Jeannie Beaudin, Artist and Author

An old high school friend just announced her retirement on Facebook. She’s sleeping in, enjoying leisurely coffee and lunch with friends… if every day is like her first, she says, it’s magic! And I agree – retirement is the magic we look forward to after years of hard work. It should be exactly what you want it to be.

Of course, we don’t all want the same experience for this phase of life… And please don’t call it our last phase (that’s depressing)! I think retirement should be thought of as just the next stage of life, but the one where you truly get to design your days, months and years. Something to celebrate!

The old image of the retired Grandma, knitting in her rocking chair, babysitting the grandkids isn’t valid for everyone – and perhaps for few these days. While I must admit that I do love knitting, I find I have much less time for it now than when my children were young!

Retired people are starting new businesses, taking university courses and travelling around the world. We’re keeping active, trying new hobbies and physical activities. We’re paying more attention to our diet and our health so we can enjoy our new lifestyle for many years to come.

The first few weeks feel like a magical vacation that doesn’t have to end. But after a successful career, many of us want more. We’re used to the great feeling that comes with achievement, making a difference, learning new skills.

So, don’t just drift along in your retirement or slip into a life directed by others unless that is what you really want. If you’re bored with your retirement life, it’s time to take charge. It’s time to think about change and what you really want for this phase of your life. Take some time to plan your future, think about what an ideal lifestyle is for you right now, make sure you can finance it, then make it happen. Your family may wonder what happened to “Grandma”, but let them wonder! Or tell them you just decided to “get a life”…

Like many people, I had a financial plan for retirement, but didn’t really plan what I wanted to do. When I retired, my husband and I went on an adventure – we rented an apartment in Spain for 3 months. After a couple of weeks of sightseeing, though, I wanted a project. I had been thinking about writing a book on my work with women, how I helped them overcome unpleasant menopause symptoms. I wanted to include all the background knowledge I used to understand what was happening and teach women what I did to correct imbalances so they could help themselves. I began writing in the mornings, sitting on a sunny balcony overlooking the Mediterranean, typing on my iPad using only chapter titles as the roughest of outlines.

In two months, I had a first draft completed but I’ve been redrafting it and learning about the publishing industry ever since. I eventually realized that, without a good plan, I’d done it all backwards: I should have learned about writing and publishing first, then started seriously writing. I should have taken some time to plan my writing career.

But I’ve also spent my first 3 years of retirement trying out all the activities I’ve wanted to do but had little time for while working and raising children. Doing more drawing, getting back to my classical guitar, seeing more of the world and learning a new language (Spanish) were all on my list, as well as writing and learning how to write better (which is a major reason I blog!).

It’s quite a long list so perhaps I haven’t had enough time to really delve into each as much as I’d like. I guess I’ve been taking “turns” with each activity. My blog will be 3 years old in June. I bought a book about portrait drawing then practiced until my drawings started to look quite a lot like the subject (fun!). I’ve only been playing my guitar on and off but I’m close to being back to the skill level I had when I was a teenager. And I’m writing this blog from Spain – our third trip here – and working up the nerve to actually start speaking the language after doing 3 years of learning on Duolingo (a free language learning app where you can learn many languages). Time will tell where my true focus will be, if any. I may just keep on enjoying each activity without really becoming an “expert” at any, and that’s OK too.

So, how is your retirement going (or retirement plans, if you’re not there yet)? Are you still driven to learn and do new things? Do you plan to start a second career… to do what you’ve always wanted to do? Or does simply spending time with family make you happiest? Only you can decide.

There are no wrong answers – that’s the best part of retirement – as long as you take advantage of this new beginning, this opportunity to change tracks, if that’s what you want. The important thing is to stop for a moment, give it some thought and make some plans while you have the chance!

Interesting link:

Free language learning app: Duolingo.com

Although I’m busy seeing all there is to see while in Spain (this photo is of Malaga, taken from the top of a nearby mountain), I want to share with you some of what is different here. One notable difference is what we see on television in the evening…

It seems that European television takes a step back and looks at the news and world situation from a different perspective than what we see in North America. I just watched an amazing interview of atmospheric scientist, Katharine Hayhoe, conducted by Christiane Amanpour.

Dr. Hayhoe is a Canadian living in Texas and she excels at communicating what is happening to our environment on a level we can relate to – where we are and where we live. She entertains while she explains how climate change multiplies the extremes of weather, storms, wild fires and more that we experience now.

But don’t take my word for it… listen to her TED talk (click here) and, as she recommends, talk about it.

