full nest syndrome

English

Alternative forms

• full-nest syndrome

Etymology

Earliest known use is from 1976 (see first quotation below), conceived in opposition to the empty nest syndrome.

Noun

full nest syndrome (uncountable)

1. (uncommon) A feeling of stress, frustration or depression experienced by some middle-aged parents whose adult children haven't moved out from their house. [from 20th c.]
   • 1976 November 26, Ellen Goodman, “Half-way house”, in The Lincoln Star, page 4:

     Their parents meanwhile have their own adjustments to make. You see, those who were prepared for an attack of the empty-nest syndrome in September are aghast at the symptoms of a full-nest syndrome in November.

   • 1985 September 10, Barbara Mathias, “The Full Nest Syndrome: When Kids Come Home to Roost”, in The Washington Post:
   • 1988, Glen O. Gabbard, Roy W. Menninger, editors, Medical Marriages, American Psychiatric Press, page 133:

     In one variation of the full nest syndrome, parents and/or in-laws come to live with the chosen daughter, placing even more demands for nurturance on an already beleaguered middle-aged mother.

   • 1999, Sheila Rabe, It's a Wonderful Midlife!: Finding the Positives in Aging, Horizon Books, page 41:

     Joyce answered my survey question, "What particularly bothers you about your age?" this way: "Gray hair, wrinkles and a fear that my children are going to live home forever." Doctor Sheila (that's me) has labeled this attribute full-nest syndrome and I'm suffering from it even as I write this book. Full-nest syndrome produces feelings of frustration and depression in parents whose children haven't moved out and show no intention of doing so.

   • 2011, Joy Norton, Tazuko Shibusawa, Living in Japan: A Guide to Living, Working, and Traveling in Japan, Tuttle Publishing, page 61:

     Some parents may find themselves dealing with the “full-nest syndrome” in which children return to Japan and to their parents, expecting to continue the expatriate lifestyle, much as before.

   • 2015, Heidi Bright, Thriver Soup, A Feast for Living Consciously During the Cancer Journey, Sunstone Press, page 176:

     I needed a new shelter, a way to spend my nights in the shadow of the Almighty, a time of refuge from family life. When my psychotherapist saw how excited I was about taking al nine-day silent retreat, she said I had full-nest syndrome.

See also

• empty nest syndrome