Tag Archives: Depression

Blogging As Therapy

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Thanks to all who commented on the previous post about retirement, depression, and blogging. You offered many wise suggestions and much encouragement. And all for free!  Maybe blogging could put therapists out of business? Of course, full-fledged M.D. psychiatrists have nothing to fear. Their job is secure because they hold the pen that writes the coveted prescriptions. (Pills which we may or may not need. It’s so hard to know.)

After being an unpredictable (and often absent) blogger this past year, I intend to mend my ways. Since I know blogging is good therapy for me, and at least a few folks are reading, I’m going to pick up the pace. The goal, as always, is to post every day. I know from experience that it’s a hard goal to meet; I don’t expect to accomplish it immediately.

I’ll stay the course with this blog — the one you’re reading right now — even with its lack of focus, because it already has a ton of content. I’ve tried starting new blogs, and it doesn’t seem to help. WordPress informs me that I recently passed the 500-post mark here. Thanks WordPress! I already had 500 posts at Maryland On My Mind. If only I had 500 posts narrowly focused on one or a few subjects.

Since I’m such an unfocused writer, I need your help. What do you think I should write about? And what subjects do you think I should avoid? I’m also accepting questions, although I’m short on good answers. Your input is welcomed as comments below, or you can email me at BJohnHayden@icloud.com. Every suggestion is a good suggestion, whether I use it or not.

Again, thank you, friends! It’s good to have so many people caring about me. Keep the faith, fellow bloggers!

— John Hayden

Retirement, Depression, And Blogging

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Hello friends. I’ve been in a funk. Haven’t published a blog post since April 30. Probably my longest hiatus since I started blogging in 2007, or since I began this blog in 2009. I’ve continued to read bloggers I follow (but irregularly) and to post comments (rarely).

I’ve been trying to adjust to retirement. Not as easy as I thought. Also, I’ve been all over the place in the past year regarding the purpose and audience of this blog. I began my first blog in 2007 with a focus on Maryland. That blog became more local when I moved to Ocean City.

I started this blog in 2009 to write about “life after sixty,” but I soon wandered into politics and economics. After retiring in 2013, I returned to my hometown, Montgomery County, and focused on local stuff for a while. I started several experimental blogs, but none of them clicked. The experimental blogs have been abandoned. Over the years, I’ve written a lot about politics, and I tend to get the most hits in the runup to elections. After the 2014 election, I was a blogger wandering in the desert.

Unable to find my bearings in retirement, I tried part-time work. Lifestyle and financial issues came to the fore. I made a conscious effort to cut back on blogging. Even though I wasn’t a very productive blogger, it seemed to consume a disproportionate amount of my time. Instead of blogging, I researched affordable places to live. Took a two-week fact-finding trip to Florida. At this point, I’m confused and undecided.

The truth is, my lifelong struggle with depression has worsened since retirement.

The cover story in this month’s Atlantic magazine, “A World Without Work,” helps explain my retirement funk. The story, by Derek Thompson, is not about retirement. It warns about the continuing loss of jobs due to computerization and robotization.

“For centuries, experts have predicted that machines would make workers obsolete. That moment may finally be arriving. Could that be a good thing?”

I’ve found that retirement has a lot in common with unemployment. Thompson points out that although leisure time offers wide opportunities, many unemployed men tend to spend most of their hours sleeping or watching TV.

I can go days without turning on the television, but I spend way too much time sleeping. Some days, I can hardly pull myself out of bed. That’s a sure sign of depression.

Any thoughts, fellow bloggers and/or retirees?

— John Hayden

Post-Election Blues

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POST-ELECTION BLUES — It’s part of life. Comes with the territory. You go to college four or five years — You graduate?!  Get a steady job — Laid off?!  You get married — Maybe you get divorced?!  Work like a maniac on the big project — Suddenly, finished.  An election focuses your attention — Over, done, results are in.  Letdown, big time!  We might need a few days to catch our breath, figure out where the heck we are. And what to do next? — John