My 9 year old has many fears.

My 9 year old son has been afriad to sleep in his own room/bed since age 2. We live in a gaurd gated comuntiy, we have and use a security system, we have 2 100 lbs labradore retrievers and his room is only 30 feet from our room. We have talked to him so many times about why he is afraid and he is mostlt afraid of someone breaking in to our home. When we do get him to sleep in his room he will either wake up his younger brother and get into his bed with him or make him come to his room. Please help.

[Kevin Kennedy, Ph.D.]

Dear Sir,

As you can see, such fearful behavior in children defies logic. In other words, there is no overt reason for your son to be so fearful, but he is nonetheless. This behavior, if it is the only symptom he displays alongside otherwise normal functioning, is an example of Separation Anxiety Disorder. It can also be one manifestation of Generalized Anxiety Disorder, but in this instance it would be accompanied by other manifestations as well.

Regardless of the particular sub-type of anxiety disorder, it requires professional intervention. Cognitive-behavioral treatment is particularly useful in such treatment, and sometimes (but not always) medication is a useful component of a treatment plan.

At this point, it would be wise to schedule an evaluation by a pediattric mental health clinician.

[Sean]

Sorry to point out the obvious...but

You seem to be living in a state of paranoia.  Your community has a gate around it, guards (I would assume).  You have two large dogs, and a security system....

Now I am not a psychiatrist, nor do I play one on TV...but I would wildly speculate that either your family or neighborhood shows concern over the "outside world" getting in at you, or your property.  The child is probably picking up on it.  (I am assuming he has asked "why" the fences and guards and security systems exist and was told)