Getting the wind knocked out of you is terrifying for about ten seconds. Then the breath comes back. Remember that.

The panic is not a message about danger. It is the body reacting to a diaphragm that has just been hit, and nothing is actually failing. Breath comes back on its own, without any decision from you, usually before you have finished being frightened. Knowing that in advance does not stop the fear, but it does shorten it.

Worth remembering the next time something arrives as pure panic. A grade you did not expect, a message, standing up to speak in front of the class. Let the first ten seconds be awful without reading them as a forecast, then see where you are.