Stop Panicking

Scenario 1: You're in a field. It's a nice sunny day. You're looking for a spot to have a picnic when suddenly you see a bull. You know bulls are dangerous. It spots you and starts to move towards you. In an instant you're sprinting towards the fence and hurling yourself over it to safety. The bull is charging, but you're safe. You're out of breath. If the coach had timed you, you bet you would have beaten your personal best for the 400 metre dash. You're shaking and your heart is pounding. Phew. You made it!

Scenario 2: You're standing in front of the sink. It's mid-afternoon and you're cleaning up after lunch. You have a lot of dishes to get through. You're scrubbing the casserole dish when you start to feel dizzy. You feel your heart pounding and are feel hot, faint. You're breathing becomes shallow and your chest hurts. Are you having a heart attack? Maybe you're dying. You're scared now. You're gulping in large amounts of air to keep breathing. You feel you're going to pass out. Your legs can barely hold your weight. What's happening to you?

The similarity between scenario 1 and scenario 2 is that in both cases your body's 'flight or fight' mechanism has been triggered. The difference in these two scenarios is that 1 is a very REAL danger to your life, 2 is NOT. Your 'fight or flight' mechanism was accidently 'set off'.