Empty nest syndrome is a common phenomenon that occurs in parents whose children have left the home. The common feelings that parent having empty nest syndrome experience are feelings of loss, sadness, anxiety, grief, and fear, etc. Letting go of the active, day-to-day duties of parenting can be a tough transition to make, especially if a parent largely defined his/herself by their parenting role while their child lived at home.
Symptoms:
- Depressed mood
- Frequent mood swing
- A sense of loss of purpose
- Feelings of rejection, or worry
- Stress, and anxiety over the child’s welfare
Management:
For most parents, this is a short-lived transition phase that only lasts a few months. In the meantime, there are measures they can take to help deal with transition, including:
• Accepting that these feelings are normal.
• Considering starting a new career or starting a part-time job or hobbies if you haven’t been working.
• Starting a new hobby or one you’ve put on hold while taking care of your children.
• Practice mindfulness. Such as Gardening, traveling.
• Cooking, reading books, doing regular prayers.
• Use technology or social media to keep in touch with your children.
• Parents should realize that his or her role as a parent has changed, not ended.
Preparing for an Empty Nest
- For preparing for this new phase of life and explore new roles, here are some tips for parents before their child leaves home:
- Preparing a list of current roles besides parenting which involves a significant investment of time and energy. For example life partner, friend, colleague, etc.
- Going through this list and sorting out which roles are interesting and can be expanded.
- Finding past hobbies that were underestimated due to time shortage and working on those.
- Searching for local groups, clubs, or meetups that revolve around these interests and can help in finding a community.
- Spending quality time with friends and other family members.
Empty Nest syndrome is a transitional phase that most of the parent’s experience. It’s not easy to overcome these feelings. But following the tips mentioned above can relief the grief to some extent.
