PhronesisWe apply the Displacement Framework to Separation Anxiety Disorder (SAD), formalizing it as a proximity wrong attractor W_proximity maintained by catastrophic over-calibration of D(ξ_separation) — the subjective cost of being away from attachment figures is experienced as existential threat rather than manageable discomfort. The autonomous regulation ground state S⁰_autonomous is defined via five components: separation as manageable D(ξ), self-regulatory capacity without attachment figure proximity, secure-base exploration, internal working model registering figures as available when physically absent, and developmental stage-appropriate independence.
W_proximity is maintained by three reinforcing mechanisms — catastrophic separation cognitions, physiological hyperactivation during separation, and relief-upon-proximity-restoration as negative reinforcement — with basin depth formally expressed as Δ = Δ_cog + Δ_phys + Δ_relief + Δ_acc. Nine formal propositions are derived covering: S⁰_autonomous definition (P1), W_proximity formation through D(ξ_separation) over-calibration (P2), the three reinforcement mechanisms (P3), accommodation as inadvertent basin-deepening through repeated proximity restoration without D(ξ_separation) recalibration (P4), the developmental trajectory in which childhood W_proximity target shifts from parent to romantic partner in adult SAD (P5), the adult SAD misdiagnosis problem (P6), the accommodation trap parallel to agoraphobia's safe-person dependency (P7), graduated exposure as systematic D(ξ_separation) recalibration (P8), and exploitation of proximity compulsion in intimate partner violence contexts (P9).
The paper formally distinguishes SAD from anxious attachment, reactive attachment disorder, and agoraphobia.