I hear you, and I also have two anxious children--one more so than the other, but they are both high-strung. I think one is diagnosable (and indeed, she has been diagnosed, but is not considered severe enough for medication) and the other is just...on the higher end of normal. It may help you somewhat to hear that we had a self-flushing toilet fear in both and that it is long gone for my oldest and vanishing for my youngest. Indeed, most issues here have come and gone, and few have been long-term (tornadoes, which are a semi-reasonable fear where we live, and general death anxiety persist in my oldest) suggesting that we have more of a generalized high level of anxiety than specific phobias. DS was petrified of thunderstorms last summer, and now seems not to be afraid of them at all (now he's afraid of monsters and bears). I would say that if you feel concerned, regardless of "Is it or isn't it?" (and believe me, I know how you feel), it is worth looking into some ways to help your son. Therapy may not be called for yet, but some research and reading may clarify things for you. The physical symptoms your son reports do sound like anxiety. We do not have those here, which is interesting. They always are listed on the many forms we have completed.
