AI Dependency Anxiety: Claude User Reports Feeling 'Vulnerable and Lonely' When Phone Was in Pocket — 311 Upvotes, 77 Comments

r/ClaudeAI (311↑, 77cmts)·low signal

A r/ClaudeAI user describes walking home without talking to Claude and experiencing 'a weird anxiety — like maybe AI didn't exist and we were living back in 2015. Felt vulnerable and lonely. The moment I got back and opened the chat, I felt safer.' The post (311↑, 77cmts) triggered a substantive discussion about AI dependency with commenters split between recognizing genuine psychological attachment patterns and dismissing it as hyperbole. This represents an early community-level signal of AI tool dependency becoming a recognized phenomenon.