Sometimes I do, it is less intense, and does not last as long. (I had episodes lasting many hours, every day for up to a couple of years at a time...I still worked, went to school, but did it all on a kind of automatic pilot...when I first became depressed, I was so relieved, I thought it was 'normal' till others pointed out otherwise...). So, I take something for depression and something for anxiety---someone figured out, after many years (& then it took me a while to understand it myself) that I have c-ptsd)
Between attacks, I would sometimes become euphoric, the relief was so amazing.
...and sometimes, I did wake in the middle of the night in a panic though it more often began during the day, unexpectedly...
So, no, I don't have daily anxiety anymore, except during times that are stressful in a particular way, and the med helps...I do have to keep myself active to avoid depression. I just remember that, when I was young, it seemed as though I was "normal" and then one day, just like that, it changed. Oddly, my moods were most stable, and my anxiety absent (this was before I took meds, didn't take any till my mid thirties) during my pregnancies...and the seasonal allergy I had disappeared and has never returned. My kids are grown now...near thirty themselves...
The mind/body is such a wilderness in some ways...my kids are fine thank goodness.
I too try to let thoughts drift by, to not hold on to them, it is helpful; sometimes easier than others...tempting to grab on and look too closely...it really doesn't help.
If you can be successful at mastering your anxiety without meds, I would recommend that. But, if you find you do need medication, ...well, when it works it is very good.