Hi @ Peri, sorry you're sad a lot, and carry some heavy regrets. Ageing is hard. If you haven’t done practical work in a long time it's brobably not where you want to be, onthefloor nursing is hard, but a clinic or consultant could work. You could do well on a hospital Board... You sound very capable and lived a very productive full on career - so of cause you'll be missing all that purpose and acceptance... it's a major loss... we all have to face it some time. When I let my nursing rego lapse (after a breakdown) and became unregistered for the first time in 30+ years, it really shook me - I felt so lost. There was a great sense of loss (like stages of grief) and I lost my circle of friends and got very lonely. Made MI recovery so much harder. // Retirement can raise all these huge life hurdles. Maybe we should start a 'seniors' thread here 'cause nobody talks or validates the very real issues we face. Are you alone like me? Loneliness can make us very sad. And you might have health issues causing fatigue. I have extremely low iron levels and ferratin for no reason. // Is someone asking you to come back to management work? Maybe you could do relief work for them. // Why do you feel you have "stuffed up" your life? Don't have to answer or give details... // I'm not far behind your age, in your decade and I'm having thoughts that it's the end of the road too. But gotta remind. myself "they're just thoughts" But also, we have to remember not to beat ourself up over mistakes... maybe also stop seeing it as mistakes. We make decisions based on what information we have at the time. Hindsight comes with benefits not available to us then. Gotta be gentle with ourself. // It is really hard to remake ourself late in life though, I totally get that. But we have to try something 'get out there' again. I'm moving house but have this big plan to do hospital volunteering, or music work and join a quilting group, maybe a choir, and walk every day... Bit of a dream but sitting home alone isnt working. Baby steps. Do you see a counsellor? Talk with GP?
EOR 💌
Dear @Former-Member, What a kind and thoughtful reply. Thank you very much. It sounds like you really understand how I feel. This is the second time I have replied , for some reason it did t accept my first response. Yes frontline nursing is hard but I would not go back to acute work. I have considered aged care, not because it isn’t hard , but the role of the RN is around supervision, meds and lots of paperwork as I understand. But I am very apprehensive. I had a very high level position. A teaching hospital and was made redundant. It was much nastier than that , but that will do for now. That was four years ago, I hadn’t considered retiring at that time. And as a consequence of that and other things that happened, I also lost my home and have no super left either. So, I feel just so alone and sad and my life has not turned out how I had seen. I have a new home, but it is not where I was or a home I particularly like. But feel I just have to get on and try to make the best of things. But it seems Impossible. I struggle to start each day, and just want to sleep my life away. Yes I am on my own as in no partner. My husband died along time ago and although I loved him it was a difficult marriage and we were separated at that time. So, so I lost my job, career, money, home and my retirement all in one go. My youngest son lives with me, he is 36, and his daughter spends two days a week with us, so I am not completely alone, but I am lonely and it is not like a partner. I am not sure I really want a relationship. There are aspects of that I would not want now at all. But someone to share life with could be nice. Wow, moving house and the other things You have planned sound great and I wish you well and thank you for sharing with me. I really do appreciate you reaching out to me. I also lost a lot of friends when my life changed so much. That was probably due to my lack of trust in people that resulted and all the nastiness that surrounded the whole thing. Thank you you very much
Peri
.... as if I would be so vain to put my own pics up. I am still upset over it but will get over it in time.
