Surviving Retirement and Finding Purpose

[00:00:00] Have you ever wondered what life will look like after you hang up your uniform for the last time? If the thought of retirement brings more anxiety than excitement, you're not alone. In this episode, we dive deep with Dr. Medina Baumgart, a board certified specialist in police and public safety psychology.

Who's here to help you navigate the challenges of transitioning out of your career from finding new purpose To avoiding the pitfalls that many retirees face. Dr. Baumgart shares practical strategies to not just survive retirement But to truly thrive Don't miss this episode. It might just change the way you see your future.

Welcome to Surviving Your Shift, your go to resource for building resilience in your high stress career. I'm your host, Bart Leger, where we'll not only talk about responder burnout and our experiences with [00:01:00] trauma, But we'll equip you with the practical steps you can take today to get your mind out of overdrive and find meaning and joy again, in answering the call.

Welcome back to episode 23. Today we have a special guest who is here to talk about something we don't always think about when we're in the middle of our careers, retirement. Today's guest is Dr. Medina Baumgart, a licensed psychologist and board certified specialist in police and public safety psychology.

She works full time as an embedded psychologist in a large metropolitan law enforcement agency, providing crucial support to officers through counseling, crisis response, and so much more. She's also the author of Surviving Retirement, Finding Purpose, and Fulfillment Beyond the Badge. [00:02:00] And on top of that, she's married to a retired police officer, so she knows firsthand what retirement can look like for first responder families.

Doctor Baumgart, welcome to the show. Hi, thanks for having me. All right, let's start with a simple question. Okay. What do you do in your downtime when you're not working with officers or writing books? Oh, it's a good question. I play with my dogs And I like reading myself and just really hanging out and kind of powering down and recharging for the week ahead. Well good, so that's your self care routine.

What kind of dogs? Yeah, we have a one is a Carolina dog mix I think she might be mixed with Malinois based on her level of energy And then the other one is a Labrador and a pit bull mix. [00:03:00] Yeah Yeah, we we adopted them in February of this year and they were both pretty significantly abused So it's been a process just gaining their trust and training them and everything.

Sure, I understand. My dog is next to me in the bed. She is a crisis response canine. She is a facility dog, came from Canine Companions. Okay. We've been a partner for right at six years. She just turned eight. Yeah, I love, I've deployed out for critical incidents with dogs and it's just so amazing to see how effective they are and kind of just bringing the tone down for everybody and getting people to open up.

You know, isn't it so amazing that when you, when you introduce a canine like this, that is calm and, they can be on the floor and just giving belly rubs and you're getting better. More honest responses. Yeah. Yeah, and I find sometimes they're just talking to her name is Treasure. They're just talking to Treasure Mm hmm and answering my questions, but they're talking to her.

Yep. I've seen the exact [00:04:00] same thing. I love it Yeah, well, it's clear that you've been busy and you stay busy both professionally and personally Maybe you could share a bit about what inspired you to pursue a career in psychology Yeah, and then particularly with law enforcement. Yeah, so I've always been interested in Human behavior.

I think I've always been an observer of people and I initially went in to medicine And then decided, you know, that's not really the path for me, kind of took some time off, got into psychology. And then after getting my undergraduate in psychology, I took about a year to figure out what it was that I wanted to do.

Because the field is so broad. And I narrowed in on forensic psychology and went to graduate school, got my degree, my doctorate in forensic psychology. And initially started out on the criminal side of things. I worked in a jail setting with an adult inmate population, was really interested in that [00:05:00] initially and after a few years, it just wasn't fulfilling for me.

And so I knew I needed to make a change, within the next few years and the opportunity that I have now with my law enforcement agency. Came by in an email and I said, let me, let me put in and see what happens. And I landed here and I can tell you, I've been with my agency since 2015. I absolutely, absolutely love it.

I switched my specialty over to police and public safety psychology, and I'm very fortunate because I do feel like this is where I'm meant to be. Well, good. Now, being embedded within a fairly large law enforcement agency must come with its own unique challenges. Mm hmm. Yes. What's, what's, what would you say one of the most rewarding aspects of your work with officers? 

