Empty Nest Syndrome

1. As part of the course, students must write a term paper on a condition, situation, scenario-specific to a stage in the life span.
2. The term paper must be typed with 1” margins, double spacing, and a 12 point Times Roman font.
3. The paper should also include a reference list. A minimum of five to six references must be utilized.
4. The American Psychological Association format must also be utilized for the paper.
5. The paper should be four to 5 pages long (not including cover page, references, exhibits, etc.).

ANSWER

Empty Nest Syndrome

As a parent watching one’s children grow and successfully achieve different milestones is fulfilling and a source of joy and contentment. However, this joy can turn into grief when it is time for the children to move out of their parents’ home and go and create a home of their own. Parents want what is best for their children. It is, however, not uncommon to experience grief when the children move out, and this condition is known as the empty nest syndrome (Piper & Breckenridge-Jackson, 2017). Empty Nest Syndrome is a condition that women mostly experience as they take the role of the primary caregiver. Although the condition can affect both parents, the mothers are the ones who are more susceptible to the condition. Empty nest syndrome goes unrecognized because an adult child moving out of their parent’s house is a normal healthy occasion, and thus, the feeling of grief is ignored, and the parents might fail to seek medical help.

Empty nest syndrome is not a clinical diagnosis. This is the term used to refer to the feeling of loss experienced by the parents after their last child leaves home. The feelings of loss and pride that they raised a child who can now depend on themself and has an identity of their own conflict with each other (Mansoor & Hasan, 2019). The feelings of pride, anxiety, and sadness conflict with each other as one looks forward to the children moving out of the house. For some mothers, even the working ones, the children moving out of the house symbolizes the end of their job, and thus they experience grief. They do not feel happy that their children are leaving, they feel sad that their job as a parent is over, and they have no idea what to do with their lives as independent people.

Symptoms of Empty Nest Syndrome

Loneliness

The departure of a beloved child may make one feel overwhelmingly alone. Waking up one day and finding all the children gone and having no one to clean after can be isolating. This feeling can lead to one feeling depressed, and feelings of anxiety might be overwhelming (Bougea et al., 2019). The feelings of loneliness could be more overwhelming if one was a stay-at-home parent or a single parent. They are left with nothing to do, and they find figuring out what to do with their lives after the exodus of their children hard.

Emotional Distress

The roller-coaster of children moving out can cause emotional distress. This is because one is happy that the children are gone, and the newly found space gives one freedom to rest and focus on themselves (Bougea et al., 2019). There is also the overwhelming sadness that the children are gone, and one will only get to see them on holidays. The conflicting feelings of sadness, joy, loneliness can cause emotional distress.

Loss of purpose

Being a parent, especially for stay-at-home parents, is a full-time job. This means that one is used to catering to the children (Bougea et al., 2019). Once they leave and one cannot see them at home daily, there is the feeling of loss of purpose. There is nothing left for the parent to do, and thus they are filled with a sense of nothingness.

Fear of Lack of Control

When a child moves far from home, the parent can no longer control them and their movements. Many parents feel like they have lost control, and this might lead to them calling the children all the time to check up on them and their every move. When children are at home, parents keep tabs on them. Once they leave, there is an overwhelming need to keep tabs on their every move.

Worry

Having children around means that one can help them charter their lives as a parent. Parents will take part in their children’s lives when they are living at home and help them with the difficult decisions. This can lead to the parent worrying that the child is all alone mad they will be faced with situations they cannot handle. The thought of their child facing the challenges of life alone can lead to the parent worrying unnecessarily and feeling anxious all the time.

Depression

After 18 years of living with the children, the sudden moving out of the house can lead to the parent being overwhelmed by the grief. Learning to love the children from a distance can be hard, and therefore one can get overwhelmed by grief, leading to depression.

Stages of the Empty Nest Syndrome

Grief

This is the first stage of the empty nest syndrome. When the child first leaves home, one will likely be overcome by feelings of sadness and loss. The parent will likely cry and get emotionally triggered by simple things. The sadness caused by the children moving out could lead to one withdrawing from the world for some time to deal with the changes that have taken place in one’s life.

