Separation Anxiety In Children

Childhood anxiety is quickly becoming the most challenging of all childhood problems. As the root of most problems, anxiety covers a long range of stressors that spread quickly if not treated or relieved early in life. Anxious feelings in children varies from children of all backgrounds. All people feel anxious at one point or another, and it is only when children are affected daily and unable to be calmed when people should become concerned. Many times, children are feeling overwhelmed and cannot express themselves or struggle to understand his/her feelings. Social and emotional development then plays a big part when facing concerns like anxiety in a young childhood environment. Teachers and caregivers need to take a step back and focus on what the child needs rather than what he/she can do to make children calm down. Through interventions, patience, and caring teachers, a young child does not need to be known as "The Child Who is Anxious", he/she can just be a child.

Separation anxiety in children is the developmental stage when a child suffers from anxiety from being separated from their primary caregiver. “Separation anxiety is characterized by the experience of marked distress when separation from the home or an attachment figure occurs, or perhaps is merely anticipated by a child.” (Altman, Sommer, & McGoey, 2009, para. 3). To help a child in this stages it’s important that I promote a healthy and safe environment. Offer fun activities that me and the child can do together. Allow the child to bring an object from home with them so they can feel secure. During the stage of separation anxiety the child is experiencing

Separation anxiety disorder (SAD) is a condition that causes a child severe distress when away from the parents or the caregivers. Studies show that 4-5% of children and adolescents typically have this disorder. This paper will provide an researched overview of the present understandings of SAD. Information covered in this paper will include examples of studies for both children and animal. The areas examined will focus on the causes, symptoms, ways to diagnose this disorder, ways to prevent it and the treatment currently available.

Separation anxiety is very common as children grow and develop. They may fear those few moments during daycare drop-off or that initial first meeting with a new babysitter. These children will often times grow out of this anxiety after they become familiar with their surroundings and caregivers. But, if they continue having these separation anxiety induced outbursts, even after they have been with a trusted caregiver for a time, parents and primary caregivers often worry about the well-being of their child and their child’s development. They may believe that their child has acquired a Separation Anxiety Disorder (SAD). I selected this topic because I work with multiple toddlers in a center and their parents have expressed some minor worry towards whether or not their child suffers with SAD or if this anxiety is causing them delays. I would love to be able to know some minor details about this broad topic and refer them to the website and articles that I found helpful when writing this report. This topic is important because it is has many symptoms that are similar to regular and developmentally appropriate separation anxiety. When a child suffers from SAD, it is something that needs attention by a pediatric professional in order for it not to affect the child later in life.

Today, the exact cause of Separation Anxiety Disorder is unknown (According to an article by Psychology Today). Although the exact cause is unknown, we do know of some risk factors. According to various articles, kids that come from very united families are more likely to develop SAD if separation from a parent occurs or a traumatic event such as, physical assault occurs. Boston Children’s Hospital says that, “…a child can also inherit that parent’s anxiety…” and that “…anxiety may be learned from family members and others who are noticeably stressed or anxious around a child.” Those are only some ways a kid might end up developing SAD. Various articles also suggest that a factor that seems to be common in kids with Separation Anxiety

Symptoms of separation anxiety disorder are prolonged fear and anxiety when a person or object is separated from the patient. They unrealistically worry about the safety of a loved one. The fear is so intense that it activates the sympathetic nervous system. By activating the sympathetic nervous system the body automatically mobilizes to get back what has been lost. For example, a mother is shopping in the store with her toddler. The child stumbles off without the mother knowing, as soon the mother notices her child missing she darts off looking for him. During this period of time

General anxiety disorder (GAD) is a prevalent, debilitating disorder recognized by the DSM-5. Some of the symptoms that are associated with GAD are restlessness/ feeling keyed up, being easily fatigues, difficulty concentrating/ having a blank mind, irritability, muscle tension, and disturbed sleep. Excessive anxiety, the most common mental health problem experienced in average youth, causes individual distress and functional impairment throughout children’s lives (Gross & Hen, 2004). Anxiety is also a mental status that is elicited in anticipation of threat of some kind. Sensations of anxiety are a normal part of human experiences, but excessive or inappropriate anxiety can become an illness. High levels of anxiety can be accompanied by a set of behavioral and physiological responses including avoidance, vigilance and arousal from a stimuli or stimulus. Children and adolescence of both genders usually experience anxiety symptoms at different levels of intensity that frequently afflicts their everyday life. Anxiety has been treated with drug therapy, cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT), relaxation training and even systematic desensitization. To diagnose general anxiety disorder, one would look for many presenting symptoms, characteristics, and treatments.

