The only thing I can come up with is the fact that our brains can make us believe anything. They are very fascinating. My anxiety attacks cause me to feel like I am literally dying. Anxiety can throw our worst fears at us. The only way you can really cope is either through medication or being able to comfort yourself. I think time and experience helps. I have never been medicated for my anxiety because, well, my anxiety makes me fear the medication. However, time and experience has allowed me to learn from each attack and I am much better at calming myself down during one than I used to be. Sometimes I still get in the "flight" mode, but other times I can actually remain calm until it passes and because of that my anxiety has been much better as of late with less attacks. Good luck.