Separation Anxiety

iVillage Member
Registered: 01-29-2005
Separation Anxiety
1
Sun, 03-13-2005 - 12:30pm

Hi all! I’ve been lurking here for a while hoping to find some information about separation anxiety without much luck. Most information I found on it in my own studies has been limited and repetitive. Actually, there is more info on separation anxiety in dogs than in people! A bit of backround…

When I was a child (about 3) my parents got divorced and my mom and I moved away. I seemed to be ok, with the occasional tantrum about wanting to go back “home.” I don’t remember being in a lot of distress until I started school. Every single morning of first grade during the pledge of allegiance, I would begin to cry. Not loudly, but enough to be noticed. I couldn’t control it and it was always so embarrassing. When teachers would ask what was wrong I didn’t know what to say. Nothing was “wrong” but I was clearly uncomfortable. No one did anything about it, though. I think my parents and teachers felt if they ignored me, I would stop. Well, this continued for 2 years. Finally, I learned how to suppress my tears until I could get by myself, but the anxiety never ceased. I learned to internalize it as I got older, but to this day I well up when I smell crayons. Recently I read an article about separation anxiety and my symptoms are very similar to those of SAD.

Now, later in life, I still have those feelings when I experience change I can’t control. I just graduated college, and as my friends started leaving school my junior year, I got bad again. Then, when I finally graduated with the rest of my friends, it got really bad. When people visit me, or I visit them, I get uncharacteristically emotional when we part Even if I know I will see them again, the tears keep flowing out of my control. The thing is, when I read about SA, I can only find info on children with the condition. Is it rare to continue with symptoms into adulthood? Has anyone else had experience with this they can share? I’d appreciate it!

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-11-2004
Mon, 03-14-2005 - 7:14am

Hi, Petals & welcome to our community. It's nice to have you here. We aren't experts or professionals by any means. What you're experiencing may be something you need to have analyzed by someone in the professional field. Even though separation anxiety does seem to be a childhood problem, that doesn't mean that what you feel isn't real & valid as an adult. Leaving others behind, does cause distress for most ppl. It isn't unusual to cry @ partings because the feelings of loss &