My [24/F] mom [50s/F] is suffering from an extreme case of empty nest syndrome and I have no idea what I can do to help!

Hello everyone, I appreciate any and all suggestions as I am at a complete loss.

My mom, my younger sister and I are all very close and really are best friends. I left home around 6 years ago for university and my mom was apparently inconsolable. She said that she felt like she was losing a daughter and that for a few months she felt like she was grieving. She would apparently cry all the time. Although I would speak to her on the phone almost every day, I couldn't return home until Christmas that year as I lived so far away and travel was too expensive, but my sister was able to help my mom through this period as they still lived together.

Today, my sister left to start her new job in the army. Her schedule is quite strict and she can't return home for a long time. Any time that she can return home, it's only for a day at a time. I returned home from university to attend her attestation, but I am staying at home for a week to console my mom. She cannot stop crying, saying things like there is no point living anymore, her family is fragmented and that things will never be the same again. She says that her job is done and so her life is basically over. She has been like this for the past few weeks and I am heartbroken for her. I have never seen her so distraught. I try reminding her that she has so much to look forward to, that we can all talk together every day and that we will always love her and need her, no matter where we live. I tell her that I will return home as often as I can and have already made plans to return home several times over the next few months.

However, my mom says that the hardest thing is that she will miss the presence of my sister in the house, that she just feels so lonely now. I have suggested getting a dog or seeing a therapist who may be able to give her more practical advice, but we are relatively poor family and can't really afford these things on a longterm basis. I've also told her that she should throw herself into new projects and find new friends, but she insists that she doesn't want to socialise with anyone outside of her family. In truth, she has never really had any friends outside of myself and my sister.

My mom says that she feels better with me being at home, but I have to return to uni in a few days. I have already had to cancel important meetings and classes just to be here with her. I have told her that I will try to return as often as possible, but again this is rather costly each time and I have to make sure that I am around for my classes and part-time jobs. It's not that I don't want to be here with her - if I could I would be here as long as she needed me - but I know that this could really begin to have a negative impact on my academic, financial and social situation.

Absolutely anything you can suggest or if you have been through a similar situation (as someone suffering from empty nest syndrome or as a friend/relative of someone suffering from it), I would really appreciate! Thank you.

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TL;DR: mom is suffering from an extreme case of empty nest syndrome now that my sister has left home and I don't know what to do to help her.

Submitted September 26, 2018 at 12:43PM by DarkSideOfTheMewn https://ift.tt/2OTked5