I'm 66 and I worked forty years as an electrician and the thing nobody warns you about retirement isn't the boredom, it's that the silence at 7am on a Tuesday immediately surfaces every feeling I out-worked for four decades - Silicon Canals

"The hardest part of retirement isn't boredom, it's the strange loss of purpose nobody prepares you for. But I think it goes one floor deeper than purpose. Purpose is the daytime version. The 7am version is grief."

"For most of my working life, I used the job to avoid feeling things. Not consciously. I would have laughed at you if you'd said it to me at 45."

Retirement often brings unanticipated emotional struggles, particularly for those who have dedicated decades to their careers. The quietness of retirement can amplify internal feelings that were previously avoided through work. Many retirees experience a profound sense of grief and loss of purpose, as they confront emotions that have been suppressed for years. This emotional turmoil can be more challenging than the anticipated boredom, revealing deeper issues related to identity and fulfillment that arise when the structure of work is removed.

Read at Silicon Canals