The CNN Interview:

https://edition.cnn.com/videos/world/2019/01/08/katharine-hayhoe-amanpour-climate-change.cnn

Sharing a great article about diet and moods from a fellow Canadian pharmacist, Irene Hogan:

http://www.irenehogan.com/need-a-mood-boost-eat-this/

Hope you find it interesting – I did! And her references are well worth reading too…

The surprise answer is that in many cases they are equally effective.

Antidepressants have been used for decades and billions of dollars have been spent on these drugs, but they are surprisingly ineffective. The difference between the drug effect and a placebo (or sugar pill) is almost undetectable except in the most severe cases of depression. Placebos themselves are surprisingly effective – when a person expects to get better, sometimes that is all that’s needed to help the mind heal itself.

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report that the rate of suicide has increased by 30% since 1999. At the same time, the use of antidepressants has increased by 65%. This suggests the drugs are not great at preventing suicide. In addition, some of these drugs have a “black box” warning, the highest level that can be applied to a drug. It warns doctors to monitor patients for new suicidal thoughts that may occur shortly after beginning therapy.

Statistics show that more people are on long-term financial assistance due to mental illness than before these drugs were introduced in the 1950s. One analysis suggests that the drugs may actually block a full recovery, even though symptoms appear to improve in the short term. Studies have found that more patients who used non-drug therapies had recovered and returned to work after one to two years of treatment compared to those who took medications.

At an educational session many years ago, the speaker told us that mental illnesses were a result of a chemical imbalance in the brain. Depression was caused by too little serotonin or norepinephrine. They explained that antidepressants re-balanced these chemicals (called neurotransmitters), by increasing the available amount of the ones believed to be low in depression. I often explained this to patients when I counselled them about their medication in my pharmacy.

However, newer studies have shown that the brain changes how it functions to accommodate for the effect of the drug. When the patient tries to stop the medication, it takes a while for the brain to return to normal. This manifests as a return of the mental illness, sometimes more severe than it was before. This has often been interpreted as a need to continue treatment, rather than a withdrawal effect of the medication. As a result, sometimes patients are kept on treatment for many years.

The longer the person has been taking the medication, the longer it can take for brain function to return to normal. This can make it very difficult to stop the medication. It is recommended to taper the dose gradually when attempting to discontinue treatment to reduce withdrawal effects.

As well, antidepressants have side effects that range from weight gain to erectile dysfunction. The small benefit these drugs provide needs to be weighed against the side effects they cause.

So, do studies show that alternative “natural therapies” work for depression?

The answer is yes! Good quality scientific studies are available to support some of these non-drug treatments:

1. Exercise

   1. A 2007 study at Duke University Medical Center in North Carolina found that 30 minutes of walking or jogging three times a week was more effective than an antidepressant or placebo. (Psychosomatic Medicine, Sept 2007, 69(7), p. 587-96)

   2. A review (or “meta-analysis”) of studies that included exercise and antidepressant medications in 2016 confirmed the effectiveness of exercise. (Journal of Affective Disorders, 15 Sept 2016, vol.202, p.67-86)

2. Bright light therapy

   1. Bright light (10,000 Lux, 30-60 minutes daily first thing in the morning) attempts to duplicate the effect of being in sunshine. A review of studies showed significant effect, with the largest study showing an effect approximately equal to antidepressants when added to medication. Of course, spending time in actual sunshine could be expected to give the same beneficial effect.

3. Mediterranean diet

   1. While less studied, a small Australian study, the “SMILES Trial” suggests a Mediterranean Diet that includes local unprocessed foods may work better than antidepressants. After 12 weeks on the diet, 32% experienced remission compared to only 8% of those who received only social support.

4. Cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT)

   1. Cognitive Behaviour Therapy, or CBT, is a non-drug, “talk” therapy used to treat psychological illness. It aims to help people understand their thoughts and feelings, and what makes them feel positive, anxious or depressed. It helps people to identify the problems that are troubling them and find different ways to think and behave to manage their feelings.

   2. The evidence for benefit from CBT is indisputable. It is as effective as antidepressants but, unlike medication, the effect continues after the therapy is completed. The other plus is that a person can’t overdose on a bottle of “therapy”, unlike antidepressants…

So, if you get the “blues” this winter, talk to your doctor. But, before they take out the prescription pad, be sure to ask whether non-drug therapies might be appropriate for you. While you may benefit from medication, or a combination of medication and non-drug therapy, it’s worthwhile discussing your options first.

Of course, considering the positive effect of exercise, sunshine, a healthy diet and discussing ways to deal with problems effectively with someone you trust, perhaps these are things we should all be doing every day anyway to keep our bodies and our minds healthy!

References:

Anatomy of an Epidemic, by Robert Whittaker

Why Natural Depression Therapies are Better Than Pills, Dr. Matt Strauss (Pharmacy Practice Journal)