Most folks think stress-causing situations mostly stem from problems in the workplace. Besides work, they also think finances or family issues or health problems cause a lot of stress. While it is true that these situations can all be stressful, another circumstance that can lead to stress is retirement. Yep, retirement is up near the top of the list of stressful situations.

For those who haven’t done it yet, retirement is that big shiny pot of gold at the end of the 9 to 5 rainbow. Retiring will solve all your problems and you’ll relax with umbrella drinks on a beach somewhere. In reality, retirement for most is quite different.

Retiring from a long life of working is a huge lifestyle change, however good, and any lifestyle changes can be stressful until you’ve adjusted. Stopping your work routine means you are stopping the daily routines you’ve followed for years. You may feel a little lost until you’ve established some new routines.

Another area that changes with retirement is that of your social support system. No longer are you chatting around the water cooler with your co-workers, trading stories and sympathy for each other’s problems. Once retired, these social ties are gone. Before retiring is a good time to build and cement relationships with those outside the job who will be there once you retire.

After you leave your job you do have freedom to do what you want, but with this new-found freedom you also have big decisions to make… should you downsize your home, move to another state, buy a vacation home in a sunny locale, sell all and travel fulltime in an RV, or try a retirement community? Big decisions like these can be stressful for anyone.
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globe in face mask from Creative Images

I was shaking my head thinking what the big deal was last spring when Swine flu was all over the news. I am mean it didn’t seem like there were that many cases and it was on every station every minute of the day. I could not get any relief from it; I mean how does some influenza outbreak 3000 miles away from my house affect me?

My interest got the better of me and what I found, frankly scared me a little bit. The reason that the World Health Officials are so troubled about The Swine flu is because of its similarities with the Spanish Flu of 1918 that killed millions.

Now there is a huge difference in the level of health care between 1918 and today (obviously), but that doesn’t mean that H1N1 is not a very grave issue. You see most of the people that died from the Spanish Flu were between 20 and 45 years old. These are supposed to be the individuals that get sick less often and recover faster when they do get sick.

There is where the problem is – The victims of the H1N1 have disproportionately been in this 20 to 45 age group; A HUGE Red Flag for the World Health Officials!

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The following is a link where you can find out what you qualify for with medical, utilities, housing, etc from the National Council On Aging.

http://www.benefitscheckup.org/ 

I found that as a widow, my age, I qualify for several benefits. It’s free to find out. It would benefit everyone to do this checkup. It gives you addresses, telephone numbers, forms that you can fill out.

Have a great week.

Diva Kathryn

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