Honestly, I have not had a panic attack that I can remember. When my life has flashed before my eyes, it's kind of like everything slowed down. Afterward, I reflect on how crazy it was, but during the brief moment I'm strangely more calm. This happened just last weekend actually. I was driving and hit a patch of slippery road near a cliff. I lost control of the car. My girlfriend went completely nuts. I went completely silent, calm, and focused on what I needed to do to avoid a crash. The moment only lasted for about 3 seconds, but it seemed like about 10 seconds.

This may sound goofy, but I think I'm conditioned for this reaction from playing organized sports from a young age. Playing games and being expected to do well, it puts stress on a little kid. The kid eventually hardens himself and learns to control his senses and emotions. That stressful feeling of being expected to score (which is THE WORLD to a kid) is the same feeling I get when suddenly faced with a life-or-death situation.

So, what can adults do? As others have stated above, there are ways to train. I don't think it's enough to self-train. You need to enroll in an organized race, or something like that, where you're competing against strangers. Make a commitment to achieve a personal record or even win the race. That may not seem like a big deal from an observer's standpoint, but the person actually doing it feels stress that is uncommon in everyday life.