Separation Anxiety??!

Separation Anxiety??

Does it only occur in children or can it happen with adults too? Is it a medical condition?

2 weeks ago
can it happen in adults even if they didn't have it as a child?

I am an adult and suffer from extreme separation anxiety where one person is concerned. The fear of abandonment becomes an issue when a child does not receive the nurturing that they need. They are left crying for long periods of time, they are abandoned emotionally as well as physically, they don't experience the closeness and touching that they need to grow emotionally. Separation anxiety occurs when that person develops a close relationship with another person and becomes so fearful that something horrible is going to happen to that person, or that they, too, will leave.

Developmentally inappropriate and excessive anxiety concerning separation from home or from those to whom the individual is attached, as evidenced by three (or more) of the following:

recurrent excessive distress when separation from home or major attachment figures occurs or is anticipated

persistent and excessive worry about losing, or about possible harm befalling, major attachment figures
persistent and excessive worry that an untoward event will lead to separation from a major attachment figure (e.g., getting lost or being kidnapped)

persistent reluctance or refusal to go to school or elsewhere because of fear of separation

persistently and excessively fearful or reluctant to be alone or without major attachment figures at home or without significant adults in other settings

persistent reluctance or refusal to go to sleep without being near a near a major attachment figure or to sleep away from home

repeated nightmares involving the theme of separation

repeated complaints of physical symptoms (such as headaches, stomachaches, nausea, or vomiting) when separation from major attachment figures occurs or is anticipated

The duration of the disturbance is at least 4 weeks.

The onset is before age 18 years.

The disturbance causes clinically significant distress or impairment in social, academic (occupational), or other important areas of functioning.

The disturbance does not occur exclusively during the course of a Pervasive Developmental Disorder, Schizophrenia, or other Psychotic Disorder and, in adolescents and adults, is not better accounted for by Panic Disorder With Agoraphobia.