How do you approach fear?

One of the situations in which I overcame my fear was during my childhood when I got trapped inside an elevator in a building. Initially the experience was very frightening as it was a small elevator and I was beginning to feel claustrophobic. I had never experienced claustrophobia in my life before but when the option of getting out of a small space was taken away from me due to a malfunctioning in the electrical system of the elevator it triggered a panic attack. fortunately there was a button in the elevator which I could press that would ring the alarm and it would notify the security about the situation that I was in. there was also a speaker and a microphone in the elevator with the help of which I could speak with the security personnel. speaking with the personal largely helped me take control of my emotional reaction. This is because the security in a very calm and composed manner explained to me that there was no reason for me to fear, as the elevator system had been designed to to overcome such a problem if it occurred. All I had to do was wait for some time and then the system would start operating again, which indeed happened. The time when I was having an anxiety attack I also remember that being mindful of your senses could help divert attention from the perceived threat which is exactly what I did and that helped me overcome my fear.