When most people think about having separation anxiety, their thoughts often travel to children. It can be hard to imagine unless you have experienced it, but adults can also experience separation anxiety.

Separation anxiety often starts during childhood, but that doesn’t mean it will magically go away as someone grows up. It definitely can, though! It might be even more surprising to hear that separation anxiety can be developed in the late teens or as an adult as well. There are common signs that someone is experiencing separation anxiety as a child or an adult, but how these impact them will manifest itself differently.

What Separation Anxiety Looks Like In Adults and Children

One of the key characteristics of separation anxiety is excessive worrying. In both children and adults, this means that someone worries about being away from their loved one, in most cases, a family member.

Both children and adults will fear being alone. They may excessively worry about their person getting seriously injured or worse. They may also worry about their own safety and not feel safe without this person around.

How children and adults manifest this will differ. Children may become clingy with their caregiver with whom they have this type of attachment. They might worry about being away from home, such as at a sleepover.

Adults will showcase worries about their loved ones’ safety or fear that something will happen to them if they don’t return home right away.

Difficulty Sleeping

Adults and children will also experience difficulties with sleeping if they have separation anxiety from a loved one. They might experience nightmares about what might happen if they are separated for too long. They’ll feel incredibly anxious, as if their minds won’t shut off.

In children, this often means they will refuse to sleep alone. If they are at a sleepover, they may become inconsolable and ask to go home or complain of an illness that causes their parent to come and pick them up. They will likely refuse to sleep, no matter how tired they become.

Adults, on the other hand, don’t fare much better. While they can at least attempt to sleep, that doesn’t mean they will be able to. If they are forced to sleep alone, in most cases because their partner is away, they will likely toss and turn all night. If they still experience separation anxiety away from a parent, they may ask their loved one to stay with them every once in a while.

Unexplained Muscle Tension/Feeling Ill

When stressed, our body releases stress hormones, such as cortisol. As cortisol and other hormones are released, it can wreak havoc on the body and nervous system. This is why people of all ages experience symptoms such as:

• Stomach aches
• Headaches
• Muscle tension

Separation anxiety can absolutely cause these physical symptoms. For children who complain about these things, they may ask to stay home from school or an event, or not go to a friend’s house because of the physical manifestations that their anxiety is causing them.

Adults, on the other hand, may call off work because they are not feeling well.

How To Deal With Separation Anxiety

Experiencing separation anxiety is something that anyone can experience. It can be as frightening for a child as for an adult. Children, especially, may not be able to explain why they feel so anxious when they are away from a loved one. And, as adults, we are conditioned to feel as if others will think we are childlike if we experience something like separation anxiety.

The best way to deal with separation anxiety, for children and adults, is to get to the root cause. In child therapy, along with the parent, child therapy can help find coping mechanisms to make time apart easier. As an adult,  anxiety therapy can help. Reach out to learn more about anxiety therapy.