Has my child inherited my chronic anxiety?

[StarSraah]

My son is 8 years old. He has always been a happy, chatty child who thrives on his interaction with other children and the world around him. He is an only child. Both my husband and i suffer from anxiety issues. Mine started when i was 6 years old, for no reason we can work out. My childhood was great, but i started having panic attacks which ive had ever since. My mother has also suffered all her life. Finally at the age of 20 i was put on medication and it changed my life for the better. I still have bad anxiety but im able to live a pretty normal life. i tried to come off the medication a couple of times since (im now 43) and it was terrible. I could not leave the house.
My husband also suffers and is now on medication (a different one to me). His symptoms are very different and im pretty sure he is on the autistic spectrum (his whole family agree but he refuses to be tested).
Back to my son. Recently he has started to complain about feeling weird. He says he has butterflies in his tummy but not in a good way. i try to talk to him about it but says he cannot explain it. It sounds very much like what i went through as a child. Is he experiencing the first signs of suffering from anxiety too?
The question immediatly arises of nature vs nurture. Could he just be feeding off my husband and I? i ask this myself. I feel we do a really good job of hiding our anxiety but im not oppose to the fact that kids are clever and picks up on things.
I guess what im asking is could this be the start of something? Im devestated to think he might have to go through what i went through as a child and adult. As hes an only child he really is the centre of our world. Our life evolves around his happiness (though of course we do still have our own time too). What can i do to help him? Is there another explanation to these strange feelings hes having that he cannot explain but dont feel good? Do all kids go through this and im overreacting?

Children can of course inherit predispositions or pick up ways of thinking etc from those around them.

I don't think that matters tbh. What is more important is that you recognise it (which you've already done) and teach him strategies to deal with it so it doesn't become as big a thing as it has to you and your husband.

I have a history of depression and anxiety and my ASC DS has a tendency towards anxiety. I was able to teach my DS strategies from mindfulness and CBT (plus using physical exercise) so those strategies have just become integral to him as he's learnt them growing up. Whereas I am often crippled by my mental health, he is pretty balanced and healthy MH wise. And that's despite the fact he faced some real challenges growing up.

So as an example, you can tell him that these feelings of anxiety he's getting are just feelings, they can be there. They don't have to mean anything and they'll pass. Anxiety gets debilitating when too much weight is placed on the feeling and thoughts start to get attached to them.

And you can teach him to have self-compassion while he's experiencing those feelings. There are lots of great books on CBT, mindfulness and self-compassion if you aren't familiar with them. Exercise can also be great for getting rid of uncomfortable feelings.