ABC Reporter Suffers Panic Attack Live on Air: Nate Byrne Perfectly Handles Harrowing Moment

Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) meteorologist Nate Byrne experienced an unexpected panic attack during a live broadcast, highlighting mental health struggles often hidden in high-pressure situations. On Tuesday morning, viewers across Queensland tuned in for their daily weather update. Per video from news.com.au, Byrne suddenly paused as he calmly delivered the weather forecast. 

“I’m actually going to need to stop for a second,” he said, addressing his colleagues and viewers. He continued, “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.”

Lisa Millar, co-host of ABC News Breakfast, seamlessly took over and used the opportunity to highlight Byrne’s previous efforts to raise awareness about mental health issues. She referenced an article Byrne had written in 2022, detailing his experiences with on-air panic attacks. “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.

“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,’” she continued. Byrne returned to the broadcast later in the program, apologizing for any concern he may have caused. “Sorry if I gave anybody a bit of a scare,” he said.

Millar commended Byrne’s transparency: “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.” Michael Rowland, another co-host, lightened the mood with a bit of humor, quipping, “Gave me a scare because I thought I’d have to finish doing the weather report.” Byrne then took a moment to thank his colleagues for their assistance during the incident before resuming his duties.

Rowland later shared the incident on social media, reassuring concerned viewers about Byrne’s well-being. “Nate’s open about his panic attacks — he’s even written about them before — and he’s doing okay!” Rowland wrote on Instagram. He added, “Thank you for all the supportive messages. As a team, we’ll always have your back, Nate. Always. (Although I hope I didn’t make matters worse with me bear hug off-camera).” The outpouring of support from viewers was immediate and heartening. Comments flooded in, praising Byrne for his bravery and normalizing conversations about panic attacks.

As Millar previously mentioned on air, in February 2022, Byrne penned a personal account of his first panic attack, which occurred during a live broadcast. This experience, he wrote, “completely reshaped my understanding of mental health.”

Byrne vividly described the onset of that initial attack: “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!’”

The irony wasn’t lost on Byrne that this overwhelming anxiety struck while he was engaged in his passion. “But I was standing in one of my favourite places, doing the thing I love most,” he reflected.

Prior to this incident, Byrne had navigated high-stress situations without experiencing anxiety. His background as a Naval Officer had exposed him to intense pressures, including the responsibility of running a warship and hosting internationally televised events. Even so, a simple jog from his desk to the weather wall triggered his first panic attack. “As soon as the camera was off me, I dropped my on-air demeanour and doubled over, trying to catch my breath, light headed and confused about what was happening,” he recounted.

The second attack, occurring just 15 minutes later, was even more severe. Byrne described it as a moment when “the bottom dropped out of my world.” The physical symptoms intensified, accompanied by fear that his career might end. “I more than cried — I sobbed as I grieved a loss I couldn’t comprehend,” he wrote.

However, Byrne was determined to seek immediate help. He consulted a doctor who diagnosed the episodes as panic attacks and prescribed beta blockers to help manage the symptoms. This allowed Byrne to return to air that same evening for the news broadcast.

Over the following weeks, Byrne employed various coping strategies to manage his anxiety during broadcasts.”Seeing a psychologist helped to confirm that there weren’t any other contributing factors, and while his initial advice to remove myself from the situation wasn’t exactly what I needed, we worked together to come up with alternative coping mechanisms,” Byrne explained.

Through this process, Byrne gained valuable insights into the neurological aspects of his panic attacks. He hypothesized that his brain had formed an association between the physical location of the weather wall and the sensation of danger, triggering the flight response. With time and the help of medication, Byrne was able to retrain his brain to recognize that he was safe in that environment.

A year after his initial experience, Byrne suffered another major panic attack on air. Millar, who witnessed this attack, described the experience: “I remember watching you beginning to roll into your weather spiel, something you do a dozen of times a day flawlessly.” 

She continued, “My first thought was ‘he’s having a stroke, there’s something wrong’. The stillness of the studio as someone flails on air like that was something I’d not experienced before. I frantically looked to the floor manager Jo Sumic and I could see his eyes flickering as his brain ticked over ‘how do we save this?’”

This event reinforced for Byrne the importance of open communication with colleagues about mental health challenges. He reflected, “I learned an important lesson that day — making sure your support network knows that you sometimes need assistance, and how they can support you, is essential.”

As a result of Byrne’s experiences, his view of mental health has changed dramatically, as well as his understanding of anxiety. “It’s a powerful tool, but when things go even slightly wrong it can be an incredible burden,” he noted.