healthmedicinet

• Experts claim women with RHS suffer stress, depression and insomnia 
• Chances of developing syndrome increase a year after husbands retire 
• RHS affects women who worked as well as housewives
• Study focused on Japan, but experts say syndrome is a global problem 

By
Ben Spencer for the Daily Mail

Published:
07:04 EST, 20 August 2014

|
Updated:
18:14 EST, 20 August 2014

274

View
comments

It is the stage when a husband and wife finally have the chance to spend time together, free from the stresses and strains of working life.

But far from being an era of relaxed contentment, retirement can be a stressful experience for couples.

Many wives begin to suffer from ‘retired husband syndrome’ once their men give up work, academics have claimed.

Scroll down for video

A new study suggests that wives suffer from ‘Retired Husband Syndrome’ when their husbands have given up work. Experts claim that women can suffer ‘stress, higher depression or inability to sleep’ once their husbands retire and arguments are common (file picture)

They
discovered that nearly half of women complained of increasing levels of
stress, depression and sleeplessness after their other half retired.

And
to make matter worse, the Italian researchers also found that with
every extra year the husband spent in retirement, the wife’s condition
became worse.

They
said that the affliction does not only affect housewives, but can be
even worse for women who are still working while their husbands stay at
home.

‘HE’S ALWAYS UNDER MY FEET’

In 1984, an American researcher called Charles Johnson collected anecdotal evidence about RHS.

Wives of retired men told him: ‘I’m going nuts’, ‘I want to scream’, ‘He’s under my feet all the time,’ ‘I’m nervous’, and ‘I can’t sleep’.

His clinical description of the symptoms of the stress-induced conditions, included: headaches, depression, agitation, palpitations and lack of sleep.

The new study supports his findings with empirical evidence.

A BBC report suggested that over 60 per cent of older Japanese women are affected by the syndrome and there are soaring divorce rates.

‘We
have found that retirement effects are stronger for employed women, who
are already stressed by their job and have less time to comply with the
additional requests by their retired husbands,’ they said.

Part of the cause of greater stress was that women were faced with an increase in housework, the authors reported. 

They also had to deal with the added burden of reduced income, an extra concern for both partners.

The
research was carried out by social scientists Dr Marco Bertoni and Dr
Giorgio Brunello, from the University of Padova, who analysed interviews
with 840 Japanese women between 2008 and 2013.

They chose Japan because the country is thought to have strong traditional gender roles. 

But
the researchers said their results could apply to many countries,
because the effect was even more pronounced when both partners had
worked. 

They gave each woman a retired husband syndrome ‘score’ depending on the extent of their emotional problems. 

They found that for every extra year the husband spent in retirement, the score increased by 6 to 14 percentage points.

The
authors, writing in the Institute for the Study of Labor journal, said:
‘After a life apart and progressive estrangement, many Japanese couples
are forced to start spending time together when the husband retires.

‘This
can be a very stressful experience for wives, who suddenly have to face
the continuous presence of a stranger in the house and the additional
burden of his requests.’ 

The scientists said that the condition does not only affect housewives, but in fact can be even worse for women who have been working for years

They
found that 47 per cent of wives reported emotional problems when their
husbands had retired – 41 per cent were more stressed, 23 per cent said
they were depressed and 16 per cent had experienced sleeping problems.

The theory of retired husband syndrome was first established 30 years ago by US doctor Charles Clifford Johnson. 

Wives
of retired men told him, ‘I’m going nuts’, ‘I want to scream’, or ‘he’s
under my feet all the time’, he wrote in 1984. His theory gained much
attention, but the new study is the first to demonstrate it is true on a
large scale.

Dr Bertoni and Dr Brunello said their evidence showed retirement could be tough for men too.

And as their mental health and moods declined, life in turn became yet harder for their wives.

‘The
estimated effects are almost identical among both partners, suggesting
that concern with the “retired husband syndrome” should not be limited
to wives, as both partners are affected,’ they wrote.

We will drown all of you in blood: ISIS’ warning to the US

• ‘Spare the lives of the remaining hostages. Like Jim they…

• America’s FAILED raid to rescue James Foley: White House…

• Robin Williams was addicted to ‘tooth-rotting…

• Missing model found alive in New York hospital TWO WEEKS…

• ‘I will not leave Berlin without having sex with you’:…

• Oklahoma teacher, 28, ‘had sex with student, 15, in hotel…

• The boy with the TWO STONE hands that are bigger than his…

• Elvis hit her once, hurled a dish of ice cream when she…

• Inside the world’s most expensive apartment: Penthouse in…

• ‘I can’t go out… the support is really keeping me going…

• Ferguson cop who shot dead Michael Brown ‘was severely…

• Germany Ebola scare as Nigerian woman showing symptoms of…

Comments (274)

what you think

• 
  
  Newest
• 
  
  Oldest
• 
  
  Best rated
• 
  
  Worst rated

The comments below have not been moderated.

The views expressed in the contents above are those of our users and do not necessarily reflect the views of MailOnline.

Find out now