I just like seeing people's lives improve. And for them, you know, kind of seeing folks when they're at their worst, because law enforcement tend not to be very proactive with their mental health. [00:06:00] they tend to wait until, you know, it gets to a point. And so to see them when they, you know, initially come in the office and how they're doing and them, them putting the work in and then seeing the end result, you know, and kind of the, the graduating therapy, so to speak.

Right. And then it's like, here, go, go live your life. You have all these new tools. I would say that that's. Oh, good. And I see so often, uh, officers, deputies, uh, Anyone really involved with the high stress helper professions that give the clues that they're not doing well. Things are not good with them. And always encouraging them to seek help.

I've always, when I was with our agency, I ended up in human resources, but my responsibility was for our, our deputies. Our department had nearly a thousand employees and I ended up getting my terminal degree after I was working in law enforcement and [00:07:00] didn't want to have that dual relationship with them.

So really only sparingly did I spend time with them in my office. But I would always encourage them, go find someone, you know, we have the EAP, we have some good counselors, we have some folks that know what you're going through and so you need to see them. And it was refreshing just this weekend, I was talking to one of our, our retired deputies and he pulled me off a side and he said, Oh, you've been telling me this for a while.

He said, but I have an appointment with a psychologist in a couple of weeks. I said, well, good for you. He said, yeah, yeah. And I said, I finally got to the point where. I just need to go. So it's always refreshing to hear that, that you realize that, okay, I'm finally ready to reach out for help. But in your experience, how have you been able to, and I trust that you have, been able to lower the bar, if you will, for getting people willing to receive the help?

So one of the things my agency does [00:08:00] is we have psychologists that are primarily in our clinic. doing the therapy, and then we also have psychologists who are embedded. And so I'm embedded at three patrol stations. And my job weekly, I'm there, just fostering relationships and building trust. And I have found that in doing that people feel more comfortable.

When it's time to reach out, you know, I'll sit in a a briefing and, and everyone's kind of talking and people are openly sharing their experiences with therapy, with whether it's talking to me, talking to a colleague. And I really think that that constant exposure, just to see me float around, there's really no intention other than just to build the relationships that I think fosters the trust.

And then another thing, and it's unfortunate, but when we have major incidents, like a line of duty death or anything like that and you [00:09:00] just show up and you're just present. I think that that, I've learned, um, over my career with my agency that that leaves, um, such an impression on people. It's, hey, you showed up, you were here for us.

And then they'll kind of circle back later on when they need something. So what did you find that was the most effective at really getting to know them and getting to understand their way of thinking and what they went through? Yeah, uh, being married to a cop helps. Okay, for sure. I think that gave me a level of insight and appreciation.

And I think a lot of it too is just Remembering everybody's human. I mean, that's such an important thing for me and it's just connecting and finding that common ground. And I think it works both ways because I heard hilarious stories when I first started, you know, Oh, the psychologist, what are they going to look like?

You know, they're going to smell like mothballs. They're going to do all of this stuff. And I'm [00:10:00] like, what, what has happened? Right. Past year. But just sitting down and breaking bread sometimes if it's, Hey, let's just sit down and eat. Let's have a cup of coffee. Let's just walk and walk and talk. As people start to open up, one thing that helps is a little bit of sarcasm and appropriately timed humor.

Because I think that starts breaking down the walls and cops will, you know, as a psychologist, cops will test you. They'll, you know, toss something out and see what you do with it. See how you respond. Mm hmm. Um, and I'm pretty, pretty quick with the comeback typically and some people go, huh. Okay, now let's have a conversation.

You can, you can give as well as, yep, as you take, right? Yes. And so, um, I think that helps. And then seeing comfort level, right? So sometimes I'll have, you know, random questions like, Hey, what do you think is the most challenging part of XYZ? Just to get people talking. And then it [00:11:00] eventually goes into now they're sharing personal experiences.

I think that, That's probably been the most effective. What would you say those, I know we, we like to talk about with especially these professions, the difficulties and those that have a difficult time in their lives just right off the rails. What have you seen in the lives of those that really have kept it together?

