Debbie, all the time I was reading your post, I saw in my head a picture I tried to draw while we were going through the sale of our property in the country! It was of a woman pulling herself out of the mire, moss, pond scumb, you name it. I never could get the face right, so I left it faceless.

Anyway, it seems to fit your situation right now. You're pulling yourself out of an ugly, painful past and starting a new life. It's only normal that you're having so much anxiety pulling away from a place that you are familiar with and is so well known to you... to start a brand new life so far away from what's familiar to you.

Do you suppose if babies new what awaited them in childbirth, they would also have anxiety attacks when contractions started?? I would think so!!

Would it help you to think of this experience as a rebirth? Wipe the old slate clean; heck, leave it behind and start fresh! WOW! What an experience!! Scary, yes, but it's a brand new beginning! WooooHooooooooo!! Lucky you!! I know you can do it!!