Jackie ‘O’ Henderson opened up about her own terrifying experience with panic attacks Wednesday morning, after ABC star Nate Byrne suffered one live on television.
The 49-year-old radio presenter expressed her deepest sympathy to the morning show host when he became anxious in the middle of the report.
Jackie spoke about her own struggles with the disorder, confessing that she had once had a bad experience with drug use that left her with regular panic attacks for two years.
She admitted to having once taken a “tablet of LSD” which caused her to suffer from panic attacks for about 18 months to two years.
Jackie assured KIIS FM listeners and co-host Kyle Sandilands that she no longer suffered from the crippling panic attacks and sympathized with Nate and his struggles.
ABC News Breakfast weatherman Nate had to interrupt his report mid-broadcast Tuesday morning after suffering a panic attack during the live broadcast.
Nate ended his broadcast just before 6:30, telling viewers, “I’ve got to stop for a moment.”
In a trembling voice he said, “Some of you may know that I suffer from panic attacks from time to time, and that is the case now.”
Jackie ‘O’ Henderson, 49, (left) opened up about her own terrifying experience with panic attacks Wednesday morning after ABC star Nate Byrne (right) had one on live TV
Lisa [Millar]maybe I can give it back to you.’
Co-host Lisa, 55, quickly took over the broadcast, while Nate recovered off-screen.
Nate has spoken openly about his struggles with anxiety – in 2022 published an article documenting his experiences with panic attacks on the radio.
Jackie spoke about her own previous struggles with the symptom, confessing that she once had a bad drug experience with an ‘acid tablet’, which led to regular panic attacks for two years.
The weatherman was later welcomed back to the show and apologized for his absence.
“I’m sorry if I scared anyone,” he said.
Co-presenter Michael Rowland jokingly replied that he was afraid he would have to report the weather forecast himself.
Nate previously described his experience with a panic attack on TV as “gasping for breath.”
“As I stood there under the studio lights, talking to people drinking their morning coffee and wiping the sleep from their eyes, my heart started pounding,” he said.
Jackie assured listeners and co-host Kyle Sandilands that she no longer suffers from the crippling panic attacks, and sympathized with Nate and his struggles. Pictured at the event
He continued: ‘I was gasping for breath and sweat was pouring from every pore as my brain screamed, “RUN!”
“But I was standing in one of my favorite places, doing what I love most.”
Nate said that once the camera was off of him, he dropped his normal broadcast posture and “hunched over to catch his breath, dizzy and confused.”
Since then, he has been working with a psychologist to learn and apply coping skills so he can continue to do his job.