You do not need to worry about being ridiculed for sharing your problem. Everyone in life has had a panic attack at one moment. Some are based on emotional impact, some are PTSD, and some are basically your mind trying hard to make sense of the situation at hand, but getting overwhelmed due to information overload. This is a survival reaction we inherited from out ancestors , which unfortunately does not works as intended in modern world.

Human mind does not works like they say in the books. Sometimes, it works out too much and may go back into a feed back look, thinking about the same thing multiple times trying to find a solution, till it brings you to a nerveous breakdown.

My suggestion, keep your mind busy. Take a book or carry your favourite music with you. If it is the safety your mind is worried about, carry a pepper spray in your bag. You need an excluse for your brain trying to tell you whenever it finds something is wrong.

You need to distract yourself from the events that trigger your anxiety attacks.

You mentioned you are a hypochondriac. Absolutely avoid reading anything on Internet, or WebMD or self medication or shit. You need to start trusting your doctor and stop worrying too much. Unfortunately that is the only way. Get a hobby which is linked to your passion, distract yourself from the triggers. We all get sick, we all recover. And we all have to die some day. No use worrying about it.

To sum it up....remember how Tony Stark dealt with his PTSD in all the three movies ? He channelled his skill to a cause and made something great. Real life works just as real. :-)

P.S i am a 29 year old male who suffered triggered Anxiety attacks for a good 15 years till i got my shit together and kicked life in the marbles.Now i have a serious zen thing going on.