I used to get pretty severe panic attacks. I found that exposing myself to situations that caused me to panic, then using rational thinking to help calm myself to be effective. Minor amounts of alcohol can also help calm one, but I wouldn't suggest to excess at all. I used to smoke pot to induce panic attacks when in the public and that was also useful in helping me to see how ridiculous my panics were. I wouldn't hesitate to take a benzodiazepine like Xanax or Ativan to help calm myself, but I would be weary of SSRI, TCAs and other exotic drugs of those type for habituation, withdrawal, slow onset of antidepressant effect, unknown mechanism for clinical effects, side-effects and neurotoxicity concerns. Supplements such as DLPA and 5-HTP can help greatly with anxiety. Check out
www.feelinggood.com. "Feeling Good" is a book written by David D. Burns, M.D. on the cognitive approach to therapy and contains excellent rational thinking techniques problems relating to depression and anxiety.
Good luck man.