8 yr old son having thoughts of killing others and self

[glflew]

Recently my extremely bright eight year old son has been coming off the bus and coming right to me or his mother and telling us that he has had a bad thought about killing himself or others he's asked me to help him this evening.
he also has been flipping his middle finger up in his pocket and then he'll come running in to tell us, he also has bad thoughts of god and prays right away for everybody to hear even though we do not attend church regularly.
Initially i started telling him it was ok but he insists its not, now im scared and dont know what to do. i read a person talking about letting their child  draw something but wonder if i'll be able to discern what it is he's drawing.
sre their conversations i can engage him in when these thoughts appear? or things i can say to help him feel better?
is this normal?
LATEST EPISODE 11/23/05: tonight he was building the cat a little house to play in he stopped looked up and said sorry daddy i had a bad thought, i'd wished i could kill you but right when i thought it it went away, then he prayed and gave me a hug.

[josie728]

when i read this it really touch me b/c i can relate to ur son except is not about killing others it's just like you will be seating there and then some randon thought will shoot through your head not knpwing where it came from. I have experience this know for  almost 6 months it all started after my baby was for 4 months something random like i want her to get sick (god forbid)would pop in my head or if the phome doesn't ring someone is going to harm her. It is really frustrating b//c it's not like your mad, basically you don't have no motive to think the things you do.  I get very very frustrated like where did this thought come from. Just keep me in ur prayers me and my child as i will u and ur family. Also read read 2 corinthians 10:4,5 and rebuke satan in the name of jesus every time ur child has one of these thoughts b/c these thoughts are not from God I can assure u that.

[Kevin Kennedy, Ph.D.]

Re: your converations with him, simply ask him what he's thinking - let him tell you about it. You really don't need to do more. You might ask him if there's any way you can be helpful, or you might ask him what would make things better, but for the most part just listening to him is fine.
It would make sense to arrange an evaluation with a pediatric mental health professional. You might be witnessing the signs of an obsessive-type obsessive-compulsive disorder, and it's worth investigating this. Is there any family history of anxiety disorder (or any other emotional disorder)?

[glflew]

Today they have become way more frequent maybe every five to ten minutes, we went to our pastor at our church and he assured us this will pass he's seen this before so we have our fingers crossed and im wondering if i should give it a week or two and then see a counselor.
the pastor told him to pray to himself if it makes him feel better so i hear him every few minutes praying or he informs me i'm sorry daddy i just had a bad thought.
tonight he said he wanted to walk in the bathroom while grandma was in there to see what she looked like naked, i thought you dont want to see that you'll really be messed up. but i tod him it was natural. still very concerned, im not very religous but while we were there he seemed more relaxed.

[Mark3434]

A related discussion, I have the exact same problem with our 8 year old son? was started.

[mickeeb]

I just read your post and wondered if you had an update about your son. Your story really touched my heart and I will pray for your little guy. This must be terrifying. Your post brought to mind a story I saw some years ago on 60 minutes and when I read the doctor's response I realized it was exactly what I was thinking, Obsessive Compulsive Thoughts associated with OCD. I have from time to time dealt with this myself and understand how frustrating it can be, but it must be so difficult for your young son to understand. With this compulsion you think of the worst things, like killing someone or the details of a funeral of someone close to you who has not even died, painful thoughts, yet you can't control them and you feel so guilty about them afterwords.
Just know that there are people who understand and I hope you get the medical help you need for you, your family, but especially your son. Good luck and let us know how you are all doing.

[D99G03]

You know what? The fact that he is telling you when he has a thought and apologizing leads me to believe something is really wrong in his little head, and he can't help it, and he is srying out for YOU to help.  He seems to have great rapport eith you?  My son says the same type of stuff (not of killing but other things), apologies etc. when his head is spinning and/or he uncontrollably and impulsively does something due to the ADHD ... and his meds have worn off or not kicked in yet.  I know that we are not talking ADHD for your son, but the inability to control is the same.  My husbad has mental health issues and I although I am no professional, I have learned a lot.  If it were me, just to be safe, I'd seek a mental health eval. immediately.  What do you have to lose?  Worse case they deem him "mentally healthy"?  I can't help but think of how many times you have heard similar stories on the news and then a killing etc. happens at school or home, and then people say "there were signs" - at his gae he is old enough to actually hurt someone.  I hope my 2 cents helps, I will pray for you - good luck.

[glflew]

yeah thanx the doc suggested that so im making an appointment asap, along with our church were gonna be fine and thank you i'll update as soon as wednesday .

[sharylune]

Hello, having 2 children with milk allergies and a husbant with multiple allergies ( including milk), I have a personal Knowledge how this food can change the behaviour. Has your child runny nose or exzema or pain in stomach after consuming milk? Loose stools or constipation, maybe often bronchitis?Why dont you try to stop consuming milk for a week and see whats happening. Both of my children had an almost crazy behaviour before diagnosis and the small one could not sing a song until the age of 4.After 3 months of diet he could sing all songs of the school, he is calm and happy. I was in dispear when I pushed my husbant to make some blood tests for his runny nose after the great difference in the behaviour of my children following milk diet. He changed completely. He is less anxious more calm and happy. Give it a try...