How “Failure to Launch Syndrome” Brought Me to Therapy

The first time I heard the phrase, “failure to launch,” I was 24 years old, studying psychology in graduate school. Our instructor was describing various life transitions that can have profound psychological effects on families, such as relocating, having a child, or divorcing. But my ears perked up when she said, “failure to launch.” As she explained what it was, I had a flashback to my first semester in college—an emotionally tumultuous period that led me to therapy for the first time.