What begins as a certain pained reaction to a perceived stressor sets off a cascade of panicked thoughts and impressions, all fueled within a self-sustaining positive feedback loop by the repeated injection of epinephrine, until what appears as a normal setting takes on the air of some strange, horrifying forest of menace.
The only way to prevent a repeated event like this from eating away at one's mind and body is to direct it, to guide it into productive avenues of action, so that with a greater cascade of intensity comes a greater mountain of productive, creative power, as opposed to cutting away a deeper, corroded hole of madness and despair.