It is nearing noon here and the soup is beginning to simmer. I have no idea why. I have not had a trigger that I can think of and today has been no different than any other day stress wise. This is very perplexing and disconcerting, which of course complicates the issues. The only thing that has been different today is that I skipped breakfast. I will see how things develop after lunch. Typing here releives some of the symptoms so I appreciate the opportunity to do so. Mike

This morning the heat seems to be off. I have no earthly reason why. I did watch HGTV for the entire evening last night so maybe the TV thing is a real influence. Just as the old world explorers searching for new lands, I will not give up until I find out what the heck is going on in this noggin of mine. Bear with me...the truth is in here! :) Mike

Good Morning Mike, Right now I would settle for a slow "simmer." Panic is not good today, and Agoraphobia even worse. So I guess I'll just stay in. Hopefully I will feel better later. I always seem to feel better at night, than I do during the day. Hope you have a good day. Take care. Sincerely, floridabound

Good morning. You know how you can put on a pot of soup and turn the heat up to just barely on so that the soup gets just warm? Or you can turn it up full heat and make it boil? Well right now I would call my state of mind "simmer". :) I know the soup is on and I know that it wont burn but it is ever present in my mind and I need to keep checking it to make sure it isnt sticking to the pan. I am working on turning the heat off but it seems that a low simmer is about as good as it is going to get right now. I can smell the soup throughout my mental house all the time. Oh well, I will continue to try to reduce the heat and let the soup cool. Mike Feeling kind of metaphorical today :)

Good morning everyone. I would like to clarify something about my condition. I dont wake from the anxiety, I sleep through the night. I wake up and then the anxiety sets in. I watched mt HGTV last night before going to sleep and I put on my headphones and listened to a thunderstorm while drifting off. This morning I woke with a very slight anxiety, much less than I had been experiencing. I put on my morning meditation disc, took 15 minutes of "self time" and then got up. The anxiety passed in less than 5 minutes this morning. Progress is being made. I was thinking I may actually try to find some soothing video to try. Does anyonr have a source for this? DVD please. Perhaps the same nature sounds and music but combined with a pastoral video to watch before going to sleep. It seems that the last images in my mind when I go to sleep will effect my sleeping and my mental state upon waking. I have discovered a source for the music and relaxation CD's. It is www.solitudes.com They have just about anything you would need there if you are looking for some of the music. Dont forget the headphones, I think they are a very important element. Have a great day today. Mike

I had a sort of revelation this morning. Actually I think two of them. First I believe the mild anxiety I feel in the morning may well be enhanced by the television material I watch the night before. If I watch a Home and Garden TV program about decorating it seems less likely that I will wake with the anxiety. If I watch something like Law and Order or CSI My chances of the morning anxiety seems to increase. Im still studying this so I will be careful not to jump to conclusions. Second, Isnt it funny that something can be right in front of you and you wont see it? The next revelation is something that I have read mani times in a multitude of forms but never actually saw until I thought I had discovered it myself. I have had many, many colds over my life as Im sure all of you have. Your head gets stuffy, your nose runs, you get a fever or headaches and you just feel lousy. In fact, we have had so many colds over our lives that we just take them for granted. We begin to get the symptoms and we know it is coming and we dont let it mess our lives up. We are prepared and we do not worry. Most times we just carry on as usual. We go out, go to dinner maybe even go to work and we know the cold will pass in a few days. We dont obsess on it, we dont allow it to run our life, we just deal with it and go on. So....why should this anxiety/panic be any different? Yes it makes us feel bad but is there any reason it should be given any more respect (by us) than a cold? It comes and goes (just like a cold) and we take our medication (just like a cold). We know from experience that the things bothering us during an attack will not happen just as we know the cold will not kill us. It is an annoyance and that is usually all. The medication we take for a cold does not cure the cold, it just relieves the symptoms...sound familiar? But when we take a cold-cap we dont concern ourselves with what others may think or that we may become addicted, we just use the medication until our body does its thing and we no longer need it. What if we just started treating our anxiety/panic as a cold? We could feel it begin and we start thinking "Oh no! I am going to have one of those attacks and I will be house bound for a month, I cant afford this, I will not be able to handle

Angel, I wake up alll the time from panic, so I think it is pretty common. If I do wake up, I usually take my dose of xanax and try to relax and get back to sleep. If you have something like xanax or clonopin, I would suggest taking that before you go to bed. Good Luck! Dennis

I also awaken from sleep with anxiety. Is that common??

I have begun using the soothing music discs and some headphones at the office to help with the on the job stress. I know I am lucky in the fact that I can perform my duties while wearing headphones and many people will not be able to do this but...we all get a lunch break and the music or affirmation discs/tapes can be absorbed along with that chicken burrito! :) So far it is helping my day somewhat. The downside is that I needed to spend more cash to have a wide variety of discs so I wouldnt burn out on any of them. I now have about 20 relaxation discs in all. I am still uneasy for about 15 minutes first thing in the morning but it passes as I become fully awake. I still take my meds (Xanax and Effexor) and do as much listening and reading as possible with my schedule. Have a great day, and thanks for reading. Mike

Right on. We all need that daily dose to maintain balance.