The Empty Nest Syndrome

They start out brave and ready to savor the independence that they have so long awaited, taking off thanks to the construction that little by little they have been making of their wings. One day the children leave and leave the family home, it is the law of life. 

What is Empty Nest Syndrome?

The Empty Nest Syndrome is an evolutionary stage that corresponds to the series of physical and emotional symptoms that occur when children leave home. It is like a general sense of loneliness that parents or guardians may feel when one of their children decides to leave home. It does not matter if you are a man or a woman, if you have a job or not outside the home, or if there are various interests outside the family sphere, because when children decide to direct their own flight, many parents feel deeply saddened.

The most frequent symptoms that usually appear are, as we have already said, sadness and loneliness, accompanied by a feeling of emptiness, and in some cases of worthlessness or even guilt if the relationship was tense, sometimes leading to having difficulty concentrating , fatigue or inability to find pleasure or excessive worry. But of course it must be borne in mind that reactions are not something universal, depending largely on the personality and situation in which the subject is, as well as the relationship that has been established with the person who leaves home, for therefore feelings and reactions vary.

Although for some parents it is satisfactory to fulfill the objective that they had set for themselves with their children, and that they have finally been achieving it thanks also to their efforts, the situation simultaneously implies a change and adaptation process that everyone must develop. This moment, like so many others that occur in the family life cycle, is of great importance for each member involved, and may cause a crisis in the family balance, since daily experiences will not be shared in the same way. Therefore, the family will have to reorganize and achieve a new stability after the change.

Know how to let go and let go

It is important to bear in mind that the relationship with the children does not end, but it will be lived and developed in a different way, without forgetting that for a relationship to be maintained it must continue to be fostered.

To prevent it or cushion the possible symptoms, it is convenient to prepare gradually, gradually giving the children greater autonomy, avoiding excessive control, that is, being present but without being noticed, letting them face life on their own.

It is also important to accept the situation, and to build a new concept of life, observing it as something dynamic that goes through different stages, as well as periods of crisis. Letting the children go is a natural process. The departure of these towards the construction of their new way of life will therefore be a new vital episode that may cause strangeness at the beginning, together with feelings of emptiness and loneliness, but that will not stop providing us with growth whenever we want to move forward, it will constitute a good time to fill life with new expectations.

Taking into account the positive aspects that have ended and the new ones that begin, will be a good way to begin to fill that inner emptiness that sometimes begins. Just as one stage leaves, another arrives presenting a wide range of opportunities such as increasing one’s own space and time to do things, the possibility of enhancing the life of a couple, etc. we must be creative and find new challenges to individual life as well as married life, thus renewing our life plan.