Why Carson Daly Thought He Was Going to Die

Carson Daly describes an incident on the set of Total Request Live that led to his first panic attack. At the inaugural gala for Project Health Minds, an organization that aims to end the stigma associated with mental illness, the TODAY host and former TRL host recalled the personal experience.

“One September day, I thought I was going to die,” Daly recounted in video footage shared on YouTube by Today. “I was in my dressing room, and I could sense all the normal live buzz of the show before it went on. I could hear the crowd outside. I could hear horns honking, normal Total Request chaos, very usual.”

Then he felt “something very unusual happen” that caught him off guard. “Out of nowhere, in my dressing room, I felt what I can describe as a snap in my brain. My heart started to race, and fear went through my body like I was a kid and wouldn’t let go. It was like somebody cracked one of those cold compresses at a Little League game and put it on my neck.”

A member of the board of directors for Project Healthy Minds and an open advocate for mental health, The Voice presenter said he could see his producer talking to him in the doorway but could not hear him.”It looked like he was talking in slo-mo. I was literally leaving reality,” he said. “I thought, ‘My God, I’m having a stroke in front of Hanson.’ It passed in 30 seconds, but it felt like 30 minutes.”

In the end, Daly managed to get through the episode on “autopilot,” but “beneath the surface, I was absolutely terrified that whatever had just happened to me, it could happen again at any moment.”

He went to his doctor following the experience, and the doctor informed him that he suffered a panic attack brought on by stress and anxiety that persisted until he spoke with a friend about it. This friend validated Daly’s experience and made his decision to seek therapy and alternative methods of coping.

“It was time to start working on myself. And over the years, I put in the work to manage and, ultimately, admire my anxiety,” he said. “I learned to manage it with a regimen that smart people help me, meditation, breathing, taking a cold plunge, focusing on working hard for my family, and taking my meds. The prescribed kind — not the kinds from Snoop [Dogg].”

“Ultimately, I came to accept that this is who I am and not only do I accept it, I’m stronger because of it,” he continued. “That doesn’t mean I’m never gonna have a panic attack again. The body can always trick the mind.”

During the filming of The Voice, he also suffered from a sudden attack. “Not a good time to lose your s—,” Daly quipped. “Thought I was going to pass out, so I just held on, right hand clutching the microphone, smiling, this is what you see,” he said, but “left hand in my pocket, I grabbed my left thigh so hard I started to bleed. Thirty seconds is what it lasted, but it felt like an eternity. But I made it.”

Although Daly may never recover from his anxiety, he insisted that it is “more important that I have the bravery to share my story just in case it helps somebody the way my friend helped me.” With Project Healthy Minds, he hopes to create “a world where everyone knows that mental health isn’t something to hide from, but a journey to take openly. And a journey where you’ll find support along the way.”