This ABC News Correspondent Says Having an On-Air Panic Attack Improved His Life

ABC’s Good Morning America has its share of familiarfaces at the news desk. Robin Roberts and George Stephanopoulos haveco-anchored the program for over a decade, and the morning news show alsofeatures fan favorites such as Amy Robach, Michael Strahan, Ginger Zee, andLara Spencer.

One ABC News correspondent who frequently appeared on the morning program has openly shared his battle with anxiety and addiction, revealing that once having a panic attack while at the GMA news desk turned out to be a blessing in disguise.

A life-changing segment

Journalist Dan Harris began reporting for ABC News in 2000, accordingto Variety. The ABC News correspondent has covered national and globalevents, including the war in Afghanistan, the U.S.-Mexican border crisis, andthe 2004 presidential election. “To use the cameras and the megaphone that wehave to improve people’s lives, especially the lives of children, that to megets me really fired up. That’s when I think I do my best work,” he saidof being a journalist, accordingto GMA.

Harris has been transparent about his struggle with anxiety and substance abuse. What brought his issues to the forefront was a certain segment during a GMA broadcast in the spring of 2004.

“Iwas filling in on Good Morning America, anchoring the news updates atthe top of each hour,” Harris writes in his book, “10% Happier.” “I had done this jobplenty of times before, so I had no reason to foresee what would happen shortlyafter the co-hosts, Diane Sawyer and Charlie Gibson, tossed it over to me formy brief newscast: I was overtaken by a massive, irresistible blast of fear.”

Harris went on to describe the physical manifestations of the attack while he was supposed to be delivering the news to millions of viewers. “It felt like the world was ending. My heart was thumping. I was gasping for air,” he described. “I had pretty much lost the ability to speak. And all of it was compounded by the knowledge that my freak-out was being broadcast live on national television.”

At one point, Harris revealed that he had to go off script and cut his report short. “Halfway through the six stories I was supposed to read, I simply bailed, squeaking out a ‘Back to you,’” he admitted.

Getting help

Inhis book, Harris shared that he sought therapy after the on-air panic attackand discovered some life-changing truths about himself, such as admitting hehad a serious drug problem.

“In2003, after spending several years covering the wars in Afghanistan, Israel,Palestine and Iraq, I became depressed. In an act of towering stupidity, Ibegan to self-medicate, dabbling with cocaine and ecstasy,” Harris revealed. “Myintake was sporadic, and mostly restricted to weekends… In hindsight, it was anattempt, at least partly, to recreate some of the thrill of the war zone.”

Harris learned that the repercussions of his drug use included experiencing panic attacks. “A side-effect of all of this, as my doctor explained to me, was that the drugs had increased the level of adrenaline in my brain, dramatically boosting the odds of a panic attack,” Harris shared. “It didn’t matter that I hadn’t gotten high in the days or weeks leading up to my on-air Waterloo; those side-effects lingered.”

The power of meditation

Throughan assignment on covering the aspects of faith, Harris began studying andpracticing meditation, which proved to have an incredibly positive impact onhis life.

“Meditation is a tool for taming the voice in your head… meditation is often effective kryptonite against the kind of epic mindlessness that produced my televised panic attack,” Harris explained. “When friends and colleagues ask (usually with barely hidden skepticism) why I meditate, I often say, ‘It makes me 10% happier.’”

Harrisrecently stepped down as anchor of ABC’s Nightline, which he has headedsince 2013, to pursue business opportunities that stemmed from the meditationpractices he outlines in his book, including hosting a podcast of the same name.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BsSx3mjAhjx/

The ABC News correspondent is hoping to reach skeptics who may think meditation is just the ‘power of positive thinking.’ In “10% Happier,” he describes the practice as “a doable, realistic, scientifically researched way to get significantly happier, calmer, and nicer. If meditation could be stripped of the syrupy, saccharine language with which it’s too often presented, it might be appealing to millions of smart, skeptical people who may never otherwise consider it.”

“10%Happier” is on sale now.

Source: Read Full Article