Separation Anxiety in Adults

When you hear the term “separation anxiety,” you probably think about children. However, separation anxiety disorder (SAD) can also affect adults.

Separation anxiety is when an individual is afraid of separating from a person. As you might imagine, in all cases separation anxiety manifests itself after a break up.

Separation anxiety starts in childhood, especially during the first years of life. Children are still incapable of understanding that when their parents leave, they still exist and will still be in their lives.

It might seem strange that adults would suffer from this disorder, considering that they do understand that people can leave and come back. However, their anxiety comes from the uncertainty of when they will see that person again.

According to the American Psychiatric Association, an individual should be diagnosed with separation anxiety when they show the following symptoms:

1. Excessive anxiety about being separated from a person.

2. Fear of being alone.

3. The very intense need to know where another person is at all times.

In adults, these symptoms can last for six months or more. They can cause significant angst and affect the individual’s social and professional life.

Separation anxiety in adults tends to manifest after separating from a person who is near and dear to the individual. On the other hand, separation anxiety can also be related to other kinds of mental problems, such or fear of change.

Sometimes, adults with separation anxiety disorder seem controlling or overprotective. However, their actions are often an adult way to express their fear of separation.

Separation anxiety usually stems from childhood. More specifically, it can be related to the individual’s first bonds of attachment. It can also stem from later experiences of unexpected and sudden loss. Trauma due to abuse and neglect can cause separation anxiety as well.

Separation anxiety in adults often develops after the loss of a loved one or a big life event. The likelihood that you’ll develop separation anxiety disorder as an adult is much higher if you were diagnosed with separation anxiety disorder as a child. Adults who grew up with authoritarian parents also have a higher risk of developing this type of disorder. Another high-risk population is people with obsessive-compulsive disorder.


• Go to meetings when feeling anxious.

• Pray and meditate when having an anxiety attack.

• Be hopeful that this will pass.

• Try not to panic just because you are feeling anxious.

• Talk to yourself as if your anxiety were a small child. (Reassurance).

• Try deep breathing.

• Sit with the anxiety. Do not make contact with the person you are addicted to.

• Call someone before acting out.

• Talk to your doctor about medication is the anxiety does not go away.