Worried

[Ssfb3]

Posting here for traffic.
I’m unsure what to do. Bit of history.....
my ds who is 10 used to tell me he saw a “shadow man” who wanted to kill him. He was extremely scared of shadow man he would not go up stairs without someone with him. I put this down to being in a new home and stresses that were happening with his brother.
I told the school at the time and they spoke to him and it turned out he was also seeing animals. Cartoon and real. School didn’t seem very concerned and left it.
We were only in that house 7 months and have been in our new house now for 2 years. In that time he’s seen shadow man a couple times.

Now to today. He was in the bath and he called me in. He’s seen a person in the bath room with him. I asked if it was shadow man and he said he didn’t think so. I went to finish getting ready and he called me back in and said he could hear someone walking around in the bathroom. At this point he was very scared. So I stayed with him until he got out.

I’ve phoned for a doctors appointment and they are calling me back this morning. Is there anything else I could do???

When I was young I was terrified of the dark and often saw black dogs. When my eldest was young she thought her toys had feelings and could be hurt. It was of course imagination, but very real at the time. I found that listening to DD and not being judgmental helped and she still remembers now thinking that way. Having a good imagination can be a positive thing, but sometimes it goes the other way. I would let him talk it out as much as possible.

Thank you that’s very reassuring.

When I was little I was very very scared of my own reflection, I felt like I could see 'her' move when I didn't move. I had the real belief that 'she' would try to kill me in my sleep and steal my body and live as me.

I gave her a name and sometimes I felt like I could hear her name being called in normal day-to-day sounds, like the wind, or traffic, or in the background of the TV.

As a note of reassurance, I am of 'sound mind' - (unrelated, but for full disclosure) I do suffer from anxiety, but I have no experience or history of any other psychiatric concerns.

I’ve just spoken to the doctor who was also very reassuring. Thank you for replying it has eased my mind. I’ve not had experience of this before so didn’t know what to think.

I'm glad the doctor was reassuring @Ssfb3 - I like to think it's the sign of being creative and smart ;-) having the ability to freak yourself the heck out at an early age.

My DD is now 8 and still remembers asking me to get rid of a Gruffalo’s Child cuddly toy she had when she was about 5, as she swears its eyes moved to follow her as she went into her bedroom.

I have a ds who had similar worries ( people hiding in the shed wanting to hurt him). Apparently it’s very common. Some professionals think it’s a hangover from when we needed a heightened awareness to protect ourselves.
DS is 25 now and doing his masters.

DD1 also had this kind of thing when she was younger. As a toddler she'd say she could see monsters on the floor, and around 10-11 she saw shadow animals running round the garden or hiding behind doors. She was always genuinely frightened. I found that staying with her, listening to her and just calming her down worked wonders for making them 'disappear.' She's 15 now and no issues.

Oh wow I’m so glad I asked. Like I said this is not something I’ve come across before.

@MyNameForToday1980 he does have a great imagination I just didn’t know it could turn on you like that.

I have a vivid imagination. My parents inherited a house and we were going to move there but it scared me, so we didnt. They sold and we moved somewhere else. I am forever grateful they listened to me and didnt judge.

My son received a pack of Dr Seuss books one Christmas. He ran into our bedroom, put them in the wardrobe, and told us to get rid of them or never take them out again. We had a conversation and he hated the characters. So we gave them away.

Its important I believe to not worry but also have a conversation when it happens. Sounds like he has a vivid imagination, which is a good thing when in control.