[AllyOops!]

Oh, I'm glad that you girlies can relate!! (Not that I wish that we had to endure the anxiety caused by them!)

I've always been panic-prone, but I developed full blown panic disorder after the Northridge quake, and have suffered with it ever since. I rarely ever touch my anxiety pills (Ativan, or Lorazepam) because they cause me to slow down too much and make me hazy.

Every night before I go to sleep, I lay in bed and think "what if one hits....NOW!" Then, I freeze, gasp, and repeat the process until I distract myself and fall asleep. I cannot fall asleep without my television on. I keep it on a sleep timer. It's an awful way to live. My quality of life...just hasn't been quite the same due to my overwhelming fears.

While any noise at night causes my heart to sink and causes me to brace myself, a quake is much different for me.

My house is in a somehwhat dark & hilly area. Creepy at night! Especially when I hear them hills rustle at night. Oofah.

However, if I hear a noise in the house, I'll pop up, flip on my bedside lamp and maybe, only once in a blue moon, grab my gun (which, I have to be honest, I don't even like touching. My Dad, who is a deputy, insists that we all own one. I've fired one, I understand one, but I don't like 'em). I need to be alarmed enough to grab it.

When a quake hits, I lose all common sense. I run like a deranged lunatic, arms flailing & screaming for loved ones.

And definitely no gun. Shooting at the ground won't change a thing. How lame and frightening would that be? "Stop shaking you bastard!" as I shoot right through the floor onto the first story.