In cases of separation anxiety, be it mild or severe in either and infant, teen, adult, or even an animal, it is usually associated with a fear of being separated from an object, place,  or person to whom the person has a strong emotional attachment.

On this basis “ No separation anxiety” would imply that there was no attachment felt at all for another person, place or object, hence there would be no anxiety experienced felt at the separation from such a person, place or object . . . How could there be if there was no attachment?

Consider the following situation. A pregnant mother is caused, by separation from her spouse, for more than a 2 year period, either due to him working overseas, war or possibly having been sent to jail, whatever. The baby is born to its mother without the presence of its father for maybe the first years of its infancy.

Then the father returns one day. The child will not have any personal recognition to this stranger, or any knowledge, or feeling toward him. Yes, the mother may well have shown photos saying ‘ Look this is your Daddy’ or equally the father may have had access to a telephone and was able to call saying ‘ Hi Johnny, this is your Daddy speaking, How are you and Mommy’?

The point being of course, that on the reality of the Fathers actual return, there will be no sense of any deep attachment to its Father, in the mind of the child, and therefore it will feel no separation anxiety when the Father next departs.

Of course, it could be correctly argued, that it is the responsibility of the Mother, that in the case of the Father being absent, she should teach the child about its Father and say such things as ‘ You have a Daddy, you should learn to love and respect him even if he is not here’.

But even if this is the case, it will not sit well in the mind of an infant, who, indeed, may very well want to form a bond with its Daddy, but it will take a good number of years of Daddies presence before any strong attachment will be formed by the child to its Father, and the child will continue to experience ‘ No separation anxiety’ until its desire to form an attachment  to its all to often absent Father has fully matured.

What of the situation where the returning Father is abusive to either the Mother or her child, and the child forms an instant dislike to the person who has just intruded between its self and loving Mother?

Then in this event, it is suggested that ‘ No separation anxiety’ would ALWAYS exist on the occasions of the departures of its Father, since no strong feelings of attachment would ever be formed.

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