When the applause stops According to behaviorists, the reduction in rewards brought about by retirement places high achievers at particular risk for depression. Former New York Giants running back Tiki Barber, seen here eluding a defender, recently described the severe depression he went through after he retired from pro football in 2006, lost his job as a TV network correspondent, and ended his marriage, in quick succession. “I remember there were days where I would literally … sit on the couch and do nothing for 10 hours…. I started to shrivel…. I didn’t have … that aura any more.”