Meteorologist Nate Byrne was in the middle of a weather forecast on live TV in Melbourne, Australia, when he seemed to become breathless and tense.
“I’m actually going to need to stop for a second,” Byrne, 39, said on Tuesday, Aug. 13 during News Breakfast, a morning program that airs on the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.
"Some of you may know that I occasionally get affected by some panic attacks and actually that’s happening right now."
The moment was posted on Instagram:
He then cut his segment short and asked co-host Lisa Millar to take over, who assured him that was fine and calmly explained Byrne has been open about experiencing panic attacks.
The meteorologist later returned on camera and thanked his colleagues for their support.
“Sorry if I gave anybody a bit of a scare there,” he said.
“Not really, because you’ve been very honest before about getting panic attacks on air, and it’s so great for people to know that it can happen to anyone,” Millar said.
Live TV triggered Byrne’s first panic attack, he revealed in a 2022 essay, calling it “absolutely terrifying.” It happened after he was a bit late for his segment and ran to the weather wall.
“My heart was racing, I was gasping for breath and sweat was pouring out of every pore as my brain screamed ‘RUN!’” Byrne wrote.
A psychologist told Byrne it probably happened because he tried to control his breathing so much that his brain wasn’t getting enough oxygen, which triggered a flight response.
When it kept happening, his doctor temporarily prescribed a beta blocker, a type of medication that slows heartbeat. It helped, as did techniques to "distract" his brain, like pressing his thumbnail into the side of his finger during an episode. But Byrne still continues to have panic attacks occasionally.
He learned it was important to open up to his colleagues and let them know he might sometimes need help if it happens on air. The experience changed his perspective on mental health.
“While I appreciated that things like anxiety and depression are very much real, I had no idea about the complete lack of control you can sometimes have over your brain, nor the ways in which it can take over,” Byrne wrote.
Anthony Polcari, a digital creator in Washington, shared a similar experience of having a panic attack during a recent TV appearance.
Carson Daly’s panic attack experience
TODAY’s Carson Daly, 51, has also been open about his struggle with panic attacks. He’d never heard of them when he experienced his first one while hosting MTV’s “Total Request Live” in the 1990s.
“I thought I was going to die,” he recalled. “My heart started to race and fear went through my body.”
The panic attack was a symptom caused by stress and anxiety, Carson said.
In 2018, the TODAY co-host revealed he was diagnosed with generalized anxiety disorder, which creates excessive and sometimes intrusive feelings of anxiety or worry.
He started seeing a therapist and learned tools to manage his anxiety, including meditation and breath work. Medication has helped, too.
“That doesn’t mean I’m never going to have a panic attack again. The body can always trick the mind,” he said.
He wears his mental health struggles “like a badge of honor. I’ve always had anxiety. I’ve dealt with the panic attacks. I’ve gone to tons of therapy.”
“This is how God made me, I’m wired this way,” he added.
What is a panic attack?
It’s the abrupt onset of intense fear or discomfort, according to The Anxiety and Depression Association of America. It can happen out of the blue and for no obvious reason when a person is calm, or strike when they’re feeling anxious.
The body responds as if it’s in danger, even though there is no threat, Todd Farchione, Ph.D., director of the intensive program at Boston University’s Center for Anxiety & Related Disorders, previously told TODAY.
“It’s sort of a false alarm,” Farchione said. “It’s all internal, and that’s what’s so frightening for people. If you had a big spider in front of you and were having a reaction to that, you’d say, ‘I understand why I’m having a reaction to that.’”
The height of a panic attack lasts a few minutes because the body can’t sustain that level of fight-or-flight arousal for very long, Farchione said
Panic attacks can happen with any anxiety disorder, he added.
Some people can develop panic disorder, which involves frequent and unexpected panic attacks, according to the National Institute of Mental Health.
What are the symptoms of a panic attack?
Patients may suddenly experience “terror that is almost paralyzing,” the American Psychological Association noted. They also feel there’s no way to stop the panic attack.
Symptoms can include a racing heart, difficulty breathing, nausea, lightheadedness, shakiness and the tingling of hands or lips. People can also experience feelings of unreality, not being present or being disconnected, Farchione said.
Panic attack treatment
Therapy can help identify triggers and teach people how to get through panic attacks with slowed breathing, according to the American Psychological Association. Anti-anxiety medications, antidepressants and beta blockers can be part of the treatment.
If someone frequently experiences panic attacks, it may be beneficial for them to tell loved ones and colleagues what would help if it happens, Dr. Ken Duckworth, medical director of the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), previously told TODAY.com.
It allowed Byrne’s coworkers to quickly take over for him as his panic attack began and cameras were rolling.
