Anxiety

I always thought I managed stress fairly well. I maintain my composure, I make logical decisions, and overall, I am level headed in times of stress. I may have anxiety over a significant period of time; however, I was caught off guard by a reaction I had, provoking an extreme amount of anxiety.
Here is the story:
I was hanging out with fellow nursing graduates, having such a great time reminiscing, recalling hysterical patient stories, and enjoying eachother's company. Of course the topic of the impending NCLEX studying came to the surface. Now, it just so happens the nursing school has a database of questions called the NCLEX 4000. Question after question from previous NCLEX exams to help us succeed and pass this mountain of a test. A friend of mine asked if I planned on going to the school of nursing to practice those questions.
Almost immediately, I started to laugh thinking why would I want to go back to the school of nursing? I thought about getting on the bus, walking into the 1st floor where all our lectures had taken place, passing our mailboxes . . . and there began my anxiety. My heart started to race, my face became flushed, and my core temperature had risen so quickly I could feel every pore dilate as the heat rushed to my skin. I could feel sweat develop on my face and on my chest. It was unbelievable. In the meantime, I'm laughing and crying imagining this scenario take place.
It was quite comedic and my friend even turned towards me, recalling a conversation we had earlier about my stress response, and said "See, I told you how stressed you were this past semester!"
The response I had completely took me off guard but it also reminded me of our mutual experience of getting through nursing school. Although we shared times of stress, we dealt with them in different ways and even suppressed them. I'm amazed by how resilient we all were. I got through stress by eating, exercising, venting (I'm sorry if you were ever part of that :)) sleepless nights, etc. etc. etc. Oh, there were definite times of insanity.
Unfortunately, I have to go to the NCLEX 4000. I hesitate. But I must. One friend stated she got to the computer lab the roundabout way, avoiding the 1st floor all together. I think I'll follow.