And what have you seen to be the factors that was maybe present within their lives that just allowed them to do the job and keep that proper frame of mind, if you will? Mm hmm. Um, I think the support system, uh, has a tremendous impact and that can make or break it a lot of the times based on what I've seen.

Um, and that doesn't happen overnight. Right, you build that support system over time. Um, and in addition to the support system, I think just the general outlook, not getting sucked into the cynical, negative, [00:12:00] you know, it's my agency against me mindset, right, which is difficult because first responder work, I think, Takes and demand so much of you that it's hard to not over invest at some point, but those that can see it for.

Okay, when I'm at work, this is where I'm at. But this is just one part of who I am. There's so much more outside of here that matters to me. And so when they run into those challenging situations, I think that that helps to buffer along with that support system. Well, I think some of the research is bearing out that optimism is one of the key factors that help someone to, to continue doing the job and, and not get, as you say, sucked into the cynicism.

And we all get cynical, uh, I mean, we'd be riding down the road and I would say something and my wife would look at me and she said, well, that was cynical. Oh, well, I'm sorry. That was just a part of the job. Yeah. So you've worked with, with many officers throughout your career and now you're focusing on [00:13:00] helping them as they transition into retirement.

And I know some of our listeners have already retired or maybe are nearing retirement and are looking forward to it. And some may be a little bit more hesitant, wondering what it's going to be like. What are some of the biggest challenges you've seen officers face as. They leave the badge behind or firefighters or EMS paramedics.

Yeah, I think a lack of Intentional preparation and what I mean by that is is I think a lot of people my husband did this I went with him You know, you go to your retirement seminar and all of the financial stuff, which is important financial stuff health care Extremely important but kind of stopping the preparation there Okay, I've, you know, financially, I have the means to retire, you know, I'm able to take care of my medical needs and just ending it right there, and that was a mistake that we had made, um, with my husband's retirement, is just this kind of, I guess, you know, hey, you've had this career of first responder [00:14:00] work that we know takes a toll, and then somehow expecting it to just magically be better and have everything resolved when you retire.

And I think that that piece from what I've seen tends to hit people like a ton of bricks and then not knowing what to do with that and not having the skills in place to recognize what's happening, but to also help work through that stuff as opposed to relying on some of those coping tools that got you through the job.

A lot of what you're doing is from experience, your own personal experience with your husband and his retirement. What was his wake up call as far as once he retired? What was it that really got to him? I think it was the lack of purpose. Because he was over invested in his identity and being a cop I think that eventually got to him a few months after he retired because I think initially, you know, he wasn't in a good space He was very disgruntled So a lot of it was almost this immediate relief.

I don't have to deal with that when [00:15:00] you say disgruntled Was it disgruntled with? the job supervisors, um some of the internal politics You That were evolving that he felt got in the way of him being able to effectively do his job and arrest people and take people to jail and he was just say about the last five years just pretty grumpy and You know, he it was more it was more the internal issues that were getting to him.

Yeah. Yeah And I think the fact too he had no control over those things Right, and then and then things started to shift and these things are happening to me You You know, and everybody's an asshole and I'm sick of this shit and dealing with all of that stuff as long as it's somebody else and you see it, but when it becomes, yeah, yeah, yeah, it was tough.

That was kind of what I went through. And there was like one or two last straws. And, you know, I go into the sheriff and I said, Sheriff, you know, I've put in for my, for my retirement. [00:16:00] And it surprised him. He said, what can I do to? Make you stay. And I said, well, nothing. Well, were you willing to come back part time?

He said, no, not really. So it was just kind of like, when you know, you know. Yeah. Um, you know, no, no hard feelings. Just, I knew, I knew I was ready. Yeah. I think that was him. And, and he didn't have regrets in terms of, um, you know, when he put in for retirement and retired. I think once that, like I said, that initial like relief, I don't have to deal with that stuff anymore.

Once that kind of fizzled out, that's when I think it started to click for him. And he was leaning heavily on alcohol and starting to just be negative at home, very angry. All of those things that had quelled after he retired started kicking back up. And I think for him, he started becoming reckless with it.

