I just went for a medical procedure and afterwards I found I was dizzy, shaking, and wanted to cry and the panic seemed to be rolling towards me like a truck in full view of everyone. 

I asked to sit down for a moment and then started listing. What is listing? Well, you list stuff in your head. 

It can be lists of trivia you’ve learnt, like states and state capitals, or today I did (topical!) Olympic host cities. 

Or you can also list things in the room. Things beginning with A. Things beginning with B. Blue things. Red things. Things in order of size. You can look at some text on the wall and try to find every letter of the alphabet. 

Within about 30 seconds, I could already feel my stress levels going down. I was able to calmly walk out and carry on with my day. 

It’s just a really good distraction technique to stop that panic truck in its tracks.