Have your children all moved out of your family home? Perhaps your oldest children have jobs, homes, and even families of their own, and now, your youngest child has just gone off to college. Or maybe you’re the parent of an only child, and now that they’re living independently, you find yourself feeling lonely. Suddenly, your home seems so quiet.
You were used to family dinners, busy mornings getting everyone out the door on time, and experiencing the rhythms of day-to-day life with the people who mattered most to you. Now, you’re wondering what to do with all of your time. You feel like you’re lacking a sense of purpose. Being an empty nester can feel like a dramatic change. But this stage of your life also opens you up to lots of exciting possibilities. Here’s how to adjust to having an empty nest.
Give Yourself Time
First, it is important to allow yourself to miss your children. You do not have to rush into hosting gatherings, practicing new hobbies, or renovating your home right away. Take time to remember all of those precious childhood moments and appreciate the countless memories that you made in this home.
Furthermore, don’t forget that your family will still come together to celebrate milestones and holidays - this isn’t the end of creating beautiful memories as a family.
Host Your Loved Ones
Perhaps you miss the hustle and bustle of family life. You feel a little bit bored with an empty nest. You wish you could be surrounded by people once again. Why not take advantage of your empty nest and start hosting your friends and relatives more often?
You may be able to invite out-of-town guests to stay in your extra bedrooms, host more large parties for birthdays and other celebrations, and have your friends over spontaneously. Having your other loved ones around can ease the pain of an empty nest.
Identify Your Purpose
Now that your children have moved out, you might feel like you lack a purpose in life. This feeling can hit retired empty nesters especially hard, or empty nesters who were stay-at-home parents for almost the entirety of their adult lives up until their children are ready to move out.
Now, it is time to explore what motivates you beyond parenting and caregiving! Maybe you could return to a creative passion you put on the back burner, start volunteering, or even launch a small business.
Embrace Your Freedom
With your children living in their own homes and standing on their own two feet, you have more freedom than you’ve enjoyed in years. At first, this might seem almost scary—what are you going to do with all of your time? But you have the opportunity to do things you never even considered when your children were home.
Do you want to travel halfway around the world, completely renovate your home, or start fostering rescue dogs? It’s all up to you!
Talk to a Therapist
What if nothing about being an empty nester seems appealing to you right now? Maybe you feel anxious about having so much time to yourself, or maybe you’ve started experiencing symptoms of depression since your children left home.
If you feel like your quality of life has significantly declined since becoming an empty nester, you may want to talk to a therapist. They can help you find the positives as you enter this new phase of life.
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Are you struggling to cope as a new empty-nester? Working with a therapist can help. Reach out to us today to discuss your options for scheduling your first session for depression therapy.