Depression/Anxiety Archives

sepration anxiety in three year old

I have suffered with anxiety related depression for years, starting with the birth of my daughter three years ago. I am sure I suffered from this even before but became aware with depression after birth. My mother suffers from depression and my sister suffers from obsessive compulsive disorder. Needless to say we are a family of anxious adults. However, I have been on medication that has helped calm down the anxiety and I am relaxed and comfortable now. However, I have noticed a lot of anxiety with my three and a half year old beginning almost at birth. She will not sleep without me there in the bed with her she wakes at night looking for me, she cries and screams when I leave her anywhere, including at home with my husband. I work part time as a teacher and she stays at home with her cousins and her aunt is the caregiver, just starting this year. She was in a home daycare full time until the age of two and she seemed to be scared there and interacted some of the time. But continued to have difficulity seperating the entire time she was there. I am worried about scaring her if I throw her into preschool and leave. She will be scared to the point of being sick. Please offer any information on how to help her overcome this anxiety. Thank you Valarie Casto

Follow Ups:

• Re: sepration anxiety in three year old (Archive under depression.) Walt Stoll 09:14:11 11/13/99 (0)

In Reply to: sepration anxiety in three year old posted by Valarie Casto on November 12, 1999 at 10:29:13:

Hi, Valarie.

Your entire family has a genetic susceptibility to brain chemical instability. This has been noted to happen earlier in life and tend to be more severe with each generation. This rapidly increasing problem (10% of all school children are now thought to be on Ritalin.)is now believed to be related to the increasing environmental burden that impinges on brain function. Diet is among the easiest of these environmental influences that can be changed.

My book is about this if you read the entire book. It also has many references about this if you want to learn more. You could start with this 'site and go to the glossary about subjects like LGS, C-RS, stored stress-effect in the hypothalamus, brain chemistry instability, Brain Allergies, and the like. The "Brain Allergies" book by Dr Phillpott, and "Nutrition and the Mind" by Dr Null are good references but are not so comprehensive as my book.

This tendency is reversable even though we still do not have a way of dealing with the genetic susceptibility. There are many environmental influences that can either "upregulate" of "downregulate" any genetic function and it is those that we need to deal with.

It is never too late for one to learn about this and do something about it. For the next generation it is critical.

THEN, if you still have questions, write again.

Walt