I can say I have dealt with this concerning my son but it happened when he was older and he actually ended up in a mental hospital for 10 days and then he improved on medication and therapy. My son was coming up with all these symptoms that were made up in his head like at first he said when he clenched his fists he shakes real bad and he would show me clenching and shaking but from my point of view he was making it happen. It sounds weird but he came up with one after the other symptoms of many different things until one day I ended up calling 911 because I couldn't wake him and the hospital did a tox screen and called in psychiarty because they said he was positive for xanax which was a medication I have a prescription for. They then moved him to the mental hospital and got him on medication. My son ended up having home hospital school for a year, independant study for another year and all kinds of doctor appts and issues. Finally he is on 3 meds for bi-polar, depression, and ADHD and he is functional and finishing 12th grade. If I were you before anything gets worse I would make him an appointment with a therapist to address each issue as it comes up and figure out why he is scared and how to help him so it doesn't get any worse. You never know what the cause could be. Maybe something happened to him or maybe he heard people talking about illness and it made an imprint in his mind. Maybe a grandparent or family member had health issues and died and it is affecting his mental health. But I think you should seek help for him and for you to figure out what is really going on. You just never know. It could be something at school, if he is in daycare or any other kind of care outside the home. I would watch out for him and again I can say it too much get help before something worse happens. No 9 year old should have worries like that its not fair, he should be enjoying childhood. Good luck and keep me posted k? I will pray for him as well.

Thank you for your input radrm, I think I definitely will be making a dr appointment to discuss this so perhaps we can start some sort of theraphy so he knows how to deal with these irrational fears.

Anybody elses input would be gladly appreciated!

I agree with a lot of what radrm writes, but it can't be doing your son any good to be living in a sad home. I agree with the philosophy that a child would rather come from a broken home than live in one.

I grew up among many abusers. Not only did i live in fear that i would one day turn evil like my father, but that i wouldn't love my children enough to leave and abuser, being as "weak" and 'crappy' a mother as mine was.

Plus, a child feels they should keep quiet about what's going on at home, and feels badly, knowing that his/her friends..most of them anyway...comes from "normal" families, that laugh together and talk to each other and such...and it's sad and hard for a young one.

He is old enough to be picking up on all of this, and should be given some peace.

The children always suffer the worst.

{{hugs}}GL!