Panic in a dream usually names an urgent threat that feels bigger than your ability to respond to it in the moment -- a loss of control that arrives suddenly rather than building gradually. It often surfaces when a real situation has escalated faster than you've had time to adjust to, leaving you scrambling rather than steady.
Sluggishness in response is due to range, or insecurity, or bad organization. - Picatrix (Andalusia, ~1000.AD)