Parenting is more than a job. It is one's life for two decades. Suddenly your child or your children are heading off to college and the house becomes very quiet. The Empty Nest Sydrome is serious. It can throw a parent into a state of depression.

What is the Empty Nest Syndrome

It is a normal reaction to feel a sense of sadness when your last child leaves the nest. The empty nest syndrome is a true psychological condition that affects mostly women when one or more of her children leave the home. Although it has not yet been listed as a disease, it is a true condition that includes an overhwhelming feelings of sadness and loss that many women experience when their children no longer live with them. Baby boomer parents are now watching more children than ever go off to college.

If you are experiencing symptoms that last longer than a week and are severe, you should seek support. These might include but are not limited to you feeling like your life is over, you are crying excessively and nonstop and/or your are isolating yourself. You do not want to entertain or visit with friends and you do not want to go to work.There are hotlines set up for parents who are experiencing the empty nest Syndrome.Parentline Plus will help those who are finding it difficult to cope with the changes.

http://www.parentlineplus.org.uk/

Coping with the Empty Nest Syndrome

The first thing you have thought of for years when you woke up in the morning were the needs of your children. Now they will be away and will not need your daily care. Children bring movement into a home. The house will become quiet.

The key is to prepare for the time when your last child will go off to college. There are no surprises. You know your last child is going off to college. Get yourself involved. Go back to school yourself to complete that level of your education that you have put off. Join some groups that are involved in volunteering. Your help is desperately needed. Start that small business that you have been contemplating for years. It is now a time for you.

Ensure that you have Internet access via email, twitter, phone. Make certain that you have phone connection to touch base often those first few months. Your child will need it as much as you will. Don't forget this is a life altering time for your child also. However, keep your child's need for growth in mind, as you have done your child's entire life. They need room to spread their wings. Resist the urge to rescue your child when he or she calls home with the invariable moments of homesickness that they will experience. Allow yourself the sense of still being needed when you talk them through the urge to come home. Remind your child of the times when they were small and they picked themselves up, dusted themselves off and got back to task.

Be aware that this may also be a time when your body is going through changes such as menopause. There are support groups for this as well.

http://www.netdoctor.co.uk/seniorsshealth/support_groups/006024.htm

You may well be dealing with elderly parents, which will compound your depression. Awareness is the key.

Lean on others who have been through the Empty Nest Syndrome. Find out how they dealt with the changes. Give yourself permission to enjoy the benefits such as regaining a bathroom and all of your belongings. Enjoy the benefits of rekindling your love life with your spouse. You can now have a little afternoon delight without fear of being interrupted.

Busy yourself making care packages. College students love getting packages in the mail.

Plan some visits to take your child to dinner, a movie or some event. Keep the visits to a minimum and your child will look forward to you coming. If they feel hovered over, they may come to resent the intrusions.

You have always set your child's needs as a priority. Think of how they would feel if they had to think of you at home in a state of depression. Take the steps needed to help yourself recover - even if you begin by feeling like your are doing it to help your child. Your child needs you still - healthy and strong.

There are many wonderful times ahead with your adult child. Think ahead of those times and how you will enjoy each of those stages.