And, and, um, him and I had a very serious heart to heart and said, we're not going to do [00:17:00] this. This is not the way. How did that manifest itself? I know that as you say reckless behavior is is very often. We often do see that. Mm hmm. How did it manifest for him? His was the you know driving up taking the motorcycle up to the bar, you know for one beer And then that would turn into two and three and six and too many and he shouldn't have been driving and then I'm coming home You know to my husband passed out on the couch highly intoxicated and I just was like absolutely not this is we're not doing this and so after that he said okay, and I kind of I Literally just gave him a notepad and I said write everything down that you're feeling You know, and, and my husband's not one to, um, he, he's not very fuzzy or emotional.

So, but he listed a ton of stuff and I said, okay, let's tackle [00:18:00] these. And then I did as much kind of my own research, looking up stuff online. And I think it was tricky because, you know, as a psychologist, a lot of this information I knew, but when it came to, oh, this is happening to my husband, I might as well have not known anything.

Because all of that stuff just, I couldn't access that information. It was too personal, too close to home. Yeah, yeah. Having seen and probably heard of similar experiences with others, what are some of the other things that you see happening with the other retirees? What are, maybe not necessarily the same issues, but you've seen this, More often than you would like to see, right?

Yeah, yeah, and a lot of it is the, I see a lot of relationship issues. And I think it's because both, both people are adjusting. Um, you know, and then on the other side of it, you know, there's [00:19:00] folks that say, Hey, you know what, I'm actually doing really good. And then, but they'll also kind of over schedule.

So they're constantly staying busy. Right. All the time. They don't have to think about. Mm hmm. Yeah. And you don't know. Is it, you know, is it you're still compartmentalizing and doing stuff? Have you already processed it? We don't know because you're staying busy. You know, kind of the ones that don't know how to turn that switch down a little bit.

Right. Yeah, I had someone that I was talking to this past week and I say, I asked, how do you deal with, with everything? And he says, I just work. You know, you have to be careful with that because he said, I don't have to think about whatever. I know your book, Surviving Retirement, Finding Purpose and Fulfillment Beyond the Badge touches on some of these issues.

What inspired you to write the book and who did you have in mind as your primary audience? So, I mean, pretty much, um, but I don't know if you're familiar with Cindy Doyle. [00:20:00] So, her, um. her business code for couples. So I just, I followed her podcast, listened to her. I was a guest on her podcast and after we were done recording, I shared how much I enjoyed her book.

Hold the line. It, for me, was like the Kevin Gilmartin emotional survival equivalent for spouses and it's information I wish I had and I shared with her how much I enjoyed it, how helpful it was, just in therapy practice with people that I shared that with and then she says, you know, Well, I never wanted to write that book, you know, I was kind of encouraged.

And I said, that's funny that you say that because, um, you know, my husband and I are doing this retirement class talking to people and I've heard repeatedly, you need to write this book. I'm like, I don't want to write this book. I was, you know, done with my dissertation. Done, you know with my board certification.

I said i'm never writing another manuscript ever again [00:21:00] I was so tired of it know what you mean and i'm a sucker for punishment, I guess. Yes me too And so, um cindy connected me with adam davis Who helped coach me through the process? And it was you know, I think my my key audience was cops nearing retirement spouses as well.

And just the, it was an interesting, I think, journey for me, just sharing. The stories It's stuff. I mean i'm pretty open with that stuff You know on a one on one if somebody asks me but to share it in that way so now anybody potentially could access that information was a Interesting feeling and process for me and then Yeah, adam helped me put it together and then here we are great We'll get back to your book in just a moment.

You mentioned something about doing Retirement with you you and your husband helping others. How would you You Suggest if [00:22:00] anyone would like within their agency, their department, that they would like to do something similar to have some retirement seminars. How would you suggest going about it? How would they start?

I would say, talk to your retirees, buy your book first.

But yeah, I would say talk to your retirees, you know, and my husband was going through, or when we were going through that experience, I actually went back to my agency because he retired about a year in. To me working with my agency and I came back to my agency and I said, hey, what are we doing for our retirees?