Relief

After a few months of sadness from the loss of children by them moving out, one might find themself enjoying the newfound freedom. Children moving out, comes with lesser responsibilities. There is no load of driving the children around, dealing with sibling fights, or cleaning after them. This gives the parents time to do things they have wanted to do for years but could not do because they had children. They could take the time for self-care and hobbies. The newfound lifestyle where they are not caring for any person can generate a sense of relief.

Joy

After dealing with the roller-coaster of emotions that came with the children moving out, one can find themselves happy with the changes in their lives. After struggling to find a purpose away from parenthood, the new lifestyle might bring joy to the parent and help them establish new social networks. Couples can spend this time reconnecting and building their relationship. Single parents can have travel plans and even plan solo traveling, reconnect with new friends, and create new social networks that do not involve children’s activities.

Parents Susceptible to Empty Nest Syndrome

There is no pattern to determine empty nest syndrome, but some types of parents are more susceptible than others.

Helicopter Parents

These are parents who pay a lot of attention to their children’s behavior and the problems they experience (Khaledian et al., 2017). These are the hovering parents hence their name. Their instincts to nurture can sometimes override the rational voice in them, and they may not understand their children need space. These types of parents tend to struggle more with the concept of their children leaving home.

Stay-at-home parents

Stay-at-home parents are attached to their children as they are responsible for meeting all their needs. They are each other’s full-time companions (Han, 2018). It is the job of stay-at-home parents to care for their children, and thus children moving out feels like they have lost their job and, therefore, they might experience more grief.

Parents experiencing marital problems

Some relationships are kept alive by a mutual love for the children. The children moving out might worsen the feeling of depression and isolation, especially if the relationship is struggling. Some parents might decide to divorce after the children move out of their home, which can lead to depression due to the loss experienced.

Dealing with Empty Nest Syndrome

Make Social connections.

Instead of spending time alone in the house, it is important to make connections. One can reconnect with old friends and try to occupy the space that was used for children in the past. Couples can use the time to reconnect with their spouse and use the time to know each other. Investing in friendships is important as some parents lose touch with their friends due to the responsibilities that come with parenting.

Set Future goals

Parents should not only focus on caring for their children. They should focus on creating future goals that they will achieve after the children leave. These goals will help them deal with the children moving out as they will have something new to focus on.

Take a new hobby/career

If one was a stay-at-home parent, they should consider taking up a new hobby. They can also consider going back to work as that will help them cover their time and occupy them from feeling lonely due to the children moving out.

Seek professional help

If the feeling of depression and anxiety is overwhelming, it is important to seek professional help from a therapist (Kaur & Kaur, 2021). This will help with professional guidance and grief support, and this will help manage emotions.

Conclusion

Empty nest syndrome is a common problem among parents. Children moving out can be hard on some parents, and it is important that the children check on their parents occasionally to ensure they are fine. Parents should also focus on other things to ensure they are not grief-stricken after their children move out.

References

Bougea, A., Despoti, A., & Vasilopoulos, E. (2019). Empty-nest-related psychosocial stress: Conceptual issues, future directions in economic crisis. Psychiatric, 30(4), 329-338.

Han, W. (2018). Old Women and empty Nest Syndrome’–An Analysis of Mary Gavell’s The Swing from the Perspective of Feminism. Theory and Practice in Language Studies, 8(1), 29-33.

Kaur, M., & Kaur, J. (2021). REALITY THERAPY: A BOON TO RECUPERATE FROM EMPTY NEST SYNDROME. International Journal of Choice Theory & Reality Therapy, 40(2).

KHALEDIAN, M., SOHRABI, F., ASGHARI, G. A., & KARAMI, Z. (2017). A COMPARISON OF THE EFFICACY OF TWO TYPES OF GROUP BEHAVIORAL-COGNITIVE THERAPY AND GROUP LOGO THERAPY ON REDUCING DEPRESSION AND INCREASING LIFE EXPECTANCY IN THE EMPTY NEST SYNDROME.

Mansoor, A., & Hasan, S. S. (2019). Empty nest syndrome and psychological wellbeing among middle aged adults. Pakistan Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology, 17(1), 55-60.

Piper, A., & Breckenridge-Jackson, I. (2017). She’s leaving home: a large sample investigation of the empty nest syndrome.