Anxiety While On The Subway. Tips?

Hey y’all

I’ve been taking the nyc subway my whole life, in 2023 I quit nicotine cold turkey and while experiencing withdrawals, I got on the subway and immediately had a horrible panic attack. It took me months to get on the subway after that. Fast forward to 2024, I was on the train when we got stuck for about 10 minutes and I was standing, during those ten minutes, I got an intrusive thought that sounded like “what if you just started panicking right now” and I reacted with panic to the thought which then triggered my physical anxiety symptoms. Today, I can get on the subway now and feel fine but I get a huge rush of anxiety when the train stops between stations or even when it’s slowing down. I’ve tried distracting myself with music, books, and anything in between and it doesn’t help. The only thing that helps is talking to someone on the train like if I’m riding it with a friend but most of the time I’m alone when I take the train, have you experienced the same anxiety? Have any tips? Or even some insight to help me gain a different perspective.