Adult Separation Anxiety Disorder “involves excessive and often disabling distress when faced with actual or perceived separation from major attachments.”(anxietypanichealth.com, 2008). This type of anxiety usually goes undiagnosed or neglected as a diagnosis due to there not being much research being done on the disorder. Adult separation anxiety puts individuals who are left alone and cannot attach to someone are put into a state of fear and extreme anxiety. As a result they are not able to adapt to being alone.

Twelve months before attending the agency the client began to demonstrate increasing levels of anxiety. This anxiety commenced with significant difficulties being separated from his mother or father at home, to go to school, stay with family and play with friends. The parents said the client’s behaviours included clinging on to them and chasing after them as they were leaving the house or school. He would also check their location in the house to confirm that they were still there. On occasion his behaviour deteriorated into tantrums, although this only happened at home. The parents also expressed concern that the boy’s teacher noticed he was refusing to eat at school. The parents also reported their child was unable to get to sleep without their presence. He would awaken with nightmares at least three times a week saying he was frightened something bad was happening to them. The parents stated that it was becoming increasingly difficult for them to manage their son’s behaviour.

Individuals with separation anxiety disorder are reluctant or refuse to go out by themselves because of separation fears.

No one is perfectly healthy. In today’s society, many people suffer from some type of disorders. Separation anxiety is one of them. According to the www.attachment.org website, “this disorder is a type of an attachment disorder that is usually observed by young children, who feel they are getting lack of affection and attention from parents or their caregivers due to separation.” I believe that many people feel unsafe being alone and they are afraid to be alone. However, due to inescapable situation or technology or laziness they face separation, loneliness, and fear. Many researches and articles say genes, environment, and people are the main cause of the attachment disorder. There are differences between adults and young children who have separation anxiety. The ways to treat separation anxiety vary. The research says 77.5 % of people has lifetime separation anxiety disorder, 75.2 % has reported separation anxiety disorder in the past 12 months had adult onset SAD, and 80% of SAD diagnoses still occurred prior to 30 years of age with individuals experiencing onset by their late teens to early 20s.

The Screen for Child Anxiety Related Emotional Disorders (referred to as SCARED) is a child self-report

Separation and children: How it affects your kids. States “When children are secure they thrive because they feel safe enough to explore, develop, learn, and grow”. Children must feel secured by their parents so that they can feel safe enough to explore, develop, learn and grow. It is important for them because in this way they can feel that they are loved by their

The number of those suffering from separation anxiety has increased. The disorder may have primed those who suffer from it to other forms of anxiety. Such as panic disorders which is a psychiatric disorder in which debilitating anxiety and fear arise frequently and without reasonable cause and agoraphobia which is Fear of places and situations that might cause panic, helplessness, or embarrassment (Www2.massgeneral.org 2015). Psychoanalytic theories have different views on separation anxiety and where it belongs in children development. Some Psychiatrist believes that separation anxiety is a result from the unconscious conflicts that are internal (Bowlby N.D.). Viewing it from this point of view the fear of losing a mother by separation is not regarding real danger. Freud considers the main experience of separation from protecting the mother or caregiver the prototype situation of anxiety and compares it to generating fear of separation experiences. In his opinion anxiety originates from two factors: physiological fact begins at the time of birth but then first traumatic situation is separation from mother/ caregiver. His point of view can be looked at as behavioral theories. Behavioral theories suggest separation anxiety to be conditioned or learned from

This paper examines the various symptoms of Separation Anxiety Disorder among children and adolescents, the refusal of children diagnosed with Separation Anxiety Disorder to go to school, and the treatments that are used to treat this disorder. Studies have shown that Separation Anxiety Disorder is the third most common anxiety disorder among children. Symptoms are fairly easy to recognize, but must be addressed quickly. Refusal to go to school is one of the most significant consequences of this disorder. Treatments are being made available to children who suffer from this disorder and advances in research are being made.