Empty Nest Syndrome in Seniors and Steps to Overcome it

All parents dream of seeing their children establishing themselves successfully in life and when the children grow up, due to better job prospects and quality life they often move to other city or country. Most of the time parents don’t accompany their children and in this process, the parents feel sad, lonely and depressed. This is known as Empty Nest Syndrome. Though it is not a clinical disorder but this empty nest syndrome can harm a parent’s life. Research suggests that it can lead to alcoholism, depression, marital conflicts and identity crisis. Parents feel that they are no longer needed in their children’s life.

Today, in this blog I am going to  highlight some of the steps that senior people can take to overcome the empty nest syndrome and lead a happy life: 

→    Taking up hobbies like Gardening, Baking, painting, reading etc can help senior people to be happy and stress-free.  Gardening is a nice and stimulating hobby that can be enjoyed by anybody, irrespective of their age. Who doesn’t want a garden full of beautiful flowers and plants spreading sweet fragrance and colors of joy everywhere? I guess we all like it. Gardening gives elderly people the joy of connecting to “Nature”. It can help to put their mind to work with a goal and a to-do feel- list for growing a beautiful garden. Apart from looking nice and spreading joy, gardening also has health benefits which are good for us and especially for our beloved seniors who often feel that they aren’t capable of doing anything fruitful anymore. So getting them involved in “gardening” can help to bring back their self-esteem.  Baking is a very good and fun-filled hobby that your parents can take up. If they have a passion for baking they can enroll themselves in bakery courses or can follow YouTube for baking delicious cakes, muffins, cookies and the best part is they can get to try some lip-smacking food items. Painting is a very beautiful activity that senior people can opt for. If your parents have a knack for painting, encourage them. They can also start taking painting classes if they want to. Be it oil, acrylic, or watercolor medium, painting is a great pastime and it will help them to remain stress-free. There are many options available to choose from creative ideas for hobbies to make seniors happy. A book is a person’s best friend. Be it novels, short stories, comics our beloved seniors can choose any book according to their likings. With a cup brimming with hot coffee or tea they can sit at their favorite corner of the room to enjoy the reading sessions. 

→     It is also important for your beloved seniors to socialize. Socializing will help them get rid of loneliness and depression. Encourage your beloved seniors to go out on lunches, movies, shopping with their friends, relatives etc.

→     Senior living homes can also be a good option to make your loved ones feel comfortable, safe and happy. The first and foremost benefit of living in a senior living home is that they have caregivers who help seniors with their daily activities like bathing, dressing, medications and they also accompany the elderly people to doctor’s appointments.  The apartments also have some on-site medical services to respond to emergencies.   Moreover, the senior living homes organize fun activities for seniors like movie nights every weekend, book club meetings etc. The facilities have a library where senior people who are fond of reading can spend time reading. They also celebrate birthdays, anniversaries of elderly couples, and last but not least they arrange a pandal hopping program for seniors during Durga Puja, picnics during Christmas and other special days. All these help our seniors to socialize and make them happy and relaxed. Senior care services in Kolkata can help you find a good senior living home for your loved ones.

→     Last but not least, Make sure you keep in touch through phone calls, emails or video calls at least twice or thrice a week.  Surprise them with gifts and flowers during their birthdays or anniversaries, so that they feel loved and valued.

The above discussion explains what an empty nest syndrome is and how our beloved seniors can overcome this so that they can lead happy and comfortable life.