As a kid, I had (and still occasionally have) horrible nightmares about tornadoes, presumably from a close call I had as a 3yo when my parents grabbed me out of bed and ran to the outdoor tornado shelter. This contributed to my storm anxiety as an adult.


Last Wednesday at my boyfriends house, we were a direct hit from an EF-1 tornado. It was totally out of no where, no warning in the middle of the night. The weathermen couldn’t get the warning out until it was already on top of us. I didn’t even know it was supposed to storm that night. My boyfriend woke me up at 1:20am screaming “GET TO THE BASEMENT”. As we ran downstairs, in my disoriented state, I caught a glimpse through the window and saw the carnage outside. Heard the loudness. But we were okay.


The following Saturday, a possible tornado (ended up being 100mph straight line winds) went through the the town where I own my home and live half the time. I was still at my boyfriends place at that time, and I was an anxious mess that whole evening, wondering if my house was okay and if everybody I know was okay. Everything was fine, just some minor damage.


I came back to my house last night. My city is nearby a military base, and they started blowing up a few bombs (this is totally normal and something I’m used to after living here). But I just lost it. I got so scared. All my pent up anxiety and stress just came flooding out and I was in tears. 


I’m so afraid of getting debilitating storm anxiety after this, or even a “fear” of loud noises. It’s a week later and I’m still not fully recovered emotionally. Is this something I can get ahead of? Would seeing a therapist help ward off future anxieties? I’ve never dealt with true life-affecting anxiety before, and just need some advice.