Normally my defense in these sort of situations is remembering that the other person is more nervous than I am. Not sure if that one will help you.
The other thing I do is think about the worst thing that could possibly (realistically) happen. It's never as bad as the worrying about if it - so I just skip the worrying part. Just play nice and don't avoid communication just because it's difficult or uncomfortable, and you'll be just fine. 
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"The question isn't who is going to let me, it's who is going to stop me." (Ayn Rand)
"The truth is that our finest moments are most likely to occur when we are feeling deeply uncomfortable, unhappy, or unfulfilled. For it is only in such moments, propelled by our discomfort, that we are likely to step out of our ruts and start searching for different ways or truer answers." (M. Scott Peck)
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