3. The Kids Are Gone, Now What?--The Empty Nest with Dr. Toyin Falusi

The Doctor's Life

Empty nesting isn't just a "syndrome"--it's a life changing event in so many ways! Dr. Dianne Ansari-Winn and Dr. Toyin Felusi are empty nesters and living on their own after their kids have gone to college. It is a positive time for kids, but can be a hard time for parents. There is so much in this episode--personal experiences and practical advice for parents who are going through this experience or know someone who is going through it. Dr. Dianne and Dr. Toyin, who have become great friends since they did their first podcast in November 2017 where they discussed Dr. Toyin's book on divorce, candidly discuss their experiences with having first one child, then 2 years later a second child leave for college, their experiences of loss afterward, and their strategies to maintain their health and well-being, and eventually thrive in their new lives. They suggest how to best support your child when they do launch as well as how they are learning and navigating their new identities as parents without children living with them. They also share what it's like to live by themselves after decades of living with family. Dr. Toyin shows how one can use Stephen Covey's "7 Habits of Highly Effective People" as a guide to develop your own strategies and personal development into adjusting to the changes in life and a new way of being in multiple new roles and a new place in life. Dr. Dianne discusses empty nest as a loss with accompanying grief as well as change in parenting style and identity. She gives advice on how to be with, embrace and accept where you are, even if it hurts, so that you can move forward, including seeing a mental health professional if needed, as depression is a concern and the symptoms can look a lot like grief. Dr. Toyin and Dr. Dianne then discuss things that worked for them to work through their experiences of empty nest changes, and embrace their new lives, including adding more activities that satisfy their need to give to the world at large. Examples include Dr. Toyin's volunteering, mentoring, podcasting, and her book, and through Dr. Dianne's work as a coach, book author, speaker and training physicians in how to be peer coaches. ----------------------- Want to learn more and hear more from Dr. Toyin? Read her book The Decade After--Thriving After Divorce www.thedecadeafter.com on Amazon in print, Kindle and audiobook. You can find Dr. Toyin's podcast "10 minutes with TmFal" on your favorite podcast app--iTunes, Spotify, Anchor, Google podcast to name a few. Reach Dr. Toyin on Facebook at thedecadeafter Want to learn more about Dr. Dianne's work, read her book "Doctor, Heal Thyself", get in touch with her to work with her, learn more about becoming a coach yourself, or having Dr. Dianne come an speak to your group or give a workshop? Go to www.drdianne.com. Did you like this episode? Don't forget to subscribe, listen to other episodes, and share! Do you have suggestions for podcast episodes? Send them to [e-mail].