Extreme storm anxiety

[MelodyGrace]

Have any of you been able to get over a fear of storms? Since the pandemic, my general anxiety has gone up and my fear of storms has turned into a full on phobia. I hide in the closet, can’t focus, heart pounding, running to the bathroom, crying, you name it. I don’t know how to get a handle on it and I’m worried my daughter will develop a bad association with storms because of my behavior. I live in Florida, so bad weather is pretty common. Anyone get over this? How did you do it?

[Ladybug9]

We don't have serious storms here in Northern California but one night we had thunder and lightening that was so loud that it actually not only scared the animals in my park but the adults as well. You may find a lot of things trigger your fears and anxiety for now. Do you have a way to help you when it's bad?

[MelodyGrace in reply to Ladybug9]

I’m on Xanax, it takes the edge off but it’s not a great long term solution. I’ve been taking it for a couple months now, as needed.

[Ladybug9 in reply to MelodyGrace]

I take that as well because although it has a short half life, it works when we need it and we don't have to wait for the longer lasting meds to kick in. Things WILL get better.

[KittenMittens22]

My mom had this fear when I was a kid. She would panic and want to take us to a neighbor’s home or would take us in the middle of the night to a grocery store because she felt a large building was safer. It was while she was dealing with a lot of anxiety. It went away when she started taking Zoloft to treat her anxiety. She no longer has that fear.

It did scare my brother and I when we were little but rest assured it did not stick with us permanently, so I’m sure your daughter won’t either.

I too have had bad bouts of anxiety and when I’m vulnerable in those moments more things tend to frighten me. There have been a few isolated incidents where storms have made me anxious and panic. I think it more comes from feeling a lack of control in storms. Once you can tackle the general anxiety, hopefully the phobia of the storm will subside.

[MelodyGrace in reply to KittenMittens22]

Yes, I feel like the general anxiety with everything else that's going on has made this particular trigger ridiculous. I've never tried any long term medications for anxiety. It seems like that might be a better fix than the short term Xanax right now. It would be so liberating to not feel paralyzed with fear whenever I hear thunder.

And I'm glad you're not scarred from your mom's behavior!

[MFM008]

I have a real fear of windstorms. They can go as high as 60 mph plus here in the Pacific Northwest, we are surrounded by tall pine trees.... Thunder and lightening don't bother me,

I grew up in southern Illinois where the lightening would light up the house and Id get up to go into my parents room and they would both be sound asleep!

[MelodyGrace in reply to MFM008]

Wind is also very scary. Hurricane season here is a lot because of all the tornadoes. The sound of that wind is like a nightmare. I can’t imagine if we were also surrounded by tall pine trees.

The power of nature is crazy and maybe a little overwhelming.