golfer,
I had that feeling in an R22 a few times back when I was hour building, only had a couple of hundred hours at the time, I was up in the mountains at 3000 - 4000 feet in good sunny weather, I thought it was vertigo too, but once I decended down I felt ok again, never had that feeling in any other helicopter since, however I still avoid going up there in R22's
Stick at it, if it happens again dont panic, you did the right thing by distracting yourself, eg talk to your passenger about the weather, views etc. and take deep breaths, you will be fine.
BC.