Anxiety.....

We have an extra person that lives in our house. It's kind of like in the "Family Circus" cartoon when "Not Me" shows up. Except ours is Anxiety. I only found out a few years ago that I suffer from panic attacks. I don't have them very often, and now that I know what they are, I recognize when they're happening, and I do what I can (deep breathing, visualizing, self talk, which ever works) to lessen the anxiety. Most of the time, I can manage to avoid what sends me into orbit. A lot of it has to do with staying away from my brother, who is the main source of the anxiety. My mother is part of it, too. Just not as bad as my brother is. Because of my panic attacks, Katie also suffers from generalized anxiety disorder. She actually has a diagnosis. And it's not necessarily something that's being worked on while Katie is in therapy...I'm not really sure because I'm not always a part of the therapy sessions. A phone call to the therapist is in order. Part of tomorrow's to do list. Katie has anxiety for a variety of reasons. The school bully gets her going. Knowing I'm going to be angry about "X" (what ever she's pulling this week)will do it. Making plans with her father will do it. Missing her appointed homework time with her best friend did it this week. Right before Christmas break, it was the whole thing with going to her Dad's for Christmas,which, by the way, went fine. Everybody liked her, she got some cool presents, had a great time, got to experience what it's like to be a part of a big family (her dad is one of 4, she has 4 cousins with his family, and two of his siblings are married). Katie missed her homework time because Vanessa's mom had gall bladder surgery, and had to stay in the hospital overnight, due to issues with the anesthesia. (which is common for her) Katie also has anxiety about being home alone. However, she doesn't always like going to her grandmothers to stay for the day,either. Gram also causes some anxiety for Katie because she's far more judgmental about it than I am. Katie missing the homework, and having to go to Saturday Academy to make up the work will also give her anxiety. The idea of me dating, possibly actually getting a boyfriend in my life, also gives her anxiety. So. There it is. Anxiety lives in my house. And I have no patience for anxiety, which doesn't help Katie's situation, at all.