Beware Of Retirement! The Trap.
 

Even though I have drank nearly
my entire life, after retirement, the
**** hit the fan.

Less responsibility and more
idle time, to enjoy my favorite
activity, drinking.

And besides, I deserved to
reward myself for the many
years of work that I had put in.

Some advice for those of us
fortunate enough to have
lived this long:

Get a part-time job. You
can still be productive.

Volunteer. There are many
charitable organizations
that would benefit from
your skills and experience.

Pursue a hobby, or special
interest. You now have the
time to do those things that
you always wanted to do.

Do not isolate yourself.
Become more involved
with the world around
you, remain functional.

I believe that the feeling
of uselessness, plays a
major role in the escalation
of alcoholism after retirement.

There is life after retirement!

And believe me younger members,
to you, retirement may be in the
far distant future. Before you know
it, it is there.

That was my downfall as well - too much time.

They say idle hands are the Devil's workshop.

Amen.

Lots of retired people in AA. Once getting sober they have a valuable position of respect and are much needed.

They are in many ways the foundation.
When they speak, I am all ears.

I'm not retired but I have been through redundancy 3 times.
I'm 40 years old. I was in my late 20's the first time.

Every interview I did, I thought I had earned myself a drink.

Every job I didn't get I consoled myself with a drink.

I can't imagine what retirement might be like if I miss working and have not got my drinking under control.

Thank goodness I have at the moment at least.

I wish you the best xx

I agree that it's a good idea to have a plan in place for retirement.

I come from a culture (Slavic) that judges
a person on their productivity and work
ethics. When you meet a Slavic person
for the first time, one of the first
questions they may ask is not your
name but, where do you work?

I just retired at 55. I am 8 months sober. I am so glad I got sober before my retirement or I would have been in big trouble. I am keeping busy, I volunteer, and am socializing more. I do want to try AA but am procrastinating. Just uncomfortable about walking into a meeting, and what is the difference between a closed and open meeting? What meeting should I go to? Thanks!!!

"what is the difference between a closed and open meeting?"

closed meeting is for alkies only, open can be for anyone

My drinking really started in earnest after my health stopped me working.
It took me 10 years to realise just how important having a purpose was in my life.

I'm glad I did :)

D

That's interesting. I didn't think about sobriety until I retired. When I was working, we all drank together. I knew I had a problem but nothing to worry about. So I thought....

My parents were always heavy drinkers, but it is retirement that is seems to be spiraling them into alcoholism. . . . .and many of their friends. It almost seems like some see it as a rite of passage, like college. I find it sad.

I got sober when I was about 30 and
at 55 ive been retired for several yrs.
now with my husband joining me a
month ago.

For 23 yrs, ive been learning and living
a life in recovery filled with various changes
to get me here at this stage in my life.
Retirement.

Thru those yrs. ive been learning how
to build a strong solid foundation in
recovery to live my life upon each day
I didn't drink following the tools and
knowledge of a recovery program set
down for alcoholics many yrs. ago.

Retirement is another change in my life
which requires me to remain vigilant in
my recovery and Faith to continue enjoying
the Promises offered to us by living a program
of recovery.

I am grateful to have been given a chance
to learn to live sober 23 yrs ago, because
it is continueing to bless me with Gift of Sobriety
a day at a time.

Congrats on hitting a month Chicagoan!! Great insight here. Boredom or non action is bad because it allows bad things to happen.

I can see this being a problem. I think the fact that I have/had to get up and go to work kept me from totally going off the deep end. I'd love to be retired, but if I was drinking and retired, with no schedule or reason to get going in the morning, it won't be good. Working made me somewhat control my drinking. Nothing worse than suffering through a day at work with a hangover. So it's good I quit now just in case I ever retire. (Yay for almost 4 months!)

I forgot one very important point.
Always agree with your spouse, you are
going to be spending a lot of time together now.

You got a bucket list made up?