Pre-Retirement and Mental Health

Everyone Take Note

May is Mental Health Awareness month in the United States. I make no secret on this blog that I struggle with depression and anxiety linked to Post Traumatic Stress (PTS). Just the opposite, I shine a light on those issues and their interplay with my pensionable career whenever practical. Furthermore, I try hard to discuss themes and subjects which I believe are common among anyone in a similar situation. I do that to foster conversation with other pensionable workers who might also struggle from mental health issues linked to their careers.

It’s also no secret that I’m retiring this year, which means I will soon become a veteran. As a result of my pending veteran status, and everything I just listed above, I spent some time researching veteran mental health statistics and issues. A portion of this article covers those findings, which I share in the hope that it prompts robust discussions in your professional and/or personal lives. The other part of this article discusses some of the steps I’ve taken to make sure my mental health issues don’t impede my retirement.

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Work, Mental Health, Disability, and Retirement Planning

Time For a Rethink

I recently started ramping down my anti-depression and anxiety medication that I take for my PTS linked issues. I didn’t make this mental health decision lightly. You see, based on my doctor’s recommendation, I tried to ramp down before. I wasn’t successful. My mood swings were too erratic and unpredictable. After the failed attempt, I decided to stay on the medication until I ended my Active Duty military career. I figured the natural stress relief created by retirement would greatly assist efforts to balance my moods more naturally.

However, a few recent experiences persuaded me to reconsider that decision. The first is a continuing deterioration of my physical health. The cascading effects that issue has created, and my attempts to manage the pain, built a desire to end all but the most benign medications. My psychotropic medication is anything but benign. While it definitely evens my temperament and smooths my erratic behavior, the side effects are numerous. This includes interruptions of my sleep cycle, weight gain, and a heightened tendency to sweat and dehydrate. Continue reading

Work and Mental Health: Slaying the Dragon

Am I only one I know, waging my wars behind my face and above my throat?

— Twenty-One Pilots, Migraine

How Was Your Week?

Last Friday wasn’t the best day for me mentally. I don’t know if the stress of a few hectic work weeks which included a lot of travel finally caught up, or if I missed my meds the night before. Maybe it was both. Maybe it was something else entirely. Either way, I didn’t feel the most stable. I think it was fairly apparent to several of my co-workers as I lost my cool (just a wee bit) during a meeting. For a moment, it felt like the bureaucracy was going to grind my bones to grist before I could escape. As a result, several hours after the meeting the weight of the Golden Albatross still felt insurmountable. Never a good feeling.

Work and Mental Health

It got me this week.

As one of my Facebook readers once wrote, “Some days you slay the dragon, some days the dragon slays you.” Friday the dragon slew me, and it caught me off guard. It’s been a while since I’ve experienced a day like it. In fact, it might be the first day in over a year that I’ve lost my cool in a work environment. Home is a different matter, and the typical battlefield where I struggle to keep these sort of emotions in check (which of course is worse, and a different story altogether). Losing it at work, on the other hand, is an anomaly. As a result, I wasn’t ready to handle it. Continue reading