IMHO Tog is making a common mistake when he quotes the American Psychiatric Association DSM: Panic Disorder (what Tog quotes) has little or nothing to do with panic in the sense we use the term here on this forum. Here when we say "panic", we really mean "fear gone out of control". I don't want to hijack this thread by rambling on about Panic Attacks.. but they aren't anything like the panic that some people experience in threat/trauma situations.

There is a common factor which explains why some people panic and some cope relatively calmly to threat/trauma: EXPOSURE. With repeated survived exposure to the situation(s) or similar situation(s), physiological reactivity goes down and clear/focused thinking improves. We achieve this by experience, by training, by practice/rehearsal (even by planning and practicing in your imagination)... all forms of exposure.