, loss of identity, diminishing health and death will present challenges that need also be recognized and effectively managed during this career. When our career with TFS is complete, we take the stress exposures with us to manage, but you leave a part of yourself behind. We’re members of a team that spend over 100 hours together almost every month. We share stories, meals and work experiences, from the mundane to the exceptional - together. Our role with that team has carried the status of our knowledge. We’re often thanked by unknown citizens for the work we do accompanied by a hand shake or a smile as a demonstration of their gratitude.

Off duty hours are not completely removed from the workplace and vice versa. Text messages, phone calls, email and social media keep us connected to our work and the people we work with. These can disappear quickly. I included a retired member in an email when making plans for a social night out. The next time we met I was told by that person that they were overjoyed to be included, saying they don’t get as many social invites from active members as they used to.

Over 100 hours a month are full-time hours that should be planned to some degree. How will your time be filled? In this day and age, we can have 2-3 decades in a retirement career and our skills and experiences remain of value. Many retiring baby boomers are challenging themselves with a new career or academic pursuits, just as in our working career, continuous learning serves in defining our role in our new life space. We must re-discover or create our (new) identity. The plan would include something to retire to - a new routine, hobby, schedule, place, people, skill/learning, a way to continue developing value in ourselves.

A continued health plan for both our physical and mental health also needs attention. Members have a benefit that will provide $3,500 per annum for mental health care until the age of 65. A relationship established with a mental health provider during our working years should be maintained the same as we maintain a health care regime with our family doctor and dentist. These relationships provide an ability to monitor health and maintain it throughout retirement. We spend more time visiting all areas of health care as we age. These are not only a clinical connection to monitoring our health; they guide us through both good and challenging times, they are also a social connection with an individual who knows many things about us that many others in our life may not.

Humans are social creatures. We seek each other out and wish to engage with each other. This can be as informal as shovelling the walkways with a neighbour after a snowfall or structured in a team event. Jake, a newly retired neighbour who thought he would golf three days a week and the rest would take care of itself, quickly found that he was not fulfilled with golf alone, he was not caring about his score. “Just hitting the ball for the sake of hitting the ball.” That’s how he summarized the third month of retirement. The costs associated with this unlimited opportunity to golf also provided a moment to reflect. This pace could not be maintained. He had to come up with a plan. He sought out new groups to get involved with and has started a new romantic relationship which also introduced him to the sport of dragon boat racing. New friends, a greater variety of activities and a means to maintaining good health.

Mind and body are connected and equilibrium is necessar y to be healthy. During retirement, we will change. This should be no surprise as we all experienced dramatic changes during puberty. These changes too were both physical and mental. This same experience will happen again, with similar frustrations, the exception, we have the maturity to be mindful of the changes. Give yourself the time you have earned to allow reflection to guide you through the challenges and look forward than over your shoulder.

Developing a new social network, moving to a new home or finding a new hobby helps us look forward as opposed to over our shoulder, the same way we approach retirement, forward-thinking.

Maintaining good mental health during our retirement should not take a holiday. The stress exposures of the workplace will travel with us and they will also get further away as we embrace a new lifestyle. While change is constant and inevitable, it is also manageable and rewarding, when we do our best to plan for it.