How Separation Anxiety Can Follow the College Student to Campus

2. Persistent and excessive worry about losing, or possible harm to major attachment figures;

3. Reluctance to attend classes;

4. Frequent stomachaches, nausea, trouble sleeping, nervousness, crying and trouble eating.

Experiences can be varied as to how students may experience separation anxiety. Some can't wait to leave their families and strike out on their own. Others will have a few days of homesickness, then acclimate to their surroundings. I remember my first-grade teacher discussing her own experience as a college student. For her, leaving home was a bit more difficult. The first time away from her family and friends, she would call her mother every day and tell her how much she disliked the school, the fact she had no friends, and would repeatedly ask if she could just drop out and come home. Her mother gave the following ultimatum. Give it two weeks. If, in that time, nothing had changed, she could come home.

Over the course of the next two weeks, my teacher learned to adjust to her new surroundings. She settled into a new routine, started to make friends, and the awful newness of the campus started to give way to the exciting world of "semi-independence." When her mother called to ask if she still wanted to come home, my teacher was emphatic. She liked it at college and had decided to stay.

When handling an issue such as separation anxiety, it is important to have an open and honest discussion. No one wants to feel they'll be ridiculed for telling their parents or friends they're afraid. By allowing a free exchange of thoughts and feelings, it becomes much easier to uncover what exactly about the situation a student is having difficulty with. Perhaps it's a roommate that is impossible to get along with; subjects that are too difficult, or a courseload that is overwhelming. Creating an environment that allows these concerns to be expressed, this in itself can be of tremendous help to lessening anxiety levels. From there, specific remedies can be sought. Apply to get another roommate or perhaps get a single room; drop a course that wasn't what you expected or one you can take next term instead. For others having a more difficult time, it may mean calling home more often, visiting home periodically if distance is not an obstacle, or staying in touch with friends through

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