Like this is insanity what we're going through, you know, and they said not, you know, not much And so I started surveying and talking. I talked to a couple hundred of our own retirees Ones that were struggling ones that seemingly were doing everything right and ones that were kind of in between And I found okay my husband's store like this is not unique.

[00:23:00] This is happening You But what are we doing to prepare? And so I think talking to the retirees is so helpful. And then what's working, identifying what's working and what's not working. And starting that, if it's a, you know, a seminar, whatever it is, start it early. Because a lot of the things that can help buffer, right.

Some of the negative impact of retirement. A lot of that stuff is skills and tools and training. And I think about it like, you know, no one is guaranteed a 30 year career. I think people go into law enforcement or fire or EMS expecting to have this career, and for a variety of reasons that may not happen.

And so, you know, learning how to, like the nervous system, for example, training your nervous system to switch gears, you know, when you're at work and then when you're outside of work and things like that, [00:24:00] starting that process early. And I think part of that could be, you know, an agency could, you know, do in service trainings.

On things like that, just basic education about the nervous system, you know, helping their first responders just be healthier in general, I think will set the stage for an easier transition. So besides learning about the nervous system and, uh, we did a, matter of fact, one of our first episodes was on what, what I call the transition ritual, transitioning from work to home.

Yeah. What are, what would be some of the other topics that you would recommend being covered in? Some type of seminar like that. Mm hmm. So I definitely I love the transitioning. I like transition rituals. I would also say two relationships. Okay. And communication. Relationships obviously for first responder couples are challenging.

I think is a byproduct of the work and the demands [00:25:00] But really and bringing the spouse or significant other along for that ride, too And how do we communicate through these things that are going to be happening throughout the career and then when you retire? So I think relationships absolutely need to be in there Physical health stuff a lot of first responders.

I talked to got their physical exam when they got hired on You And then haven't seen a doctor since right, you know, and so many of those things can be you know Those health issues. I call them like the first responder package, right? Right. My husband had him high blood pressure sleep apnea Diabetes all that the back pain the nerve the this the that and it's like had you been You know, going to the doctor regularly, making sure your doctor's checking cortisol.

For guys, checking testosterone. Right. You know, all of these things that we know are impacted by shift work. The earlier that gets [00:26:00] caught by a, you know, lab result, then you can start intervening right away. And I think quality of life in retirement also has a lot to do with how physically healthy you are.

Exactly. Can you enjoy retirement? Can you? I hear most people say, well, I want to travel, or I want to do this, or I want to do that. But then they can't because of the health issues that have been brought on about. The, the chronic stress that they've been through, just the on off on off and your body's dumping all these chemicals into your body and your body has to deal with it somehow.

And yeah, so we see a lot of, a lot of, of retirees end up with so many different issues, diabetes, because of their diet or their inappropriate diet, if you will. So can you share one of the key messages or takeaways from your book that you think would resonate most with our listeners? Uh, yes, don't do it alone.

Um, [00:27:00] whether, so I think throughout the whole retirement process, one thing that I, I preach and I preach and I preach is do not do that alone. In terms of like going down to personnel, turning in your equipment, don't do that alone. Now whether you want a family member, a spouse, a partner, you know, someone you trust to go down with you through that process and then maybe have a cup of coffee afterward to debrief, right?

And then also as you're going through that process. And this is where that support system comes into play, right? This is why it's so important to build out a good support system throughout your career is because that's what you're going to be leaning on. In retirement that's going to help you and I encourage, you know Include other retirees in that mix the ones who seem to be doing it.

Well pay attention. What are they doing? You know and just having that system built in so that you're not I hear these heartbreaking stories so [00:28:00] often Where you know a retiree will be out and and say hey, oh, yeah Every day is a saturday and everything's wonderful and then they're going home and they're miserable or they're just drinking all day You Or their relationships falling apart, you know, and kind of feeling like they have to do that in isolation when that's absolutely not the case Right now many of our listeners are either nearing retirement Or already retired.

What are some common pitfalls they should be aware of during this transition? I would say Overscheduling or that constant need to stay busy. Whatever that looks like. I would also say, you know, take inventory Inventory of different areas in your life. That's physical health, mental health, your relationships.

