Easing School-Related Separation Anxiety

HealthyPlace Mental Health Newsletter

Here's what's happening on the HealthyPlace site this week:

• Easing School-Related Separation Anxiety
• Most Popular HealthyPlace Articles Shared by Facebook Fans
• From the HealthyPlace Mental Health Blogs
• Stand Up for Mental Health
• Latest Mental Health News

Easing School-Related Separation Anxiety

Separation anxiety isn't just for toddlers. Children and adults can experience separation anxiety, too; indeed, statistics indicate that approximately four- to five percent of kids and teens experience separation anxiety.

School is a common cause of separation anxiety in children, teens, and young adults who are leaving home to attend college. Being away from home can be frightening, cause excessive worry and fear, and lead to school refusal. This isn't about hating school, however. Separation anxiety is about attachment to caregivers and the sense of security that comes with it.

These suggestions might help ease school-related separation anxiety:

• Create special rituals and routines for sending-off and welcoming home. Giving children something predictable to rely on can reduce fear. For young adults who've left home, text messages or phone calls at regular times each day can bring a sense of closeness.
• Give him/her a bracelet, necklace or ring to wear. Not only will it be a reminder of home, but it will be something to physically manipulate and calm anxiety.
• Help him/her identify positive things about school and find ways to be involved. Focusing on the positive reduces separation anxiety.
• As kids and young adults realize that school doesn't replace home and caregivers, school-related separation anxiety will lessen.

Related Articles Dealing with with Separation Anxiety

• School Anxiety in Children: Signs, Causes, Treatments
• Separation Anxiety in Children: How to Help Your Child
• School Anxiety and Stress
• Help Kids, Teens Manage School Anxiety with These Strategies

Your Thoughts

Today's Question: If you’ve ever faced separation anxiety and school difficulties, what helped you deal with it (or helped your child deal with it)? We invite you to participate by commenting and sharing your feelings, experiences and knowledge on the HealthyPlace Facebook page and on the HealthyPlace Google+ page.

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At the top and bottom of all our stories, you'll find social share buttons for Facebook, Google+, Twitter, Pinterest and other social sites. If you find a particular story, video, psychological test or other HealthyPlace feature helpful, there's a good chance others in need will too. Please share.

We also get many inquiries about our linking policy. If you have a website or blog, you can link to any page on the HealthyPlace website without asking us beforehand.

Most Popular HealthyPlace Articles Shared by Facebook Fans

Here are the top 3 mental health articles HealthyPlace Facebook fans are recommending you read:

• Ending a Relationship: How Do You Know When Enough Is Enough?
• The Effects of Anxiety Are Your Starting Point for Healing
• Are You Bipolar, Or Do You Have Bipolar Disorder?

If you're not already, I hope you'll join us/like us on Facebook too. There are a lot of wonderful, supportive people there.

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From the HealthyPlace Mental Health Blogs

On all our blogs, your comments and observations are welcomed.

• Personal Growth: Flower Where You’re Planted
• How to Recover from an Abusive Relationship
• Mental Illness Stigma that Comes from Concern Hurts
• The Effects of Anxiety Are Your Starting Point for Healing
• One Step Positive People Take to Feel Happier Every Day
• Viewing Depression as an Experience Empowers You
• Weighing in on Body Shaming and Its Effect on Mental Health
• Mental Illness Stigma and Relationships: When to Be Honest
• Grief and Dissociative Identity Disorder: Symbolic Loss
• Teetotalers with a Family History of Alcoholism
• Don’t Let Negative People Harm Your Confidence
• Coping With Feeling Overwhelmed in PTSD Recovery
• Stress and Mental Illness: Schizophrenia, Schizoaffective Disorder
• Borderline Personality Disorder and Abandonment
• 3 Ways Eating Disorders Make Us Feel Invisible
• Sobriety: Watching Your Friends Relapse
• Marriage and Mental Illness: Take a Vacation Alone Together

On all our blogs, your comments and observations are welcomed.

Feel free to share your thoughts and comments at the bottom of any blog post. And visit the mental health blogs homepage for the latest posts.

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Stand Up for Mental Health

Thousands Have Joined the Stand Up for Mental Health Campaign

But we still need you. Let others know there's no shame in having depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder, trichotillomania, OCD, ADHD, schizophrenia or any other mental illness.

Join the Stand Up for Mental Health campaign. Put a button on your website or blog (buttons for family members, parents, mental health professionals and organizations too). We also have covers for Facebook, Twitter and Google+.

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Latest Mental Health News

• Pregnancy: Antipsychotic Use Does Not Increase The Risk Of Birth Defects
• Brain Study Confirms Gene Mutation Link To Psychiatric Disorders
• Alzheimer's-Causing Proteins Could Be Reduced With A Healthy Diet, Exercise
• Wearable Sleep Device May Reduce PTSD Risk In Military
• Watching A Lot Of TV Makes You More Susceptible To Everyday Myths
• Job Dissatisfaction Has Negative Health Effects By Age 40
• ADHD Associated With Unhealthy Diet In Pregnancy
• Study Links Self-Reported Childhood Abuse To Death In Women Years Later

These stories and more are featured on our mental health news page:

That's it for now. If you know of anyone who can benefit from this newsletter or the HealthyPlace.com site, I hope you'll pass this onto them. You can also share the newsletter on any social network (like facebook, stumbleupon, or digg) you belong to by clicking the links below. For updates throughout the week:

• circle HealthyPlace on Google+,
• follow HealthyPlace on Twitter
• follow HealthyPlace on Pinterest
• or become a fan of HealthyPlace on Facebook.

back to: HealthyPlace.com Mental-Health Newsletter Index