Today show host Carson Daly revealed intimate details about his first ever panic attack, describing in detail how it shaped his attitude and advocacy towards mental health.

Carson, 50, has been incredibly open about his mental health struggles over the years, after going public with his  generalized anxiety disorder diagnosis in 2018.

And now he has opened up in even greater detail while giving a speech at the Project Healthy Minds World Mental Health Day Festival on Tuesday, when he the moment that he had his first panic attack in the ’90s, while working on MTV’s Total Request Live.

Carson revealed that he was preparing to begin filming on the teen talk show, which featured musicians, actors and other celebrities, when ‘something unusual’ happened.
Today show co-host Carson Daly opened up about his first ever panic attack, and how that shaped how he treats his mental health going forward

Today show co-host Carson Daly opened up about his first ever panic attack, and how that shaped how he treats his mental health going forward

Carson (pictured center with Britney Spears and Brandon Boyd in 2002) was hosting MTV's Total Request Live when he had his first ever panic attack, recalling it 'came out of nowhere'

Carson (pictured center with Britney Spears and Brandon Boyd in 2002) was hosting MTV’s Total Request Live when he had his first ever panic attack, recalling it ‘came out of nowhere’

‘Out of nowhere in my dressing room, I felt what I can describe as a snap in my brain,’ he recalled to the audience.

Carson said his ‘heart started to race and fear went through my body,’ describing  feeling like somebody ‘cracked one of those cold compresses at a Little League game and put it on my neck.’

‘I could see my producer talking to me in the doorway, totally normal expression on his face, saying something about Hanson, probably,’ he continued. 

‘I couldn’t hear him,’ the TV host admitted. ‘It looked like he was talking in slo-mo. I was literally leaving reality.’

Carson said at the time he thought he may have been having a stroke, recalling being mortified he was possibly having one in front of Hanson. 

‘It passed in 30 seconds, but it felt like 30 minutes,’ he said, explaining that, in the moment, he ‘thought he was going to die’. 

‘Somehow I was able to get through it. I did the show on autopilot,’ Carson recalled. ‘But the whole time, beneath the surface, I was absolutely terrified that whatever had just happened to me, it could happen again at any moment.’

After the chilling experience, Carson went to a doctor, who told him it sounds like he had suffered from a panic attack – which at that stage, he had never heard of before.

Carson (pictured hosting The Voice) admitted he had never heard of a panic attack before he suffered one while working on MTV, which kick started his quest for mental health awareness

Carson (pictured hosting The Voice) admitted he had never heard of a panic attack before he suffered one while working on MTV, which kick started his quest for mental health awareness

Daly (seen with Lil Kim in 2000) went public with his generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) diagnosis in 2018

Daly (seen with Lil Kim in 2000) went public with his generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) diagnosis in 2018

The Today host recalled being plagued by excessive worrying when he started his career at the age of 23, saying the most important step he took was talking to a friend, and then a therapist

The Today host recalled being plagued by excessive worrying when he started his career at the age of 23, saying the most important step he took was talking to a friend, and then a therapist 

‘I’d never heard of a panic attack, much less considered it,’ he admitted. ‘What was the trigger of this panic attack? I don’t know.’

He went on to share that he later learned the panic attack was actually a symptom of wider mental health issues, caused in large part by his stress and anxiety. 

‘Stress and anxiety were the cause. I needed to slow down,’ he explained. ‘I needed to make my unmanageable life manageable.’

Carson then took what he said was the  ‘single most important step’ in addressing his mental health – talking to a friend.

He  started seeing a therapist, which led him to learn tools to manage his anxiety. 

He acknowledged that knowing how to manage the symptoms doesn’t make them go away, and he has suffered from panic attacks since.

‘The body can always trick the mind,’ he said, recalling having a panic attack while hosting The Voice with 12 million people watching. 

But he stressed the importance of knowing what to do and using the resources around you and speaking out – something which the nonprofit Project Healthy Minds is centered around.

‘Mental health is no longer the Scarlet A on our chest,’ he said. ‘It is the bright red ‘S’ on our chest. We’re superheroes,’

He added: ‘We’re the avengers of a galaxy, jocks and misfits, all with their own issues coming together to help people and who knows, maybe even save the world.’

Carson spoke about his battle with anxiety and his journey so far on the Today show in June, while his co-hosts celebrated his 50th birthday.

‘I feel better now than I did in my 20s,’ he said at the time. ‘There’s so much self-acceptance that comes with age.’ 

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