An 11-year-old family member attended an out-of-state sleepover camp earlier this summer. I'll call him Eric, which is not his real name. Tragically, one of the children in Eric's group drowned toward the end of their stay. As you might imagine, this was traumatizing for all of the young campers. The camp administration immediately brought in crisis counselors to work with all of the children.
When Eric returned from camp, he began to experience a great deal of anxiety every night at bedtime. He has also been troubled by a fantasy that one day he will find himself existing as a spirit who lives forever, all alone, in outer space. From space, he will watch everyone else die and he will see the final destruction of the earth. Eric especially agonizes over the thought of watching his entire family die. He knows his scenario is imaginary, but he fears that somehow it might come true.
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