I get bad panic attacks when I have a blocked nose at night, how can I stop?

This probably sounds really weird and stupid, but although I suffer with panic attacks and generalised anxiety symptoms occasionally, they are usually rare with me.
More recently, my biggest trigger has been when I feel a cold coming on and I wake up in the middle of the night with a badly blocked nose.
Suddenly I feel as though I can t breathe properly and I m suffocating. I have to physically get up and pace the room and it can mean sleepless nights until the cold has gone or I m feeling well enough to breathe easy.
I m not sure what s in my head and what s actually real when I feel like this. What can I do to stop myself from fresking out like this? Apart from alleviating the blocked nose, how can I make myself feel as though I m not suffocating, mentally?
Strange symptom, I know. Thank you for any replies.