ABC weatherman Nate Byrne has been showered with a torrential downpour of support after he experienced a panic attack while on live TV this morning. The presenter is now being applauded for bringing awareness to the common mental health issue.
It was a standard morning of ABC’s News Breakfast program, with hosts Lisa Millar and Michael Rowland delivering their usual coverage of the day’s headlines before passing to weatherman Nate Byrne.
But then, during his run-of-the-mill Tuesday morning weather report, Byrne realised he was having a panic attack on live TV.
As he presented the upcoming weather forecast for Queensland (rain BTW), Byrne’s standard on-air demeanour changed as he began running short of breath and stumbling on words.
Being no stranger to dealing with anxiety attacks while on TV, the presenter professionally requested his segment be cut short so that he could manage his well-being.
“I’m actually going to need to stop for a second,” said Byrne.
“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.”
Without missing a beat, ABC host Lisa Millar said Byrne “certainly can” pass over to her, and continued the broadcast by seamlessly promoting that Byrne had actually written about his experience with 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,” she told 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’.”
Shortly after his panic attack concluded, Byrne then returned to screens to apologise for the brief interruption. What a champion!
Given that it was all filmed and went out live, the ABC actually shared the clip of Byrne’s televised panic attack to its social media pages, with the moment quickly amassing thousands of likes and comments.
@abcnewsaus Nate Byrne experienced a panic attack while presenting the weather. He’s open about his panic attacks — he’s even written about them before — and he’s doing okay. Here’s the moment it happened and the team’s response. To personalise your news & stay in the know, download the ABC News app via the link our bio. #ABCNews #PanicAttack #MentalHealth #Anxiety ♬ original sound – ABC News Australia
“And he handled it like the pro that he is! We’ve all got your back Nate, well done!” commented a fan on Facebook.
“So thankful for this openness on live TV,” wrote musician Jack River.
Folks online also applauded the presenter and his team for bringing awareness to the mental health condition that is faced by 35 per cent of the population.
“I am so glad to see that this subject is in the public arena. Panic attacks are frightening and now I am older I realise I am not the only one that has them, they are very common. Bravo Nate,” said a TikTok user.
Fans online applauded Nate Byrne for his vulnerability and raising awareness about panic attacks, and his fellow presenter Michael Rowland also shared a post on LinkedIn confirming the weatherman was alright.
“He’s doing okay! Thank you for all the supportive messages. As a team, we’ll always have your back, Nate,” Rowland wrote.
“Although I hope I didn’t make matters worse with my bear hug off-camera.”
In 2022 Byrne wrote about his experience having panic attacks, revealing at the time that he’d actually had it occur three times. Not only that, but his first-ever encounter with panic attacks was on air!
“As I stood there trying to make it sound like I wasn’t slightly puffed (probably not a great look for breakfast TV, I thought), all of a sudden, my body started tingling, my heart rate rose and I realised I was drenched in sweat,” he wrote.
“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.”
Now, after his fourth on-air panic attack, the weatherman has already made wordplays about today’s experience to his Facebook followers.
“I didn’t forecast a live-on-air panic attack today,” posted the journalist.
“But I survived thanks entirely to the excellent News Breakfast team both on-camera and behind the scenes. Such a group of legends!”
Honestly, as a fellow media boy with a cheeky anxiety diagnosis, it’s absolutely heartwarming to see how Byrne was supported by his colleagues without any hesitation.
A lovely reminder to reach out to our friends and colleagues when we need help, and to always return the favour.
Take a leaf out of Nate’s book folks, and look after yourselves!
- If you need mental health support, please call Lifeline on 13 11 14 or chat online.
- Under 25? You can reach Kids Helpline at 1800 55 1800 or chat online.
- If you require immediate assistance, please call 000.
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