I see a CBT once a week, I just wanted to share something he tought me that made sense.
When you feel panic coming on, (physical symptoms) think of it like when it's cold and you get goose bumps. Why do you get them? Because you're cold. It's perfectly natural and you don't get scared when you see them because you know why they're there and that they'll go away in a few minutes... Basically, ALL the symptoms of Panic are the body's natural way of saying it's in fear of something. Although a panic attack is an -irrational- fear of something, still your body reacts by putting out physical symptoms, (all kinds) that scare us into thinking there is something horribly wrong with us, but there is NOTHING wrong, we aren't sick, we aren't going to die, because these symptoms are the bodies natural way of fighting fear. You should just say hey I'm feeling a little nervous, but I know it's just my body's normal way of reacting and it WILL pass soon. Do NOT be afraid of how your body acts when you are having a panic attack, it's only doing what's normal in the fight or flight response....
This makes sense.... Try it next time you feel it coming - talk to yourself