Get a Grip: Living with Separation Anxiety Disorder
Separation anxiety disorder (SAD) is a
serious condition that affects young children, teenagers, and adults alike.
This disorder causes intense fear of being separated from one’s parents or
loved ones and can severely disrupt one’s life, making it difficult to attend
school or work, or keep up good relationships with friends and family.
What is Separation Anxiety
Disorder?
Separation anxiety disorder (SAD) is the
most common anxiety disorder among children, adolescents, and adults. The
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that 3.5% of
school-aged children experience it in any given year and 17% will experience
SAD at some point during their lifetime. SAD can happen when your brain begins
to associate places or events with being separated from someone or something
you love or cherish.
What Causes Separation
Anxiety?
It's normal to experience some anxiety
when you're apart from the person you love. However, if it gets out of control
and interferes with your day-to-day life, it may be a sign that you have
separation anxiety disorder. This type of disorder stems from being too reliant
on your loved one or trying to avoid feeling vulnerable. If this is the case,
start building your support system and make sure to set realistic expectations for
yourself.
What are the Symptoms of
Separation Anxiety?
Separation anxiety disorder, or the
feeling of panic when your loved one leaves the house, can often be traced back
to attachment difficulties in childhood. The disorder is typified by intense
fear, such as heart palpitations, sweating and dry mouth, as well as
obsessive-compulsive behaviors such as door checking or calling someone over
and over. Furthermore, people who experience separation anxiety are also at
greater risk for developing other emotional problems down the line.
How to Treat or Deal with it?
Separation
anxiety disorder can be quite debilitating and impact the quality of your life.
While there is no cure for separation anxiety, you can still manage this
condition so that it doesn't control your life.
Here
are some ways to live with separation anxiety disorder:
1)
Focus on the present and be aware of the things happening around you.
Concentrate on what's going on in the moment to distract from what's happening
outside that present moment. Keep yourself occupied by playing a game or
reading something while you're waiting at the airport. Bring an activity such
as drawing or knitting to work if your job requires sitting at a desk all day
and allows these types of activities. Distracting yourself will help keep
symptoms like panic attacks at bay because you'll be thinking about something
else instead of worrying about whether or not you'll see someone again.
2)
Practice relaxation techniques.
3)
Get support from family members, friends, co-workers, etc.
How CBT can help
Separation anxiety disorder is frequently
treated with cognitive behavioral therapy. The strategy of CBT is to identify
and correct unhealthy thought patterns, which in turn can lead to healthy
emotional and physical responses. It also teaches relaxation skills for
handling difficult situations that are more likely to cause anxiety, such as
being away from home for work or school.
How Hypnotherapy Can Help
Separation
anxiety disorder is one of the most common forms of anxiety, and for people who
experience it, the negative effects can be very serious. Thankfully,
hypnotherapy has been found to help combat the severity of separation anxiety
disorder in many patients.
The
science behind this method of treatment is pretty simple. When it comes to
feeling anxious or panicky, there are three areas which can be addressed by
hypnotherapy: thoughts, feelings and behaviors.
Separation anxiety disorder is so common that it's actually one of the most common mental health disorders. It's caused by an attachment to an individual or something in the person's life that they are emotionally reliant on, and the fear of them leaving causes extreme distress. If you are dealing with separation anxiety, please talk to your doctor and make sure you get treatment as soon as possible.
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