What is Separation Anxiety Disorder?

Separation Anxiety Disorder is a condition which affects children whereby the children who suffer from it are afraid to be separated from their caretakers as they believe something drastic might happen to either them or their caretakers in the event of separation. Although the symptoms of this condition are primarily seen after the child has seen something traumatic or has gone through a nerve-wracking, Separation Anxiety Disorder can nonetheless appear at any stage of childhood.

Among the forefront of the symptoms exhibited by a child who suffers from this disorder is the persistent fear of being left alone be it at home or in any other social setting. This is usually accompanied by the refusal to go to school or any other place due to the separation from the caretaker. When separation does take place, the child becomes highly distressed and voices complains of various physical ailments such as headaches, dizziness, and nausea. In addition, the child may also refuse to go sleep without one of the primary caretakers nearby. Furthermore, the child may suffer from regular nightmares with the major theme in the nightmares being separation from his/her caretakers.

Hence, it can be seen that Separation Anxiety Disorder is a condition which parents need to take seriously. If left unnoticed, the child can become very anxious and can develop other forms of anxiety disorders as well. Additionally, the disorder also runs the risk of emotionally scarring the child for life.

Thus as a parent, if you see your child displaying the symptoms mentioned you seek out a trusted medical professional. The good news is that there are a whole range of treatment options available which can either be used on their own or in combination with one another.

These treatment options include anti-anxiety medications. Make sure you carefully consider the pros and the cons before you put your child on such pills as they can have some serious side effects. Also, ensure that if you do use these drugs, they are used in very small quantities and as a temporary measure rather than a permanent solution.

What should be looked as a long term solution though is cognitive-behavioral therapy, although history has shown this is more appropriate for adolescents. Possibly the most effective solution still remains family therapy as it doesn’t take a ‘its your problem’ approach and instead focuses on the effect of the disorder on the whole family under the ‘its our problem’ approach.

The child could also be taught various relaxation techniques which could help bring his/her anxiety levels down. A last option could also be play therapy whereby toys and games are used as an expression of feelings. Which ever option you go for, make sure you do so after comprehensive consultations with a child specialist.