Separation Anxiety Disorder-When Concern Gets Too Much
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There are children who seem to care too much for their parents. That would be delightful but only on the first occasions. Later, parents will find this attachement annoying and... |
There are children who seem to care too much for their parents. That would be delightful but only on the first occasions. Later, parents will find this attachement annoying and would even devise plans to get their children out of reach, even for a while. But some parents would wish that on some extent, if only they can get their child out of sight permanently then they had done that. Why a reaction such as this would develop in some parents despite the fact that their children would even bother to call home several times a day just to check if their parents are okay? Simply because of that plain reason (of calling home twenty or more times a day) and a hoard of others.
At first glance, children with separation anxiety disorder would appear like normal children. But actually, they are not if we are pertaining to their reactions over their separation with a parent or a parent figure. A young child who displays symptoms of extreme unwillingness to separate from home or from someone he cares a lot (a given example of which is the parent) is possibly positive of having separation anxiety disorder. Or even the prospect of becoming separated from a caregiver would likely develop extreme fear for the child.
Symptoms
Symptoms of separation anxiety disorder may come in two forms: one group tells something about the potential of hurting oneself and the other is the possibility of harming another person (a caregiver perhaps but never the figure for whom he worries much about).
The initial symptoms is avoidance of the activities that may possibly cause separation. That would include rules like "I am not going to school", or to the party, mall and others.
Nightmares are also significantly high among children with separation anxiety disorder. Along with sleep troubles are somatic complaints in the forms of unexplainable headaches, stomachache, sweating, nausea and the likes. The interesting fact in here is that children with separation anxiety disorders often display physical symptoms before the prospect of "going to school" and other places that will lead to separation but would have none of them after the confirmation that they will not go. They are not faking but sudden occurrence and perishing of symptoms are real.
Criteria for diagnosis
Conditions inappropriate for the age of the child and extreme anxiousness over the fear of losing one's parents or separation from homes may all be evident when a person experiences separation anxiety disorder. But experiencing three or more of the following criteria would likely diagnose you as a patient.
* Recurrent extreme depression when the prospect of separation from attachment figures arises.
* Excessive and persistent anxiety over harmful events that might befall the person's attachment figures.
* Extreme anxiousness over an event that might cause his separation from a major attachment figure such as being lost or kidnapped.
* Extreme reluctance to go elsewhere but the place where his attachment figure is present.
* Fear or reluctance to be alone where significant attachment figures cannot be found.
* Unwillingness to sleep where his attachments figure is not next to him or to his room.
* Recurrent dreams and nightmares that focus on the theme of separation.
* Repeated experiences of unexplained attacks of physical symptoms such as head and stomachaches, nausea and vomiting and the likes.
Though separation anxiety disorder is more prevalent among children, the possibility that teens would develop the same condition is also high. In fact, the onset is generally traced before the age of eighteen.
Recommended Reading
- Separation Anxiety
- Definitions of Anxiety Disorder and Conditions for Every Age Bracket
- General Anxiety Disorder
- A Comparison- Social Anxiety Disorder and Agoraphobia
- Eating Disorder in Children Sets Dangerous Path
