I'm 65 and draw yearly on a very small investment to supplement my SS and working part time. My investment is now 1/2 of what it was. I'm devastated.
I'm not trying to sound like a prick here, but what were you "invested" in that would lose half of its value in a matter of weeks? And, the bigger question: why were you holding such assets when you needed to draw on them for operating expenses (such as your living expenses)?
I wish folks would try to plan ahead. Neither stocks, bonds, nor other securities (nor real estate!) are guaranteed to perpetually rise in value forever (or even hold their value). If you need to withdraw funds and must absolutely have that money there (or else), then for gosh sakes, put it in something that's FDIC-insured or lower-risk (U.S. obligations, for example) than shares of stock.
Too many folks took on far more risk than they could reasonably handle (while chasing higher rates of return) and now are unhappy that their assets declined in value.