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Ways to Deal With Empty Nest Syndrome
The Empty Nest Syndrome is the intense void in your heart when your children leave home because your mind has not come to terms that they will eventually go to start their families.
If you have this syndrome, ensure that you stop checking up on your child every time; understandably, you would want to know about their current affairs, but this isn't healthy as it won't let you quickly get over the syndrome or allow them to grow to be their person.
Also, try to rediscover yourself since your parental duties have reduced, and you now have more time to yourself; remember the hobbies that you have let go of in the past due to parental responsibilities and start to try them out to reconnect with your fun self.
Consider these ways to deal with Empty Nest Syndrome:
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Desist From Always Checking In
Although it's difficult to accept your child's new independence, you have to let them out of your wings so they may grow up and be able to stay on their feet, make their family, and raise children of their own, while you get better at your attempt to deal with Empty Nest Syndrome.
You may cringe at your child's methods of doing things because they are employing different techniques from what you use, but it would be good if you understand that their different thought processes don't necessarily mean they are doing wrong things and you don't have to check up on their decisions constantly.
If their techniques eventually produce wrong results, try not to swoop in and save the situation as your child doesn't want that; they want to be able to make their mistakes in life, learn from them, and formulate appropriate procedures to avoid such failures in future situations.
Instead of giving unwarranted advice and lessons that may cause them to avoid you, wait for them to come to you when they need your advice, ideas, or opinions, allowing them to have you as their confidant or adviser when things go wrong and giving you the chance to be a parent again.
Re-discover Yourself
Whatever you want to do, ensure you identify and define the goals you want to achieve so you may have a measurable roadmap that will help you get clarity about what to do and how to do them, thus, helping you deal with Empty Nest Syndrome.
When you think of all the activities you want to do, try to do it in a quiet moment because quiet time can help you focus on your thoughts well since it's just you and them.
For your quiet time, you can have it every morning immediately when you wake up and add yoga or meditation to the mix to make the quiet time more effective.
Identify New Roles
Try to settle in a new role in your community doing something you love or something you are exceptionally good at; for example, if you love baking cookies, you could do that every three days and share with children in your community, allowing you to get into the role of the sweet adult in the neighborhood.
You can also listen to things around you to pinpoint areas you may be needed to offer your help; such help can range from picking trash in the neighborhood park as you take an evening walk to organize the donation of care packages to the homeless.
Moving into these roles doesn't have to be difficult as you can do them quickly and conveniently by incorporating the acts into your schedule; you may cook for neighbors alongside your meal, pick up the litter as you take a night walk, or keep the company of older people if you wish to socialize.
Seek New Challenges
If you have always wanted to build a car in your garage, you can use the time you have to change your garage into a personal automobile assembly factory, allowing you to receive car parts and assemble a personal dream car quickly.
You can also binge-watch a fun series you have put aside for a long time because it would be cringe-worthy to the kids or because there was just no time to watch; you can easily stream the series on movie platforms from your home's comfort.
Picking up a new skill can equally be an exciting challenge as it involves you using brainpower to make strides in the new venture; you can begin coding classes to get into programming for creating software for fun or start a language class.
Re-discover Your Relationship With Your Partner
With your children leaving and you possessing a large amount of time at your disposal, you can reconnect with your partner and get the romantic part of your marriage back on track by engaging in loving activities.
Reconnecting with them can help you deal with Empty Nest Syndrome, and a great way to start is by visiting restaurants and food festivals to enjoy delicious meals together or even create great meals in your home.
You can also get your groove on and become regulars at clubs, dancing classes, or music concerts, creating an opportunity to bond with your partner over good music and dance.
Similarly, you can get out of your current location for a vacation in a nice resort in another state or country, permitting you to get well-deserved rest while lounging in each other's arms on whatever beach you choose.
Conclusion
It's understandable to be dismayed at your child's leaving but you can only deal with Empty Nest Syndrome if you understand that they have to go and live their life.
To deal with the syndrome effectively, you should desist from continuously checking in on them, identify new roles to immerse yourself in your community, re-discover yourself, seek new challenges, and re-discover your relationship with your partner.
Resources
https://www.everythingmom.com/parenting/soul/empty-nesters-6-steps-to-rediscovering-yourself
https://www.verywellfamily.com/how-to-cope-with-empty-nest-syndrome-4163133
https://www.idtech.com/blog/ways-spend-your-time-when-kids-are-summer-camp
https://howtoadult.com/fun-things-parents-can-together-kids-39314.html
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