reducing the panic factor

If you are having such panic while taking practice tests, then you really should see your doctor about anxiety. Breathing exercises aren't going to be sufficient.

Andrew, I experienced the same when I was doing my CATs. What I found was that the faster I tried to answer my questions the more I got wrong. Hence I forced myself not to think about time when I was answering a question. I tried to improve my concentration and just worried about the question on hand. In fact during the actual test I did not look at the clock for the first few questions to help with my concentration. Do you find yourself glancing at the clock too often?

I think this is actually a very common problem and yes , I do tend to look at the clock too often. To be honest I think practise and building confidence has alot to do with it. I am trying to get to the point where answering simple questions becomes almost automatic and I can spend more time on the tough questions, which should take some of the pressure off. I find the quants section a lot more anxiety provoking than verbal.

Another important thing to remember is that GMAT works out the level at which you consistenly get 1/2 the answers right, so one doesn't have to get everything right to get a good score, you can get away with guessing if you are really stuck and still get a good score.

Otherwise, I have been told that eating chocolate is a good way help one relax !

Another thing to do would be hiding the clock.

This way, you will develop an "internal clock", and solve the questions on time without actually looking at the clock.

This requires serious practice, but once you get over with it, I'm pretty sure your anxiety will decrease in the real exam.

do many many practice CATs ...soon your anxiety will automatically reduce..