Hi. My daughter Elena has been diagnosed with separation anxiety three years ago. This is a very long period for all of us. We have tried with some therapies and it has a success but it is very, very slow. Anyway, I am scared. My husband is frightened. I am scared that, if we don't do something about this, this is going to develop into something bigger. Maybe, I don't know since I am not an expert. I am going to ask a doctor about this, but I really want to hear your experiences. Does separation anxiety in children cause risks for developing some other disorders? Thank you!
Hello there. That is a lot of time since you are struggling with this. I really hope that this therapy will go well. If it doesn't maybe it is time for your doctor to seek another therapy or for you to seek another psychologist. There are some side - effects of anxiety in children. For example, for all of those who are suffering from this type of disorder, doctors have been found to have certain chemical imbalances in their brains. Sure that this can lead to some other disease because neurotransmitters that are responsible for regulating mood and impulses are often not regulated in the brain of the person. This all can be cause for some other issues and I really do understand why you are worried so much.
Look, every symptom that is related to separation anxiety disorder can actually lead to some other health issues. And yes, unfortunately, it is common for that kid is about to suffer from another mental health condition.For example, some of those conditions can be: - some phobias, - social anxiety disorder, - depressive disorder, - bipolar disorder, - panic disorder. Now, it is not really my intention to scare you but this all can happen. Even more, I think. I agree with the fact that some other therapy needs to be applied to your kid, because it is visible that this current therapy after three years didn't give any positive effects and signs, right?
Oh my God, well I did know something about this but I didn't know that this is that dangerous. I know that, whenever I was talking about this, I believed that this is not that dangerous and that it can be healed and treated if you offer a good therapy to a kid who has an issue with this. Do you know more, how to prevent all of those issues? How to prevent that separation anxiety disorder becomes a bipolar disorder for example? I hope that this can be prevented and that in some cases it won't lead to more serious issues.
Look, I believe that you can't do anything about this once it becomes a chronic or if it turns to some other disease. All those things in any disease you can do only before if you find out about this disease at the time. That is the only way. So, I am always telling to the people that they need to observe their kids, their steps, what are they doing, etc. That is the only way. Excuse me, but saying that you didn't have time to observe your kid or to pay more attention to him, it is a little bit of frivolity if you ask me...
It is not the time for you to blame yourself or your husband. That could just happen even if you were there for her all the time. If she is still in that stadium, if she still has separation anxiety disorder, then this is OK, but you should definitely recommend your doctor to try with some other therapy. There are so many therapies that helped a lot of people. But besides that, you really need to talk to her a lot and spend a lot of time with her. You need to let her know that she is not alone in this problem that you are there with her.
Hey, some other disorders can happen as well. For example, it can develop an ADHD, eating disorders, substance use and abuse as well. But remember that you really should not blame yourself for anything because some anxiety is a normal reaction to stressful situations and sometimes it can help teens deal with a tricky situation, so they are using this. It is normal that parents don't get this at the beginning and that is why you really should not blame yourself. But once you realize that this is not a case, that your kid is not trying to get out of some situation, you need to react.