c/unsolved-feelings

Had to walk out of a coffee shop in Portland last week. Something felt off.

I went to this quiet cafe on Belmont Street around 4pm. First thing I noticed was everyone was staring at their laptops but nobody was typing. Four people at separate tables just sat there with blank screens. Then I realized the barista was whispering every order instead of saying it out loud. Maybe it's just a weird Portland thing, but has anyone else walked into a place and felt like you interrupted something?

Drove past a concrete plant that's been abandoned since the 80s and felt something weird

Found a weird trick for panic attacks that worked after 15 years of trying everything

I get these random panic attacks that hit out of nowhere, usually when I'm driving or in a store. Therapists told me to breathe deep, count things, name objects. None of it did squat. Last week at a Target in Tulsa, I felt one coming on and out of desperation I started counting the letters on every sign I could see. Not reading the signs, just counting the characters like a robot. T, A, R, G, E, T is 6. C, L, E, A, N, E, R is 7. I did that for about 90 seconds and the whole thing just faded out. Now I'm wondering if the trick is keeping your brain too busy to spiral. Has anyone else found some random mental game that actually shuts down the panic? I want to know if this works for other people or if I just got lucky.