Is a recession on the horizon?

I'm worried.

I feel like every time I open a newspaper or Web page the country's financial health is examined. And for good reason I suppose.

From CNNMoney.com:

"After years of living happily beyond their means, Americans are finally facing financial reality. A persistent rise in energy prices will mean bigger heating bills this winter and heftier tabs at the gas pump. Job growth is slowing and wage gains have been anemic. House prices are sliding, diminishing the value of the asset that's the biggest factor in Americans' personal wealth. Even the stock market, which has been resilient for so long in the face of eroding consumer sentiment, has begun pulling back amid signs of deep distress in the financial sector."
(Read the full story here.)

Man, doom and gloom, huh?

I'm trying to figure out what I need to do. I've adjusted my attitude and don't even get alarmed anymore when gas prices creep toward $3. However, I DO get mad every time I go to buy a gallon of milk and it costs more than that gallon of gas.
The price of living has, and continues, to skyrocket.

I'm reading more and more stuff about a possible recession (though that threat always seems to be in the air) and I'm wondering what's about to happen. How hard will times get? What has to happen - initiated by either consumers or producers - to make things better? Is the country's financial situation the consumer's fault? Is the media just making too much of this?

What do you guys think? What does the future look like in your minds?