If you have been following my blog for any length of time, you would probably be a little put off by the quasi-sensationalist title of this blog. While I do acknowledge that it might appear to be over the top, there is actually truth in this blog title.
One of the things I very much enjoy is reading. I love to learn all sorts of information. The other day I was reading a part of a book on depression in people who are retired and the elderly and it really got me thinking that playing the piano or learning to play the piano can be a real positive to help someone keep their depression in check, or to actually help avoid getting depression.
This book on depression in older people was saying that while retirement is built up as a chance to be paroled from the prison of having to work to pay the bills, that the reality is that there is a proportion of people who struggle to get their heads around retirement. For some, their work is closely tied to their self perception. These people have placed great value in their work and when they actually stop doing it, they struggle with their identity and finding meaning in their personal value. This makes a lot of sense because right now I see myself as a teacher and I’m proud of the knowledge I have imparted and the positive influence I have had on students over the years. I can so imagine that when I retire, I will be dissappointed that I won’t be able to call myself a teacher anymore.
I also learned that when people retire, they can have a void in their social life because they may have socialized a lot with the people they work with and to not see these people most days would potentially leave a significant hole in their social life.
The book also explained that unfortunately retired people and older can lose friends and family memebers, while a natural part of life, can be both devasting and life changing. Even though grief is not depression, grief, in some circumstances can actually trigger depression.
Sometimes it is deteriorating health both of the self or loved ones that can limit what a peson is capable of and often this happens during retirement. This can severely change a person’s lifestyle and make certain dreams impossible. This too can be a significant trigger for depression.
Fortunately the book was not all doom and gloom. It offered many possible ways of dealing with these issues and one of the suggestions that kept popping up was exploring new hobbies. Learning to play the piano, picking up playing the piano after not playing for years, or continuing to play the piano into retirement and into old age can be a great way of keeping the brain active, being something useful and enjoyable to do, particularly if you find yourself homebound due to your or your loved one’s failing health.
Making music can be both challenging and enjoyable and it can be a solo adventure or something that you do with others. I know from seeing my grandmother in her 70’s and 80’s how much joy she got from playing the piano and how it gave her a reason to get out of bed every morning.
I am not being sensationalistic or overly dramatic when I say that playing the piano can help fight off depression in retirement and old age.