I have a 8 year old boy who is a really great kid, but he worries about EVERYTHING!!!Lately it has gotten worse, he told me he can't help it that his mind is always thinking of things that could happen. I think he has anxiety. Is this normal? Or should I take him to a counselor?

I am an adult & I have the same problem as your son. What kills me is worrying about things I can not control; a friend's finances, someone's opinion of me, etc.

Not sure if this is normal (not saying your child isn't) so you might want to speak to his primary physican.

i agree i would talk with his doctor about this. the doctor may put him on an anti anxiety drug. or they may request counseling. the doctor should also be able to recomend counselors.
i have a close friend who has major anxiety and she has been on meds for years and it has helped a lot. she also read a book recently that put her life into perspective and that helped a lot. i can not remember the book. but i know your son is to young for a book like that.
good luck.

My son gets nervous twitches or sounds that he makes sometimes, but they always go away. Then there's nail biting and teeth grinding. He also is a rocker when he is falling asleep, and sometimes bangs his face into the pillow. He is scared of the dark, germs and bugs sometimes, but it hasn't gotten out of control yet. The docs say a lot of this is "normal" and he will outgrow it. The only thing that worries me are the little twitches, but I am not ready for him to go to a psychologist again yet. The last time we went they told me he was autistic and sent me on my way...and over the next few months we realized she was wrong. Even had it confirmed by several doctors and therapists including developmental pediatricians! (I think he was tested too early. He was two or three but not talking yet, so he couldn't understand the test). So I urge everyone to get several opinions!

Jmarr, my brother used to rock his head to sleep too. He did until he was 5 or 6 years old. He actually banged his head against the wall or headboard. He would curl up in a ball & just rock... or bang!!

No one thought it was too unusal, because my dad did that too when he was younger. My grandmother once told me that my dad got to banging his head so hard, one time they put a football helmet on him!

I have an 8 year old son that has anxiety as well as ADHD. He has just been diagnosed over the summer with the "anxiety" (had it for years) but we have known there to be issues of "something" other than ADHD. He will make the noises (probably similar to jmarr) and worry about everything (similar to 1mom2angels) but he is also very emotional...cries over the smallest to me but gigantic to him. I took him to see Dr. Carol Lilly (developmental pediatrician) @ USF (WONDERFUL!!!) over the summer. To me, he was having autism tendencies and was tested for that as well as Aperger's. He is not on the spectrum at all (Praise God) but she did diagnose the anxiety. He takes meds for the ADHD and it works very well but it tends to cause more anxiety. But the meds for the anxiety will not help the ADHD at all. Be there, tried that. So we decided to combat the issue that affects him the most, ADHD. She did recommend a groupy therapy to help with his issues. I have not went there yet with him. I pick my "battles" with him and right now we are just trying to ge the school year started on the right foot.

He is very loving but before his meds kick in and after they wear off (good for 11 hours) he is someone that is very difficult. I have to give him them so early in the morning for school that we are lucky if we make it thru supper without some sort of "dramatic" scene.

I say all this to say this...Find a good pediatrician that will discuss his issues with you (not talk at you) and be good with and for your son. We have been very blessed to find Dr. Jackie Hartman (WONDERFUL!!!!) in Tampa. She is very good with my little man and truly wants to help us with his issues. She spends time with us wants to. We are not just another chart.

God Bless You in your journey....My prayers are with all families that have issues that sometimes we just don't know what to do with.

Little man also went to Dr. Lilly, she was an absolute God send, everyone in this state is very aware of her and highly recommend her. It was kind of funny, everywhere we have gone, St. Joe's, All Childrens, Shands, you name it, they all say Dr. Lilly?, well you are with the best. She is great.

My son also has all of the issues you are all discussing, its like just throw all of them in a pile and you have little man. He was also misdiagnosed many times, but there are many therapies out there to help. Do take them to a developmental pediatrician first, they can get you with many different programs to help. Your regular pediatrician is not trained in these areas.