antipalAThotmail

Far be it from me to question the veracity of your statements, however, I find myself wondering how you knew it was really a panic attack? After all, an actual panic attack has much more symptoms than a mere onset of perceived panic. Had you talked to a doctor about it, say a professional psychiatrist? I'm pretty sure they would be much more qualified at giving treatment to actual panic attacks along with other psychological disorders like hypochondria.
Not that I'm saying anything against raising self-esteem. Far from it, actually, I do believe that it is generally beneficial for an individual to have a healthy amount of self-confidence. It's just that I do seriously doubt the apparent connection between lack of self-esteem and panic attacks.

Seriously, I'd advice you to talk to a doctor about it

Self-monitoring of symptoms of the anxiety disorder is one of the most important steps in cognitive-behavioural therapy of anxiety disorders. With a diary of symptoms (and situations, thoughts and responses to the panic syndrome) you get a closer insight about your problem and can talk with your therapist in detail about your very personal problem.
Very often the monitoring helps to reduce catastrophic thoughts and imagination about a continuous worsening of the severity of the symptoms or major health related consequences (e.g. getting an heart attack, stroke or severe breathing dysfunction). With this kind of self-monitoring most patients learn to identify specific thoughts or situations that trigger the anxiety.