Empty Nest Syndrome
Sylvia walks into Beth's room and sits down on the bed. There,
piled up on the pillows are all the stuffed animals that she had
given her over the years. Fluffy bunny was given to her daughter
on her first Easter. He looks at her now with a sad look in his
eyes, or so it seems to her. She picks him up and hugs him to
her breast, and it somehow makes her feel close to her daughter.
Sylvia looks around the room at the trophies that her daughter
received for her many academic achievements. Beth always was
smart in school, and now she is gone to college, to a new life
without her. The memories come flooding back: the day she
brought Beth home from the hospital, she was so tiny; the first
day of kindergarten, she felt lost then too, but not this bad;
and the first time she went out on a date. It seemed like
yesterday. Sylvia begins to cry.
Sylvia is a fictitious character, but the sadness and emptiness
that can accompany a child leaving home for the first time is
real. It is called the Empty Nest Syndrome, and can be
devastating for a parent. Even though it can affect both
parents, more times than not, it is the mother who suddenly
finds herself with these feelings of being lost and alone. The
affects can vary, depending on different factors. For instance,
when the mother is divorced and living alone, it can be
particularly difficult. When a mother has been a stay at home
mom, she might feel that life is over, that she has no purpose
in living. In severe cases, when depression is severe or last a
long time, counseling may be needed.
What some people don