A mental health expert will use the criteria, including those used in the latest DSM-5 to make a diagnosis of separation anxiety in adults. This therapy aims to help a person identify their thoughts and behaviors that are making their separation anxiety worse. Doctors may also temporarily prescribe anti-anxiety medications to help a person through their most acute symptoms of separation anxiety. These drugs, however, are not always long-term solutions to the underlying disorder, and some types of anti-anxiety medications can be addictive.
A person should engage in therapy so they can begin to change their ways of thinking to reduce the incidence of separation anxiety. A person may also wish to seek out a support group for those with anxiety and separation anxiety. People who join these groups can gain help with learning techniques for reducing separation-related anxiety.
While adult separation anxiety is not as common as when a child experiences this condition, it is still possible that a person can have separation anxiety as an adult. The anxiety can be so intense that it is hard for someone to function in daily life due to fears and worries about separating from another person. People should see a mental health professional if they are not sure if their fears are related to separation.
Through therapy and, in some instances, medications, people can reduce their separation anxiety symptoms. Anxiety and related mental health conditions can cause ear ringing or tinnitus, and tinnitus can exacerbate existing anxiety.
Learn more about the…. Selective mutism is an anxiety disorder that causes an inability to speak in certain situations. Learn more about the causes and treatment. After lockdown, many people feel different types of anxiety, including social, health, or work-related stress. Learn ways to overcome this. Caffeine is a stimulant that can cause people to feel anxious. Learn more. What is separation anxiety disorder in adults? Medically reviewed by Timothy J. These symptoms can cause significant distress that impacts their social occupational, or academic functioning.
According to the DSM-V, adult separation anxiety is diagnosable if the symptoms have been present for at least 6 months, the symptoms are so severe that they affect your social functioning and ability to take care of responsibilities, and if symptoms cannot be better explained by a different disorder.
Those who suffer with clinical obsessive-compulsive disorder are more likely to experience separation anxiety as an adult. Furthermore, those with separation anxiety often have other coexisting conditions such as social anxiety, social phobias, panic disorder, agoraphobia, post-traumatic stress disorder PTSD , personality disorders, and generalised anxiety disorder.
It has also been found that being female, experiencing childhood adversity such as the death of a family member , or having a history of childhood traumatic events such as abuse , increases your risk for adult separation anxiety.
You may also be more likely to develop separation anxiety as an adult if you experienced it as a child. Sometimes, a significant life change, such as a divorce, death, or even the recent coronavirus pandemic, can cause the development of adult separation anxiety.
However, it is important to remember that a person could have all of these risk factors and still not develop separation anxiety. Equally, a person can have none of these risk factors, but experience separation anxiety. These risk factors are a guide, but not a prediction. As we ease out of lockdown, it is important to consider how you might be able to manage possible separation anxiety in yourself and your loved ones.
If your symptoms are really unmanageable, it is worth contacting a professional such as a psychotherapy or your GP for support. However, if your anxiety around being separated from your loved ones feels manageable, here are some steps that you can take to manage it;. You can read more about emotional agility here. If you feel that you would like some professional emotional support with concerns around separation, please contact us on to talk to one of our lovely reception team or email appointments theawarenesscentre.
We have telephone and online video appointments seven days a week, with low-cost options as well. Your email address will not be published. Post Comment. Please add me to the list. Clinging to the caregiver. Your child may shadow you around the house or cling to your arm or leg if you attempt to step out. Separation anxiety disorder occurs because a child feels unsafe in some way.
Change in environment. Changes in surroundings, such as a new house, school, or day care situation, can trigger separation anxiety disorder. Stressful situations like switching schools, divorce, or the loss of a loved one—including a pet—can trigger separation anxiety problems. Insecure attachment.
The attachment bond is the emotional connection formed between an infant and their primary caretaker. While a secure attachment bond ensures that your child will feel secure, understood and calm enough for optimal development, an insecure attachment bond can contribute to childhood problems such as separation anxiety. An overprotective parent. In some cases, separation anxiety disorder may be the manifestation of your own stress or anxiety. Although these two conditions can share symptoms, they are treated differently.
By understanding the effects of traumatic stress on children , you can help your child benefit from the most fitting treatment.
Rather than trying to avoid separation whenever possible, you can better help your child combat separation anxiety disorder by taking steps to make them feel safer. Providing a sympathetic environment at home can make your child feel more comfortable. Educate yourself about separation anxiety disorder.
If you learn about how your child experiences this disorder, you can more easily sympathize with their struggles. For a child who might already feel isolated by their disorder, the experience of being listened to can have a powerful healing effect. Talk about the issue.
Anticipate separation difficulty. Be ready for transition points that can cause anxiety for your child, such as going to school or meeting with friends to play. If your child separates from one parent more easily than the other, have that parent handle the drop off. Keep calm during separation. If your child sees that you can stay cool, they are more likely to be calm, too.
Encourage your child to participate in healthy social and physical activities. Use the smallest of accomplishments—going to bed without a fuss, a good report from school—as reason to give your child positive reinforcement. Provide a consistent pattern for the day. Routines provide children with a sense of security and help to eliminate their fear of the unknown. Try to be consistent with mealtimes, bedtimes and the like. Set limits. Let your child know that although you understand their feelings, there are rules in your household that need to be followed.
Like routines, setting and enforcing limits helps your child know what to expect from any given situation. Offer choices. If your child is given a choice or some element of control in their interaction with you, they may feel more safe and comfortable. For example, you can give your child a choice about where at school they want to be dropped off or which toy they want to take to daycare. For children with separation anxiety disorder, attending school can seem overwhelming and a refusal to go is commonplace.
Help a child who has been absent from school return as quickly as possible. Identify a safe place. Find a place at school where your child can go to reduce anxiety during stressful periods. Develop guidelines for appropriate use of the safe place. Allow your child contact with home. At times of stress at school, a brief phone call—a minute or two—with family may reduce separation anxiety.
Send notes for your child to read. You can place a note for your child in their lunch box or locker. Provide assistance to your child during interactions with peers. Just like at home, every good effort—or small step in the right direction—deserves to be praised. Kids with anxious or stressed parents may be more prone to separation anxiety. In order to help your child ease their anxiety symptoms, you may need to take measures to become calmer and more centered yourself.
Talk about your feelings. Exercise regularly. Physical activity plays a key role in reducing and preventing the effects of stress. Eat right.
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