Sir: Life becomes useless if there is no struggle in it. In our stressful lives we are always waiting for weekends and holidays. Then there comes a phase of retirement — old age. At the age of sixty, a person is given a certificate of old age and a farewell. The same person who used to have a life full of friends, family members and colleagues gets stuck in his bedroom all alone. His inbox, which was once loaded with hundreds of unread messages and emails, becomes empty. He starts feeling neglected. And everything else moves with the same pace around him as it did before. This may lead to what we call post-retirement depression. All the senior citizens who are facing this problem can understand it well. How can we prevent this? The government should have a proper unbiased medical board to justify the retirement age. If that person is fit for another post, then occupational rehabilitation should be done. The retired person should make his or her own routine of morning walk or jogging, eating healthy meals, going out for an alternate job if any, or sitting in the library reading newspapers and books of interest, having coffee from a good coffee parlour, no matter even if alone, spending time with grandchildren, attending get-togethers fortnightly or monthly. And if he is lucky enough to have his spouse alive, give him or her due time and recall the good times of the past. A very important thing here is that one must always be financially independent. Never shift property to kids during your lifetime otherwise the last phase of life may be too miserable. DR AMNA RIZVI Lahore