The key to making a panic attack manageable, is to realize that it does not hurt you, it will go away, and you will get through it. When symptoms of a panic attack first start, immediately begin distracting yourself and reminding yourself that it is just anxiety, and it will pass. It is not reality.
It can be a hard thing to grasp at first; I'm still learning to be able to manage them (and by 'manage', I don't mean that all of the panic will disappear, or that they will stop coming; I just mean that eventually you will at least be able to do other activities, in the midst of a panic attack, instead of frozen with fear somewhere in a corner, praying to God to make it go away); and I have been dealing with panic/anxiety for years.
I promise you, the feelings are just that: feelings. It doesn't make them real (though I know that they definitely FEEL real), and they always go away. It will not hurt you.