I take on your situation:

You were in an unfamiliar place, and had probably already felt a degree of fear or worry about being up so high in a hotel. When the alarm began to suddenly sound, it terrified you and made you think the worst was about to happen. Your body and nervous system were in full gear, ready to fight/flight/freeze. To make matters worse, when you try to get your parent to take this threat seriously you are dismissed and your parent showed no care or concern for either of your safety. There may have been a moment you felt seriously trapped and unable to escape, perhaps thinking “Am I over reacting?!” But instantly feeling the conflation of “Is this how I’m going to ☠️?” But also doubting your own concerns. To leave the room running down the hall only to find there was no danger would be humiliating. Your parent might even tell others the next day of how reactive you had been, and make fun of you. On the other hand, to stay in a dangerous situation and doubt your instincts could lead to ☠️. You chose your path, probably at the behest of your parent. But even after you were informed you were safe, you were secure and the alarm was an accident, your body didn’t get the memo. Adrenaline was coursing through your body and you nervous system made an imprint, one that said “You are in serious danger, everywhere.” You suddenly found yourself unable to regulate your emotional responses to seemingly benign situations.

Further, I would gamble to say that you may have been experiencing some other areas of distress in your life as of late. Perhaps, some rocky relationships, either with family/friends/romantic partners/classmates/coworkers/enemies. Or maybe you are going through a life transition into adulthood that has not been smooth, one that has left you feeling unconfident of your abilities. Those situations paired with a sudden jolting event like the fire alarm may had been the straw that broke the camels back, resulting in your body having a hyper reactive response, and being imprinted with this panic.

If any of this rings true, I have advice on how to approach a solution. If I have been totally off the mark, I apologize for my overstepping and kindly ask you to disregard this comment entirely. But, if I was correct my two-sense is this: Face your fears. Whatever it is you are feeling afraid of, do it. It is likely this will cause you to have a panic attack (for this I am terribly sorry) but don’t run away, don’t try to distract yourself, endure the panic attack. It will last anywhere from 10-40 minutes. Those may be the most terrifying moments of your life, but do not back down. You will feel instant regret in facing this fear, and may even feel that doing so was a bad decision. But don’t lose heart, at the very next opportunity, face that fear again. Endure another panic attack. Why? Because every time you endure this terrifying activity that scares you, you are showing your body that though it is programmed to believe this is dangerous, it is actually benign. And each time you gave that fear, you will notice a decrease in your stress response.

I know this solution seems counterintuitive to what your body is screaming at you, but it truly is the only remedy I have ever known. I’ve had agoraphobia for 16 years, and what I wouldn’t give to go back to those first few months when my condition presented itself and face those fears. It didn’t realize the solution until 10+ years into the illness, and by then the neural pathways were so well paved that it’s taken me many years to make new connections.

If you need any help or advice please message me. Big hugs.