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Separation Anxiety Disorder - Separation Anxiety Disorder Symptom, Cause, Treatment
Separation anxiety refers to a developmental stage during which the child experiences anxiety when separated from the primary care giver (usually the mother). Between the ages of 8 months and 2 years, it's normal for a child to cry when its mother leaves the room or a stranger enters it.According to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition (DSM-IV-TR), a child with separation anxiety experiences recurrent excessive anxiety beyond that expected for the child's developmental level. Separation anxiety is often associated with symptoms of depression , such as sadness, withdrawal, apathy, or difficulty in concentrating, and such children often fear that they or a family member might die. Separation anxiety disorder refers typically to younger children who are extremely unwilling to separate from major attachment figures (e.g., parents grandparents, older siblings) or from home (DSM-IV 1994). It's a natural stage that usually passes on its own. Children with the disorder become extremely upset whenever they separate from their primary caregiver, whether that person is a parent, relative, nanny, or other caregiver. The disorder may be overdiagnosed in children and teenagers who live in dangerous neighborhoods and have reasonable fears of leaving home.Characteristic features of separation anxiety disorder include severe distress, fear, or worry leading to impairment of functioning and frequently accompanied by somatic symptoms such as headaches or stomachaches (see Outlook ).
Symptoms of Separation Anxiety Disorder
Some are common Symptoms of Separation Anxiety Disorder :
- Worry about losing or harm coming to the primary caregiver
- Subjective feeling of anxiety
- Reluctance to go to sleep without the significant adult nearby
- repeated nightmares involving the theme of separation
- persistent reluctance or refusal to go to school or elsewhere because of fear of separation
- Nightmares with separation-related themes
- Homesickness
- Separation anxiety disorder (which is almost always seen in children).
- Fear of the dark
Causes of Separation Anxiety Disorder
The common Causes of Separation Anxiety Disorder :
- Children often feel anxiety when they have to be separated from a parent or other loved one.
- Some children are afraid to meet new people.
- In addition, the fact that children with separation anxiety often have family members with anxiety or other mental disorders suggests that a vulnerability to the disorder may be inherited.
- It is most likely to affect shy, nervous children.
- Experts have postulated that early and traumatic separation from the attachment figure (as well as a family history of anxiety disorders or depression in first-degree relatives) may increase the likelihood of the child and, later on, the adolescent or adult developing separation anxiety disorder, school phobia, and depressive-spectrum disorders.
- Children ages 7-12 often are afraid of things that could happen to them, such as getting hurt in a car accident or losing a parent.
- Asignificant change (such as a new nanny, birth of a new sibling, or starting at a new school)
Treatment of Separation Anxiety Disorder
- your child's age, overall health, and medical history
- your child's tolerance for specific medications, procedures, or therapies
- The doctor might advise you to take your child to a child or adolescent psychiatrist, a doctor who will help your child talk about his fears and teach him ways to control it.
- Antidepressant medications may be used to treat severe cases of separation anxiety disorder.
- Some hospitals provide Child Life specialists who specialize in explaining procedures and medical conditions to children of all ages.
- Since your child will be more susceptible to separation anxiety when tired, hungry, or sick, try to schedule departures after naps and mealtimes (American Academy of Pediatrics, 1993).
- Several types of medications are useful in treating anxiety disorders and are usually used in conjunction with other forms of therapy.
- Antianxiety medications may be effective but are not US Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved for persons younger than 18 years.
- School-based counseling can be effective in helping a child with separation anxiety disorder navigate the social, behavioral, and academic demands of the school setting
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