Wow, this seems like a very similar thing to a phobia I had as a child/teen and could never explain to anyone... it was when people were talking and got someone's point and said, "Aah!!" I couldn't explain why I was screaming as a little girl cos I couldn't say the word without feeling as thugh I was being engulfed by some Great Unknown... but the weird thing was, I could tell when a conversation was going that way and would beg people to stop talking. I also used to get the same feeling when thinking about deep water (vivid mental image of my tiny legs at the top of thousands of feet of sea) and once did have a panic attack watching the sky.

But I am pretty much ok now so I can offer the thought that this CAN go if you find the right way (for you) to deal with it.