How are those things doing? And be honest. Because that's going to tell you where you need to put in the work when you do retire, you know And then I think [00:29:00] so. Yeah taking inventory definitely definitely Having a plan and recognizing that that plan needs to be flexible, right? I think it should Include, you know going to sleep and waking up around the same time Try to reset that biological clock that the job probably messed up with a schedule if possible Yep, have some sort of movement exercise, whether that's going to a gym, whether that's running, whether that's just walking outside for a little bit of time.

I think some of the pitfalls is cops will tend to, and other first responders, fire too, will tend to isolate and just like, you know, feel ashamed for how they're feeling and that they're not doing well in retirement. And then they take that and they just hold on to it. They say I can't tell anybody about this and I think that's a tremendous pitfall because From my experience if you talk to a retiree, hey, what is what's it like?

They'll [00:30:00] tell you You know, and so I think if you are struggling Don't hold that don't hold on to that and be ashamed of it. Talk to other people See what they're doing what helped them you mentioned quite a bit about purpose And a reason to get up in the morning and having something to do. What would you say to those who?

Just go right back into the same thing. They go now they're working part time for their agency They retired or they're they're getting involved in another Uh, agency or organization, but I realize there are some who are younger and there really are too young to, uh, just to, just to stop. What would you say to them and how would they be able to assess whether that is a, Healthy thing for them to do.

Mm hmm. I would look at what's your motivation? Okay, right if I think one That over identification. Uh huh who they [00:31:00] are could have something to do with that Absolutely, if it's a I don't know how to do anything else or how to be anything else. It's probably a big red flag You know, and maybe there's some exploration that needs to happen and a little bit of work to make sure that you're just not getting, you know, you're saying, Oh, well, I'm retired from here.

Let me go do this part time. And then you're getting sucked right back into all of that stuff. So I would look at Yeah, what's your motivation for going into that? And then if you do get into, let's say, a part time post retirement employment, With a law enforcement agency or something like you said something in a similar field to what you did for so many years make sure very intentionally That you are learning how to be at work when you're at work And then when you're not at work be not at work and then building in new hobbies and interests.

I know it took me well over a year Before [00:32:00] we received a retirement badge. Okay, and it was really bad Beautiful badge and you know said retired and it took me well over a year not to carry that badge with me. Mm hmm Now it sits on my dresser. Mm hmm But it really took over a year because it was I had been so used to having that So yes, it's difficult to put down.

Absolutely. And it took, I think, took my husband probably about three years or so to where it's like, okay, I don't have to, you know, take my badge and gun with me everywhere all the time. Yeah, that's, I still, I still qualify every year. Same with him. But, like I said, it also took me about two years for me not to have mine on me literally everywhere that I went.

Yeah. I'd be at a gas station somewhere and someone would either talk to me or you, I would always From having [00:33:00] probably worked with corrections. You get this. I would have someone yell out. Hey Sarge. Mm hmm And I said, okay, so who is this person that knows me? And so you're right. It's it's difficult to To to not over identify with the role and and sometimes yeah, some of it is self preservation.

I understand Yeah, so you've been married to a now retired officer How has that personal experience influenced your perspective? Perspective Yeah, it, uh, it's given me a ton of perspective. Um, I think, you know, like I said, in the beginning, it's, I vastly underestimated the impact of retirement. I, I didn't appreciate, I think all of the ways that the job can kind of, you know, train and condition you to operate in very specific circumstances and how when you retire.

[00:34:00] It's like a fish out of water and really how the job kind of hardwires in Certain things and how when you retire, it's not just because I think I mean my concept of retirement is well, this is great You don't have to deal with this stuff anymore. It's going to be fantastic Whatever problems come up we can deal with them and I underestimated the emotional impact And the impact on the relationship because I had my own adjustment too, right?

I understand and I Brings me into what advice would you have for family spouses significant others for either during the transition or for those who are retired? Yeah, I would say Educate yourself whether that is going online talking to other retiree spouses Whatever that looks like and then you know, same thing.

