Even Gwyneth Paltrow is worried about becoming an empty nester
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- Gwyneth Paltrow is worried about becoming an empty nester too.
- "It's kind of giving me a nervous breakdown, if I'm honest," Paltrow said at her 11th In Goop Health summit.
- Paltrow has two kids, Apple and Moses, with her ex-husband Chris Martin.
Gwyneth Paltrow is nervous about becoming an empty nester when her son heads off to college this fall.
During an "Ask Me Anything" session at her 11th In Goop Health summit over the weekend, Paltrow spoke about how she's managing this transition.
"It's kind of giving me a nervous breakdown, if I'm honest. I started being like, 'Oh my God, and I need to quit my job and I need to sell my house and I need to move.' It's sort of putting things into turmoil," Paltrow said, per The Hollywood Reporter.
Paltrow has two children, Apple and Moses, with her ex-husband Coldplay front man Chris Martin. Apple is enrolled at Vanderbilt University, while Moses is set to attend Brown University in the fall, per The Hollywood Reporter.
In 2018, Paltrow married Brad Falchuk, who also has two kids from his previous marriage.
"My identity has been being a mother," Paltrow said. "So I've oriented my whole life around them and their schedules and when school starts."
The Goop founder shared that she was slowly learning to let her children be more independent.
"You start to let go in increments when they're driving themselves around or doing certain things. It is a slower process," she said.
Navigating this transition period isn't easy, but Paltrow added that she had support from a group of close friends who were also mothers.
"Psychologist-astrologist Jennifer Freed said, 'I would like you to think of it as being free birds instead of having an empty nest.' And that resonates," Paltrow said. "Instead of creating a sense of loss, what if I were free? And I could say yes to a girls' weekend because I didn't feel guilty. That kind of thing."
This isn't the first time Paltrow has spoken about becoming an empty nester.
Last month, she told The Times about the "incredible sadness" she feels knowing that her kids are growing up and leaving the house.
"A deep sense of impending grief," Paltrow said. "On the other hand this is exactly what should be happening. Your kids are supposed to be, you know, young adults who can achieve and cope and make connections and be resilient. That's exactly what you want. And that means they leave the house."
Becoming an empty nester can bring about feelings of loneliness.
When dealing with empty nest syndrome, Dr. Jessica Sosso, a family medicine physician in Wisconsin, suggests that parents continue to regularly keep in touch with their kids through phone calls and video chats, per Mayo Clinic. She also recommends that empty nesters use this time as an opportunity to reconnect with each other or engage in personal interests and hobbies.