How do I deal with my anxiety when I get random bursts of it?

Panic attacks are nothing to fear, although they can feel scary if you are not familiar with what they are. Panic attacks are essentially your body's response to a situation or event triggering anxiety or fear. Your body's sympathetic nervous system revs up into overdrive and signals a "fight or flight" response that manifests as panic. Your sympathetic nervous system reacts as though it is in "survival mode," so your body prepares to either fight or flee from the situation causing your brain to feel alarmed.  Because your mind and body are connected, it would make sense that your body would be responding to the anxiety you are experiencing, such as heart racing and waking up from sleep. Of course, this reaction happens in nanoseconds, so you do not have time to slow down and process what is happening. Under "normal" circumstances, this response is healthy and can help you survive a situation that would literally require you to fight or flee to survive. However, when you are you not in imminent danger, this response may seem nonsensical and debilitating.

 

Panic attacks can be marked by symptoms like heart palpitations, shortness of breath, nausea, chest pain, fear of dying or going crazy, shaking or trembling, de-personalization, etc.  Panic attacks may last a few seconds to several minutes. Not everyone experiences panic attacks in the same way. Some people experience panic attacks only when specifically triggered by a phobia, like flying on an airplane. Other times people may experience panic attacks at seemingly random times or due to underlying generalized anxiety. Regardless, after experiencing a panic attack people then often experience a "fear of fear" cycle as they may then fear a future panic attack returning, which ironically may trigger the onset of another panic attack! 

 

Anxiety can be especially challenging to manage on your own.  Anxiety can be managed with a combination of lifestyle modifications, psychotherapy and/or psychiatric medication. I wonder if the anxiety you described in your question is what you would deem a new development for you. Regardless if this just started for you or if you have been dealing with this issue for some considerable length of time, the level of anxiety you are experiencing seems so crippling that it has negatively impacted your quality of life. I encourage you to start working with a therapist to help you develop healthy coping skills and unearth the underlying causes for the anxiety and panic attacks you are experiencing.