I would tell the retirees is don't do it alone You know, where's your support system at? How are you guys going to get through this? And recognize like that has to be done [00:35:00] together. I'm a firm believer, you know, if you're, if you're in a relationship, that's your person that you're gonna walk that with.

And, and recognize your own adjustments. So for, you know, my husband, and most, I think, first responder spouses, we get used to kind of running our own program, and then that changes. And so, you know, noticing like, Hey, if you feel irritable or just super annoyed, uh, it's okay. Everybody's going through an adjustment too.

And just to communicate. That's something that my husband and I had to figure out throughout the course of his career. And then when he retired, we had to almost go back to the beginning and like, okay, let's Let's communicate, let's get through this as best as we can get through this, but let's communicate the entire time.

How much would you recommend that retirees or those who are getting ready communicate to their spouses as to what they're going through, [00:36:00] what they're experiencing, especially if it has to do with, or with their, the difficulties has to do with maybe what they experienced, and maybe some things are really sticking with them.

Yeah, I would say and everybody's level of comforts different So I've talked to some that are like I'm gonna tell my spouse every nitty gritty detail and others that say absolutely not I don't want them to know anything, you know, my my big thing is communicating to your spouse Kind of like where is it hurting, you know, and then how can I help?

You know, if you need me to just sit next to you and not say anything I'm gonna do that if you want to talk it out Then I'm going to do that too. So be, be flexible and be willing to kind of let them lead the dance, if you will. Yeah. Okay. Yeah. Now, before we wrap up, uh, Dr. Baumgard, if you could please just leave our listeners with one piece of advice for approaching retirement or being retired with confidence [00:37:00] and actually be excited about it, what would it be?

Yeah, I would say that if you're experiencing any sort of challenge or any difficulty navigating it, rest assured that that is temporary, that the only way out of that kind of funk is to actively pursue other things, and eventually that will get better. It's not a, um, you're not going to have, going to have to live in misery for a long time.

And then going back to don't do it alone. Right. You know. Is there anything else you just want to leave our listeners with before we go away? Uh, yeah, take care of yourself good very good, you know throughout your career in retirement because you've given so much to the job That you deserve to kind of cash in on that pension take care of yourself and take care of your family Take care of your social support system because yes As I've told, [00:38:00] uh, I used to teach in the academy for many years and I would always tell, uh, everyone coming in and before they, they get ready to graduate, you want to keep as many of your good positive support network that you have right now and take them into retirement with you.

Yes. Yes, absolutely. Well, thank you so much for joining us today. Your insights have been incredibly valuable and I'm sure our listeners will benefit from your wisdom. Where can people connect with you if they want to learn more? Yeah, so on LinkedIn, uh, just under my name, Medina Baumgart, and on Instagram, uh, it's at Dr.

underscore Baumgardt. And then my website is, uh, www. drbaumgart. com. Well, thanks again, Dr. Baumgart, and to all our listeners out there, remember, retirement isn't the end. It's just the beginning of a new chapter. Uh, stay tuned for more episodes of the Surviving Your Shift podcast. Until next time, take care and thrive, not just survive.

Dr. Baumgart, thank you. Thank you so [00:39:00] much. Thanks so much for joining me for another episode of Surviving Your Shift. Are you wondering if you're experiencing some of the signs of post traumatic stress? Or know someone who is? Grab a lifeline by going to survivingyourshift. com and on the right sidebar, click to download your copy of Understanding PTSD, Its History, Causes, Symptoms, and Treatment.

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Are you struggling with the mental toll of being on the front lines, feeling the weight of anxiety, stress, or even PTSD in the next episode of surviving your shift. We're sitting down with Matthew Maddy Fiorenza, a retired [00:40:00] firefighter paramedic who knows exactly what you're going through. Mattie's own battle with PTSD ignited his passion for mental health and advocacy within the First Responder community.

Join us as he shares his powerful story of resilience, recovery, and his mission to provide a pathway to healing for First Responders. You won't want to miss this conversation filled with hope, practical advice, and actionable steps for those ready to find peace and refuge. Tune in to hear how Maddie is making a difference and how you can, too.

Stick around. I'll see you on that episode. Till next time, let's learn how to thrive, not just survive.