Health scares are always that: scary. And the same was true for Alyssa Farah Griffin on The View.
Alyssa opened up about her terrifying experience during a segment featuring ABC News Chief National Correspondent Matt Gutman.
Matt was on The View to discuss his new book, No Time to Panic: How I Curbed My Anxiety and Conquered a Lifetime of Panic Attacks.
Matt opened up about his battle with anxiety and panic attacks and explained that even though he reports from war zones at times, it’s not the physical things that trigger him but the social and psychological fears that do.
He revealed that he dealt with panic attacks secretly for almost two decades “until this catastrophic moment” during the first live coverage of the Kobe Bryant helicopter crash.
“I had a panic attack, and I couldn’t separate what was reportable and what wasn’t, and I said the wrong thing,” he stated, revealing that he was then suspended from ABC for a month and then opted to seek help for his issues rather than leave television news.
Alyssa Farah Griffin opens up about hospitalization
While Matt shared his experience, Alyssa shared one of her experiences as well, revealing that she “actually had to be hospitalized once” for a panic attack.
The former White House Director of Strategic Communications continued, “I’ve been in warzones, I’ve been detained in foreign countries; can survive that, but there’s something when you lose control of your body and mind.”
Later on The View podcast, Behind the Table, Alyssa went into depth about her panic attack and how she ended up in the hospital.
She stated that it was right at the beginning of COVID-19 and pre-vaccines. While on a weekend away with her husband, she began feeling “short of breath” and began to panic.
“In my head, I was like, ‘I have COVID,” she said.
Given how extreme the virus was initially, she said it “felt like a death sentence at this point.”
“I basically kind of whooped myself up into like a full-blown panic attack,” she added.
“It felt like my lungs were filling with fluid. I genuinely couldn’t breathe. I did not know what was happening to me.”
Once at the hospital, the doctor was quickly able to diagnose her panic attack, and she was given medicine, and within about thirty minutes, she was feeling all better.
Matt Gutman and Alyssa Farah Griffin send a message about panic attacks
Toward the end of his segment on The View, Matt wanted to send an important message to anyone struggling with anxiety and panic attacks.
“First, panic is normal. We are wired to be anxious. It is an evolutionary advantage,” he explained. “Second, you are not alone. I promise you that.”
Matt turned his attention to Alyssa as he concluded, “Third, it’s not a life sentence, as you can tell by this amazing person here.”
The View airs weekdays at 11/10c on ABC.