Mother Loss in the 30’s – Guilt & Regret

I apologize for the gap in writing about mother loss and stage of emotional development. I am back from a medical leave of absence, so I am planning to continue with these blogs. I left off at the 20’s. This blog is on the 30’s, and then I will write about the 40’s, 50’s, and 60’s, so stay tuned!

As you may recall, this series focuses on mother loss and the stage of emotional development. Go back and look at these blogs to update yourself or to get on board:

Age of Loss and Stage of Emotional Development:
0-6 yrs.
6-12 yrs.
Adolescents
The Individuation Process
20’s

Now it is time to explore what happens to women who lose their mothers in the 30’s.  According to Erickson, this stage is identified by the developmental tasks of Intimacy versus Isolation.  We begin to share ourselves more intimately with others. We explore relationships leading toward longer-term commitments with someone other than a family member.

Successful completion of this stage can lead to comfortable relationships and a sense of commitment, safety, and care within a relationship. Avoiding intimacy, fearing commitment and relationships can lead to isolation, loneliness, and sometimes depression. Success in this stage will lead to the virtue of love.

But when a mother dies, many women have shared with us that loss in the 30’s leaves them feeling guilty, alone, regretful, and scared.

Think about what life may be like for a 30’s woman.

~ You have started or are establishing your career.
~ You are making your way in the world.
~ Many times you must relocate from where mother has resided.
~ You may be developing intimate relationships.
~ You may be choosing life-long partners.
~ You may be starting a family or raising children.

The 30’s is a time of new roles, new priorities, more time demands, more commitment to your new career, your employer, your significant other, your family and on and on. The 30’s woman is stretched s-o-o-o-o-o thin she is exhausted.

The mother-daughter role has changed for the 30’s woman.  Her role with mother has transitioned.  No longer is mother the most important priority in her life. She is stretched so thin she hardly has time for the mother-daughter relationship. And this is where the guilt and regret comes in.

Lots of “what ifs, and second guessing” when a mother dies, the 30’s daughter feels overwhelming guilt and regret that she didn’t make time for mother.

“Why didn’t I spend more time with my mom?  I really wanted to.  I was so busy with things.  And now she is gone.  The things were just not as important but I cannot spend time with her now.  She is gone.”   ~ 36 year-old Jane, wife, mother of 3 children under age 6, and home-based marketing consultant

 “There just was not any room for mom in my life.  I worked so hard but I failed.” ~ Susan, 32 year-old single engineer

Mother may have also played other roles with the 30’s daughter — Grandmother, babysitter, counselor, listener, coach, and on. The loss of each of these roles layers on additional grief and challenges. The daughter must decide how and if she will show her tremendous grief to her children.  Many women don’t want their children see them cry. We must remember what lessons do we want our children to learn. We are role modeling how to react when we lose someone we love. If we choose not to let them see us cry, we may be sending the message, “You should not cry when you lose someone you love. Be strong.”

Much like the 20’s woman, the 30’s woman still needs mom in her life. Her life is so demanding but she still needs mom to coach her with the how-to’s in life.

The 30’s daughter’s loss is huge.

“I need her. How will I know how to navigate the next steps without her?”  “How do I grieve and be strong at the same time?”

“Mom, what do I do?” 

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