I used to have random panic attacks, throughout my life, when going through a difficult or stressful time. When my daughter went away to college, the anxiety and panic attacks happened often enough for me to fear panic attacks and have it become a disorder. Being a Mom was my purpose in life and when she left, my focus shifted off of her and onto myself. It's been two years and I still haven't adjusted. I used to be passionate about things like showing dogs, or rescuing animals, but I can't come up with anything I can get excited about. I feel lost and isolated. I don't live close to friends or family and my husband is a good person, but is the silent type, so there is a void when my daughter left. She's very independent and work oriented which are good qualities, but I rarely hear from her or see her due to internships between college semesters. I've been on this program for 6 days now which has been my focus and all of the resources and people are a huge help. I just wonder what other people did when their kids left the nest and how did they find their purpose or a new role in life. Note: I am not worried about her, she is doing well on her own. I am worried about what am I going to do with the rest of my life. It's a new stage in life and I'm not sure what to do. Any ideas?
Thank you both for your excellent information; it is really very helpful. I am going to work on Session 15 next, because I feel it will prepare me with the tools I will need when my daughter comes back for a short week before heading off to college again. I will then begin Session 2 and go in order from there. Sunny123, you have given me a lot of ideas to think about and I am very grateful. Thank you for posing those questions. I feel like I have gone from 0 ideas, to having many, many options. Thanks for giving me a place to begin. I truly appreciate you both for taking the time to respond and also for caring. Thanks for your support!
What I learned about role transitions that really helped is that there are both positive and negative aspects of my old role (Mom of a child) and new role (Mom of an adult). My old role wasn't all good and my new role isn't all bad. It's more balanced than I thought. So, I don't have that "all or none thinking" (it's all good or all bad). I am applying it to my life by looking for the good in my new role, positive self talk, and reviewing the facts of the pro's and con's list of former and present roles for reinforcement. Change is positive; it's room for growth. I am posing a new question. What positive aspects did you find in being an empty nester?
It’s been a while since you were active on this site. Please extend your session below
You have been logged out due to inactivity.
Please sign back in.
We use cookies to help us learn about how our platform is used and how we can improve your experience. To
learn more please see our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.
Your friend, Shari
