ABC News weather presenter Nate Byrne had to pause in the middle of Tuesday morning’s broadcast after suffering a panic attack live on-air.
Fortunately, the reporter’s struggles with anxiety were well known to his colleagues, who quickly assisted Byrne as he struggled to finish his segment on Queensland’s weather.
As he felt an anxiety attack begin to come on, Byrne calmly asked to hand back to his ABC News breakfast co-presenters Lisa Millar and Michael Rowland.
‘I’m actually going to need to stop for a second,’ he said.
‘Some of you may know that I occasionally get affected by some panic attacks, and actually that’s happening right now.
‘Lisa, maybe I could hand back to you.’
Millar was prepared and comfortably took over so that Byrne could recover off-camera.
She later took the opportunity to highlight an editorial which Byrne published about his experiences of on-air panic attacks in 2022.
ABC News weather presenter Nate Byrne had to pause in the middle of Tuesday morning’s broadcast after suffering a panic attack live on-air. Pictured during the event
In the piece titled ‘Live TV triggered my first panic attack’, Byrne described the ‘terrifying experience’ that forever changed his perspective on anxiety and mental health.
The weather presenter was later welcomed back to the show and apologised for stepping out.
‘Sorry if I gave anybody a bit of a scare,’ he said to Millar, who responded in jest that she was only scared that she might have had to step in and report the weather.
‘Nate wrote a great piece on the ABC online website about this and I reckon we might re-up it, put it on our socials, so you can have a bit of a read because it’s fantastic that he has been so open and transparent about it,’ Millar explained to viewers.
‘The response when he first wrote about it and spoke about it was that everyone said, “Oh thank god, Nate’s not perfect, we thought he was perfect, but actually he’s now sharing something”.’
‘You’ve been very honest before about getting panic attacks on air and it’s great for people to know that it can happen to anyone,’ Millar continued.
The ABC weather presenter regularly suffers from panic attacks
Byrne then thanked his team for helping him out during the attack before the broadcast resumed.
A panic attack is a brief episode of intense anxiety, which causes the physical sensations of fear.
These can include a racing heartbeat, shortness of breath, dizziness, trembling and muscle tension. Panic attacks occur frequently and unexpectedly and are often not related to any external threat.
In Byrne’s own words, he experiences panic attacks like this:
‘As I stood there under the studio lights, talking to people having their morning coffee and wiping sleep from their eyes, my heart was racing, I was gasping for breath and sweat was pouring out of every pore as my brain screamed “RUN!”.
‘But I was standing in one of my favourite places, doing the thing I love most.’
In the detailed account of his first-ever panic attack, Byrne said that as soon as the camera was off him, he dropped his on-air demeanour and ‘doubled over, trying to catch my breath, light headed and confused about what was happening.’
He has since been working with a psychologist to learn and action coping skills so that he can continue to do the job he loves.
Rowland has since shared the moment on social media with the update that Byrne has rested and is now doing OK.
‘You might have seen Nate experience a panic attack earlier this morning while presenting the News Breakfast weather,’ he captioned footage of this morning’s broadcast, which was shared to his personal Instagram account at midday.
His ABC News Breakfast colleagues commended Nate for being open and honest about his anxiety. Pictured: Nate (right) with Lisa Millar (centre) and Michael Rowland
‘Nate’s open about his panic attacks — he’s even written about them before — and he’s doing okay!’ Rowland shared.
The news presenter and journalist profusely thanked the breakfast show’s viewers for their kindness and understanding. He also cheekily noted that he hopes he didn’t ‘make matters worse’ for Byrne by giving him a ‘big bear hug off camera’ after the incident.
‘Thank you for all the supportive messages (There have been so many. What a wonderful audience we have!),’ Rowland continued.
‘As a team, we’ll always have your back, Nate.’
‘Always’.
TV colleagues, high-profile Australians, and viewers alike flocked to the comments to offer their support, with many praising Byrne and his colleagues for ‘normalising’ anxiety and modelling how to effectively and compassionately support some
one going through it.
‘Sending love to Nate! Well done to Nate and the team for navigating that so well. We are all human and many of us have been in similar situations. What a beautiful role model you are Nate, honest and authentic,’ one viewer wrote.
‘They are awful things. Love to him,’ Karl Stefanovic wrote.
‘Live TV is challenging,’ Notre Dame mental health professor Sophie Scott commented. ‘Showing your humanity and vulnerability will help others who live with anxiety and panic attacks.’
Australian writer and ‘appearance activist’ Carly Findlay OAM also chimed in: ‘You are so amazing Nate.’
‘Thank you for your openness and honesty. Makes it easier for others to speak up,’ another added.
