child 7 pinching himself

Hello,
could anyone give me some honest advice regarding my son who is almost 7.
He has always suffered with anxiety,from being terrified of being on his own, even during daylight hours, in his own home, to anxiety about germs, including having his own 'germ free' cup, not eating from a plate or cutlery that someone else has touched .
I spoke to our doctor last year about these issues and have got nowhere in getting any help to address/cope with them.
This week his teachers at school have told me that he has been unusually disruptive in class, and when spoken to about his behaviour, he started to pinch his own arm.
Last year we found several staple looking marks on his left arm after a craft session at school, looking like he had stapled himself. We discussed this with his teacher who was unaware of any injury and promised to keep an eye on him.
A few weeks ago, we found our son had four bite marks up his left arm, his brother said he had asked him to bite him one night after being put to bed, and he had obliged! His brother is 4.
We have caught them doing this at times during the day.
When spoken to about these things he simply says he 'wanted to' or because he was angry with himself.
He often slaps himself, and calls himself stupid, idiot, and other derogatory terms when he is being told off.
We try and encourage a positive self image. When he is naughty we tend to focus on the wrong doing rather than the person doing it, explaining why it isnt acceptable, the consequences of wrongful behaviour, discussing why it was done, how it made him feel, how it made others feel. Not forgetting it was him that chose to do it, but trying to help him learn from it.I wont lie and say we never raise our voices to him, or have cause to impose punishments such as  taking away privileges,  as we do, but we do not call him names. We do not hit him. He has a good sense of right and wrong as pointed out by his teacher.
He is a bright, intelligent, articulate child, who does extremely well at school, and was even chosen as a mentor by his headteacher earlier this year.
I do not know why he has suddenly become so disruptive at school (home environment is stable) and I am at a loss to know what to do about this harming behaviour, or even if it is normal emotional development, and nothing to worry about.

[musicmama]

It sounds like your child is suffering from an anxiety disorder.  I would get him to a therapist.  The behavior at school could be worse because of several triggers (ex. conflicts with other students, the difficulty of the work, etc.)  Doctor's don't usually deal with these issues.

Good luck and God bless.

[margypops]

I agree with Musicmama he could use some Therapy, als how about not over emphasising and reacting on the wrong doing , play it down more .He is doing it probably to get some more attention and negative attention is better than none. Do you praise him also and focus on his good points it sounds as if he needs a dose of self Esteem , does Dad play sports and guy things with him, do you read books and have one to one time with him.If it gets better at home it will get better at school.Raised voices can be scary aswell, try asking Why he does it but say it casually in a conversation with him.