Separation Anxiety in Adults

Separation anxiety in adults is quite different from the generic anxiety disorder. In fact, it is less common than separation anxiety in children. This anxiety disorder may be a result of failures in marital, emotional or professional fronts and adults dealing with situations such as death of loved-ones or divorce.

In addition, adults may suffer from adult separation anxiety, while dealing with situations when their child decides to live independently or wishes to become emotionally independent. This disorder might also act as an indication for the development of any other anxiety related disorders. Often, this disorder is mistaken with panic attack.

Facts to Know:

• Normally, generalized anxiety disorder is not confined to anxiety or with the fear of separation from familiar environment and loved ones. For example, an adult living with his/her mother, who died long ago may suffer from separation anxiety. Instead, it is an enduring and pervasive feeling of worry that may affect health, relationship and well-being of individuals.
  
• Adults suffering from separation anxiety disorder have frequent feelings or thoughts of impending disasters. Long-term symptoms of separation anxiety in adults may lead to panic attacks. In addition, individuals suffering from separation anxiety are prone to develop other types of anxiety disorders in future.

More on Separation Anxiety in Adults

According to studies, the rate of people suffering from adult separation anxiety disorder is much higher than child separation anxiety in the United States of America. Most of the adults suffering from adult separation anxiety disorder have experienced child separation anxiety disorder during their childhood. Separation anxiety in adults generally occurs with psychiatric illness, particularly mood disorders or other anxiety conditions.

In addition, the disorder is linked with social and personal impairment. Generally, this disorder is seen mainly in adults, who are unemployed, poorly educated and unmarried. Most of the adults, who are suffering from separation anxiety, exhibit certain common symptoms, which are as follows:

• Excessively and persistently fearful to stay alone, even when living with elder people at homes
• Refusal to go for holidays due to worry and fear of separation
• Frequent body pain, headaches, stomachaches, vomiting and nausea
• Fear of sleeping away from their loved ones
• Repeatedly facing nightmares that involves separation scenarios
• Insecurity against strangers due to fear of losing their loved ones to them
• To aid adults suffering from generalized anxiety disorder and/or adult separation anxiety, treatment interventions include various approaches such as cognitive therapy and behavioral techniques.

To treat adults, who are suffering from separation anxiety, it is important to make them aware of its occurrence and prevalence that may be mistaken with Axis I disorder and agoraphobia, as it occurs in concurrent with numerous disorders.

Conclusion

Generally, no specific medicine is able to treat separation anxiety in adults. However, behavioral techniques and cognitive therapy are effective enough to treat this problem. Adult separation anxiety disorder is generally a mental disorder. Thus, psychological treatment is the only way to treat this problem from its root.

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