Anyone feel better in retirement ?

[Moemg]

I was having chronic back pain before I retired. It's gone.I'm also sleeping a lot . Could be my body destressing !

[Khan]

Originally Posted by Moemg

I was having chronic back pain before I retired. It's gone.I'm also sleeping a lot . Could be my body destressing !

I was sleeping a lot in the first few months of retirement. Now I'm back to about 8 hours.

[mountaintosea]

I haven't retired yet. Next year is the goal, (could be any time). I noticed however that when I take a month vacation, the first few days I sleep a lot and later.

[cute fuzzy bunny]

Well lets see...my hair stopped falling out, my stress level dropped, I eat better and my house is better taken care of. I did gain a few pounds because I used to have to skip meals for a meeting or drop a dinner due to travel and now I get to cook all of my own. Oddly I dont sleep as well but that may be a function of aging rather than dropping the job.

I dont handle multitasking nuttiness as well as I used to, because I was used to dealing with it every day. Now if three things pop up all at once I can get a little flustered. Until I notice that I dont have a job and say "eh...think i'll go wash the car and do those three things tomorrow."

I completely cant get into talking with former co-workers about stuff going on at the company. It all sounds so serious and important coming from them, but all I hear sounds like a bunch of silly stuff.

[Goonie]

Originally Posted by Cute 'n Fuzzy Bunny

I completely cant get into talking with former co-workers about stuff going on at the company. It all sounds so serious and important coming from them, but all I hear sounds like a bunch of silly stuff.

With only several weeks left to go until FIRE (less than 11 weeks), and not really giving a sh*t about what happens at w*rk anymore (like I ever really did), I listen to my co-wo*kers babble on, and on, and on....and 95% of it is stupid crap that doesn't even matter. They make a big deal out of the miniscule, and completely overlook stuff that's going to jump up and bite them in the a**! If I try to point it out to them, they brush it off with "Ah, what do you care....you're leaving anyway!" So I've solved that problem.....I don't mention anything, and I just smile and walk away when the problems blow up in their face!!!

I call it PRSR......."Pre Retirement Stress Reduction" Boy has it worked!!!!

[Alan]

Originally Posted by Arc

You don't really have to wait. A great book that addresses how to handle worry and stress is Dale Carnegie's "How to Stop Worrying and Start Living." It offers practical ways to reduce (or eliminate) worry. I've noticed a significant difference - should say that I took the 12 week course as well. Good luck!

I couldn't agree more and I try and set a good example to others by leaving promptly on time every day "because I have to make my exercise classes" - When I lived in England I was always in a car pool - another great way to "have" to leave work at a particular time.

Way back in 1986 I received a freebie through the mail - a simple little device the size of a credit card that measured the temperature of your skin surface by you pressing your thumb on the pad on the card and watching the color strip strange. Blue meant skin surface temp was cold and you were stressed, red meant OK. It was remarkable how well it worked. When it came up blue I could sit back for a few minutes and think of warm places - vacations in the Med on topless beaches always seemed to come to mind 8). Test again and the strip was back to red. After a few months of use I got used to recognizing the symptons of stress at work and when to relax.

[OkieTexan]

No doubt about it. I feel much better.
I sleep solid at night and have a regular sleep schedule.
The acid reflux is gone. I am 24 pounds lighter than I was a year ago.
My friends tell me I look better, too. It has been encouraging.

[Want2retire]

Part of the reason that I want to ER is that I feel SO much better on weekends or vacation days when I can sleep in. I get too keyed up to sleep very much during my work week, and I think it is causing some minor sleep deprivation.

When I ER, I'm going to spend the first year or so exercising and sleeping in, and I'll probably feel a whole lot better. I'll sleep until I want to get up. Sounds idyllic.

[donheff]

Two years in and I sleep much better. Pre-ER I would wake up at 4am with work issues roiling around in my mind several times a week. Post ER, never. Pre-ER I kept Ambien around for those days I knew I needed to get to sleep. Post ER the Ambien is still in the drawer untouched. On the physical fitness side I haven't done better that before. I used to get up at 5:30am three days a week to go to the gym before work. Now I can go anytime so I don't go with the crowds in the morning. Problem is, I can too easily get caught up in all of my unscheduled activities and miss the gym entirely. I am planning on putting a little more gym structure into my routine to make up for my lack of self discipline.

[getoutearly]

Originally Posted by Arc

You don't really have to wait. A great book that addresses how to handle worry and stress is Dale Carnegie's "How to Stop Worrying and Start Living." It offers practical ways to reduce (or eliminate) worry. I've noticed a significant difference - should say that I took the 12 week course as well. Good luck!

Absolutely, this is a standard. Everyone should keep it beside their bed, like a bible.