Have you ever wondered how the moods? The answer to this question is complex, since these are born in the middle of a torrent of information that comes both from inside and outside the person. We are not emotionally autonomous beings, with feelings that are born spontaneously in us and are expressed outwards in our actions and our way of expressing emotional states; in any case, n Our feelings are born in continuous feedback with what is happening around us
Taking this into account, it is not strange to think that our emotional states are due, at least in part, to the type of relationship we have with others and the degree to which we have the opportunity to interact with certain people.
Definition: the loneliness of the silent home
He Empty Nest Syndrome is a clear example of this. This concept is used to refer to the feeling of loneliness and sadness experienced by fathers, mothers and caregivers in general. when the young people they once looked after become emancipated and stop sharing a house with them Empty Nest Syndrome frequently occurs when children leave home to move to the city where their college is located, when they decide to live alone and take care of themselves, or when they get married. In all cases something similar happens: something changes in the daily life of the caregivers, because certain people are no longer as present as before.
This feeling of loss does not have to be based only on the absence of dealing with children, but can have a negative effect on self-image if great value was placed on being responsible for caring for another person. The search for meaning in what one does can be disrupted if a large part of that existential effort has to do with raising and caring for others.
Differences between men and women
A simple variation such as going from sharing a house with a child to stopping doing so can profoundly disrupt the repertoire of emotional states of parents and guardians, because Emotions are related to objective changes that occur in the context
However, today the context is determined, in part, by the gender assigned to each person. As for him gender bias Women have had a traditional role linked to parenting and the domestic sphere, also are the most likely to experience Empty Nest Syndrome: an objectively reflected inequality (the distribution of domestic tasks) also entails variations in the perception of this objectivity (the departure of children from home).
But, in addition, it is possible that part of the reasons why women tend to experience this feeling of loss more is found in the fact that these episodes frequently coincide with menopause.
That does not mean that men cannot develop the typical symptoms of Empty Nest Syndrome, but in statistical terms it is less common for it to occur.
What is happening with Empty Nest Syndrome today?
It is very possible that in recent years the effects of Empty Nest Syndrome have been affected by changes in lifestyle and the economic crisis On the one hand, there is an increasing number of young adults unable to emancipate themselves due to lack of income. On the other hand, the fact that birth rates are falling in many countries may reflect that there are more and more families with only one child, which could mean that their emancipation would represent a more abrupt change.
Furthermore, the demands of a stricter labor market lead many young people to work very far from their usual place of residence, which makes family conciliation difficult and makes meetings with parents less frequent and more spaced out over time.
Nor is it so common that little time passes between when the children become emancipated and the moment they have a child, so in some cases people who experience Empty Nest Syndrome They don’t even have the opportunity to take care of their grandchildren (which, on the other hand, if they exist could be hundreds of kilometers away).
The partial loss of contact with a son or daughter may seem difficult to bear in itself, but the way in which this is experienced depends largely on material conditions such as those provided by the labor market and the economic situation of the child. the families.
