Law Enforcement to Retirement: Now Lost

by ceelow
(new york)

i worked in law enforcement for 21 years. All i had to work was 20 to receive a full pension. promotion wise, i reached my peak.

i trained everyone in the field i worked in. i did my job like it was the first day everday. i can say i was a asset to my profession. i loved what i did.

i retired due to a injury i received while doing my job. I'm 45 years old and i am retired.t he adjustment hasnt been easy .as many see it as a blessing to be retired so young i havent been able to adjust.

i feel worthless. I spend all day with my kids which is a blessing but after working my whole life and no being able to work again anxiety has hit me hard, as even loved ones dont understand me my frustration for that lack of understanding doesn't help.

Comments for Law Enforcement to Retirement: Now Lost

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Something calling you
by: Elna Nugent ,Lenox, MA

Ceelow:

You may not know it yet, but YOU HAVE A BOOK IN .YOU THAT NEEDS TO BE WRITTEN,

You can help others as you help yourself.

Blessings, Elna
Retired Law Enforcement
by: Norm

I am a retired police lieutenant (27 years)... police officers daily go to the worst parts of their communities, at the worst time, often to deal with people at their worst.

On a frequent basis, they witness death and violence. Beyond that, they see pain, poverty, hopelessness,hatred and bigotry of all types. They see humanity stripped of the thin veneer of civilization and reduced to its most base nature.

Once one retires, it’s easy not to fit in with so called "new friends." Moreover, your experiences often live on in the thought process as well as your dreams...even though the title is stripped away, to a certain degree, it’s who you always will be.
I know the feeling.
by: Paul

I know exactly how you feel. Did 32 years with my Department, then retired three weeks ago, something that I was not terribly excited to do.

I'm trying to stay busy, but "honey do's" and running errands is not the kind of busy I'm used to.

Hang in there, I know in time it'll get better.
I hear ya
by: Michael/ dc

I feel your pain about leaving law enforcement. I too retired earlier than most others, and I have my regrets.

I worked for a major department and had a few more promotions in store, but something made me start looking at retirement, and then that idea turned into an action.

LE builds a unique person. Like you said, mentoring young officers, celebrating good arrests or helping people who need it, it is a rewarding career.

I miss being busy all the time but I don’t miss organizing civil disobedience ops, dealing with politicians and a public who are experts in LE but in reality have no idea what cops do. Maybe see what school safety positions are in your area. Or become a background investigator for a PD and work with other retired cops?

I wish you the best.
Also lost after law enforcement!
by: Steve

I am retired from law enforcement also after 32 years. I retired at 57 years old and am having a struggle with it all also.

My spouse still works, our kids are grown and gone and after 32 years of law enforcement, shift work, part time gigs and everything I've seen and done I feel totally out of sync and worthless.

I feel part of nothing now, I am bored to tears, I can't seem to stay motivated and focused on anything. It seems I can only do "so much" around the house, in the yard or goofing off.

I guess my identity was too wrapped up in my LE career. I miss being part of something, I miss the life style and everything that went with it. It's coming up on 3 years now for me and I hope something changes.

I have no issues financially, but I feel anxious and depressed about life.

Wendy: Law Enforcment co-workers are truly family. You retire and your family isn't the same. You lose that feeling of being part of something bigger.

Why don't you consider starting a weekly Breakfast for your retired co-workers? Even if it starts with only 2-3 of your friends, I bet it grows. Even that on ce a week breakfast, with lots of chatter, will do wonders for bring you a new norm.

Best Wishes! Wendy
Retirement lost
by: Anonymous

I don't understand law enforcement retirement now lost. You can apply for disability immediately. Mount will receive what ever your entitled at age 66 now. Don't wait until your 65 because you'll receive less. You can visit food banks and check with Salvation Army for distribution. Food stamps, too.
Retirement
by: Susan Whittenham

At only 45 you're still a comparatively young man so it should be reasonably easy (I would imagine) to find a new career, given your previous experience.

As you've had experience in training others, have you considered a job on the personnel training field at all? Or maybe some sort of voluntary work, while you look around for a permanent paid position?
Good Changes will come
by: Anonymous

Dear Ceelow,

For a while you are going to feel like climbing the walls, because retirement- so young- is extremely difficult. You are filled with certain invaluable skills you learned in your work. Now you don't know what to do with them. But eventually you will.. as your skills eventually take on a different form.

Being with children or young people can be nourishing on certain levels because the child in you is being called out. The child in us sees the world in the present moment and is creative on many levels. It is impossible to be upset if you live utterly in the moment.

Wendy has some good ideas. If you can hang on for a while, you will see how you might "get back into the world' but in a different way that can be fulfilling and challenging. The key is to open you mind to anything offered or suggested. The child in you will know what to do and the adult in you will know how to do it.

Keep in touch.

.

Online Business?
by: Wendy

I can't help but mention an online business...

I don't know what type of training you did in your employment, but wonder if there is something you can do to train the general pubilc?

Hit the Contact Wendy (top navigation bar), and let's talk...

Best Wishes!

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