00:00 "One September day, I thought I was going to die.
00:02 Out of nowhere in my dressing room, I felt, which I can describe as a snap in my brain,
00:08 my heart started to race and fear went through my body like I was a kid and wouldn't let
00:12 go."
00:13 Carson Daly getting real about the first time he experienced a panic attack.
00:17 "I mean, it's going back to my days at MTV."
00:20 The TV personality details the moment during a speech on World Mental Health Day at the
00:25 inaugural gala for Project Healthy Minds.
00:28 Opening up about how he thought he was going to die while hosting an episode of MTV's
00:32 TRL.
00:33 "I was in my dressing room and I could sense all the normal live buzz of the show before
00:38 it went on.
00:39 I could hear the crowd outside, I could hear horns honking.
00:43 Normal total request chaos, very usual.
00:47 Then something very unusual happened to me.
00:49 Out of nowhere in my dressing room, I felt, which I can describe as a snap in my brain,
00:55 my heart started to race and fear went through my body like I was a kid and wouldn't let
01:00 go."
01:01 Carson was the hit show's VJ from 1998 to 2003.
01:04 "At MTV, we're always trying to do something new and cool."
01:08 "Give it up for Eminem."
01:09 "We haven't done a whole lot of press."
01:10 "Why come spend today with us?"
01:11 "TRL is one of the reasons that I'm here to begin with."
01:20 "People always ask me, 'Who hasn't been on TRL that you would like to see?'
01:24 We had Elton John on not long ago, of course we've had Madonna, we've had Prince, we've
01:28 had Paul McCartney."
01:29 During his tenure, Carson shared the stage with some of the biggest stars, but on that
01:33 specific day, he says at the time he wasn't sure how he was going to make it through his
01:38 hosting duties.
01:39 "I could see my producer talking to me in the doorway, totally normal expression on
01:43 his face, saying something about Hanson probably.
01:47 I couldn't hear him.
01:48 It looked like he was talking in slow-mo.
01:50 I was literally leaving reality.
01:52 I thought, 'My God, I'm having a stroke in front of Hanson.'
01:56 It passed in 30 seconds, but it felt like 30 minutes."
01:59 He explains that he managed to get through the show on autopilot.
02:02 "The whole time, beneath the surface, I was absolutely terrified that whatever had just
02:08 happened to me could happen again at any moment."
02:10 "MTV, TRL, just known for being live."
02:14 That's when he went to his doctor and discovered what exactly he'd been feeling all day.
02:18 "I was in a panic attack.
02:19 I've never heard of a panic attack, much less considered it.
02:22 As it turned out, the panic attack was a symptom.
02:25 Stress and anxiety were the cause.
02:27 I needed to slow down."
02:28 While it took Carson some time to figure out how to approach his mental health journey,
02:32 he ultimately found therapy and now makes it his mission to help others too.
02:37 "Taking the time to be vulnerable and learning about yourself is important.
02:39 We have to convince people that grappling with your mental health does not make you
02:43 weak.
02:44 Learning about it, managing it, making it work for you, turning your vulnerability into your
02:49 greatest strength, that's what makes you strong."
02:51 [Music]
02:53 [Music]
02:55 (bells chiming)
02:58 [BLANK_AUDIO]
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