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Separation Anxiety, Social Anxiety & Other Phobias
Set up your free 15-20 minute good-fit discovery phone call today.
Separation Anxiety:
Does your child struggle to be separated from you?
Your child tells you they’re scared to be away from you for fear of something bad happening. It’s becoming more difficult to get them to school and you to work on time, if you even make it to your daily responsibilities at all. And maybe, it’s become easier to bed-share as well, even though this is not your ideal way to quell your child’s fears at night. But everyone needs sleep, so you surrender to this set up.
Social Anxiety:
Are social situations exhausting for you? Do you fear what others think of you, and it’s hard to be yourself?
You feel frozen in some social situations and like a chameleon in others. Sometimes, you would just avoid social situations if you could. It takes a lot of energy to read what others might be thinking of you, and it’s exhausting trying to fit in with the group.
Phobias:
Do you struggle with a specific fear so much that you try to avoid it at all costs?
There is a specific situation or thing that really terrifies you- throwing up/vomiting, being in enclosed and tight spaces, dogs or insects, needles, etc. The problem is that this fear interferes with your life, your goals or your responsibilities, and sometimes your ability to eat or sleep.
“Talk to yourself like you would to someone you love.”
BRENE BROWN
Separation Anxiety
Ways separation anxiety can show up in your home:
- Your child may have an increasingly hard time being separated from you no matter how many times you reassure them.
- Your child fears something bad will happen to you or them.
- In many cases, children with separation anxiety have a core fear of death.
Getting to school and work on time feels impossible some days. - Other days, getting to school or work at all feels like a win.
- In other words, school anxiety and school refusal may be prevalent for your child.
- You may have resorted to bed-sharing because it is the only way your family sleeps.
- And more!
Social Anxiety and Treatment
Ways social anxiety may affect your school-aged or high-school aged child:
- Fears what others think about them.
- People describe your child as shy, but you know it is not about “shyness”.
- Struggling to extend invitations to friends to hang out and may have a hard time saying yes to hanging out.
- Difficulty showing up as themselves and often alters their behavior to fit in with their peers.
- Hard time raising their hand, offering opinions in class and working in groups.
- Meltdowns when it comes to school presentations.
- Difficulty advocating for themselves or saying no to peers or teachers.
- Barriers with meeting and keeping friends.
- Discomfort around acceptance of compliments.
- Hardship inviting friends over or accepting invitations to spend time with friends.
- May talk quietly.
- Difficulty with eye contact.
- Fears others are staring or judging them with no evidence.
- And more!
Ways social anxiety may affect you as an adult:
- Fear of what others think about you.
- Fear of judgment and rejection.
- Poor self-esteem and lack of confidence.
- Shame that you are not good enough.
- Being a chameleon to fit in with different groups.
- Wanting to avoid social situations.
- Feeling exhausted after you get home from school, work, or social outings.
- Lack of boundaries.
- Difficulty managing conflict.
- Hardship with applying for jobs or asking for a raise.
- Fear of offering your opinion or insight.
- Difficulty making/keeping friends.
- Discomfort around dating.
- Struggling with imposter syndrome.
- Around more!
Phobias
Specific phobias can take on many forms. You may have an intense fear of:
- Vomit/throwing up (Emetophobia)
- Enclosed spaces (Claustrophobia)
- Needles (Trypanophobia)
- Blood (Hemophobia)
- Dogs (Cynophobia)
- Insects (Entomophobia)
- Snakes (Ophiophobia)
- Scorpions and spiders (Arachnophobia)
- Storms (Astraphobia)
- Flying (Aerophobia)
- Heights (Acrophobia)
- Small holes/bumps (Trypophobia)
- Doctors, medical tests, and medical settings (Iatrophobia)
- And more!
imagine this
How We Can Help You
Separation Anxiety:
Imagine getting back to your family’s routines and values. Mornings become manageable, and you’re getting to school and work consistently. You’re even getting to these daily responsibilities on time. Your child has learned how to manage these fears by practicing being away from you, baby step by baby step. As things are really beginning to improve, you are able to have others watch your child for a date night or weekend get-away and you each are sleeping in your own beds again. Most importantly, your child is no longer plagued with fear, feels proud of their progress, and you can see their happy and silly personality come back to life.
Social Anxiety:
Imagine feeling comfortable in social settings again, maybe for the first time since you can remember. You’re spending time with groups of friends, raising your hand in school, or participating in meetings at work. You feel confident when advocating for your needs and offering your opinion. You also know how to handle conflict and can do so assertively. What’s best about your work in therapy is that you no longer feel like a chameleon- trying on various versions of yourself depending on who you are with. You now know who you are, can describe who you are, and own who you are. You are proud of who you are and show your authenticity with others.
Phobias:
Imagine you’ve overcome your fear. You no longer avoid this trigger and live your life by your values. You were afraid of throwing up, but you can eat whatever you want and where you want now, and are no longer hyper aware of signs that someone may get sick in front of you. You were claustrophobic but needed medical testing done. And now you can complete the test (e.g. CT scan) so you can get the treatment you need. You were afraid of needles but can get your physical needs met by your doctors because you’ve overcome your fear of needles and blood. You were afraid of dogs, but no longer are afraid to take walks in your neighborhood or have to avoid your family and friends’ home for fear of being around their dogs.
We will teach you and our families we work with:
how to get back to school
how to participate in social conversations and settings
how to show up in your life as yourself without fearing what others think of you
how to be separated from mom and dad without panicking
how to face your fears without panicking
how to support your child, modeling acceptance of their fears/anxiety and confidence in their ability to overcome them
how to feel confident in who you are
how to help your child without enabling their symptoms to grow stronger by accident
how to identify and live by our values, not fear
Set up your free 15-20 minute good-fit discovery phone call today.
Common Questions
Do you work with children, teens, and adults? What ages do you work with?
Absolutely, we work with children ages 6+, teens, young adults, and adults. Please reference our team page to further learn what ages each therapist works with. Throughout care with children and teens, our therapists at OAO value including parents in the process. It is important that we educate our parents to carry over the work your child is learning in therapy. Parents will likely be asked to participate in exposure work as needed. We are meeting with your child once per week or once every other week, and your child will see success with your help at home between appointments. We are here to support your child and the whole family. We may encourage regular parent-only sessions and/or family sessions, depending on the needs of your child.
When working with adults, we are happy to include family members or loved ones in the process when appropriate and helpful. For example, if you are often triggered when a family member states their stomach hurts because you fear them vomiting, we will likely include them in exposures as helpful. You may also benefit from having family sessions to educate your loved ones on how to support you and how to better understand how your anxiety affects you.
Do you practice exposure therapy (Exposure and Response Prevention)? What treatment modalities do you use?
Yes, we practice Exposure and Response Prevention- the evidence-based, gold-standard treatment for OCD and anxiety disorders.
It is important, when looking for an OCD therapist, to know if they understand and specialize in Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP). We are passionate about connecting our community to therapists who truly understand ERP, even if you do not end up becoming a client at our practice. Our therapists are all proficient in and treat with Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP), Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) , and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT). Click HERE for a free resource on the breakdown of ERP, CBT, and ACT.
"I am nervous to do exposures; it seems scary." Can you help me understand how this helps?
Are you ready?
Learn how to feel confident in yourself, your abilities, and in facing your fears. If you are searching for social anxiety and treatment, we can help.
Book your free 15-20 minute ‘good-fit discovery’ phone call today.