Separation Anxiety: Why It Happens And How To Support Your Child

Sometimes the human brain outsmarts itself. And this is exactly what is happening for children struggling with separation anxiety. It often goes like this. You get them all pumped up for being brave at school drop-off. You remind them that they will get to do all sorts of fun things during the school day like play with their friends, and run around in gym class, oh and it's hot lunch day today so you highlight that too. But you get to the classroom door and it's a no-go. The tears come. The clinging begins. The teary face buried in your shoulder arrives. Eventually the teacher comes and pries your child off of you, crying and desperate to stay with you. You hit the parking lot, maybe with some tears of your own. And the next morning you prepare to do it all again. Separation anxiety. What causes separation anxiety? We are wired for connection, and particularly in times of stress, danger, or upset we long for it and seek it with intensity. This longing for connection is primal - a basic instinctual need that our psyche drives at relentlessly. For many children separation anxiety comes out with back to school because the experience of heading into a classroom is stressful, perceived as dangerous, or otherwise upsetting to them. This could be because of a sensitive temperament, learning exceptionalities that make the school day particularly challenging, too much that is new or unknown, negative experiences with friends or teachers, the coming on of a cold or illness, ge...
Source: Healthy Living - The Huffington Post - Category: Consumer Health News Source Type: news