Separation anxiety is a psychological condition in which an individual has excessive anxiety regarding separation from home or from people to whom the individual has a strong emotional attachment (like a father and mother).

Background:
Present in all age groups, adult separation anxiety disorder (affecting roughly 7% of adults) is more common than childhood separation anxiety disorder (affecting approximately 4% of children). Separation anxiety disorder is often characterized by some of the following symptoms:
- Recurring distress when separated from the subject of attachment (such as significant other, the father or the mother, or home)
- Persistent, excessive worrying about losing the subject of attachment
- Persistent, excessive worrying that some event will lead to separation from a major attachment
- Excessive fear about being alone without subject of attachment
- Persistent reluctance or refusal to go to sleep without being near a major attachment figure, like a significant other or mother
- Recurrent nightmares about separation.