Carson Daly recalls suffering terrifying panic attack as “TRL” host: 'I thought I was going to die'

Carson Daly is opening up about the first time he experienced a panic attack while on the set of Total Request Live.

The Voice presenter recalled the incident while speaking about his personal journey at the inaugural gala for Project Health Minds, a nonprofit that aims to end the stigma surrounding mental health.

"One September day, I thought I was going to die," Daly said in video footage from the event shared by Today on YouTube. "I was in my dressing room and I could sense all the normal live buzz of the show before it went on. I could hear the crowd outside. I could hear horns honking, normal Total Request chaos, very usual."

Then he suddenly felt "something very unusual happen" that took him by surprise. "Out of nowhere in my dressing room I felt what I can describe as a snap in my brain. My heart started to race and fear went through my body like I was a kid and wouldn't let go. It was like somebody cracked one of those cold compresses at a Little League game and put it on my neck."

The TODAY host and former TRL host, who is on the board of directors for Project Healthy Minds and has been open about his mental health in the past, said he could see his producer talking to him in the doorway but was unable to hear him. "It looked like he was talking in slo-mo. I was literally leaving reality," he said. "I thought, 'My God, I'm having a stroke in front of Hanson.' It passed in 30 seconds, but it felt like 30 minutes."

Daly explained that he was ultimately able to get through the episode while operating on "autopilot," but that "beneath the surface, I was absolutely terrified that whatever had just happened to me, it could happen again at any moment."

Afterward, Daly went to his doctor, who notified him that he'd had a panic attack that was brought on by stress and anxiety. It persisted until he spoke about it with a friend, who validated his experience and got him to seek therapy and alternative methods to cope with it.

"It was time to start working on myself. And over the years, I put in the work to manage and, ultimately, admire my anxiety," he said. "I learned to manage it with a regimen that smart people help me, meditation, breathing, taking a cold plunge, focusing on working hard for my family, and taking my meds. The prescribed kind — not the kinds from Snoop [Dogg]."

Helen Healey/NBC via Getty Carson Daly

"Ultimately, I came to accept that this is who I am and not only do I accept it, I'm stronger because of it," he continued. "That doesn't mean I'm never gonna have a panic attack again. The body can always trick the mind."

He recalled a second instance in which he suffered from a sudden attack while filming The Voice. "Not a good time to lose your s---," Daly joked. "Thought I was going to pass out, so I just held on, right hand clutching the microphone, smiling, this is what you see," he said, but "left hand in my pocket, I grabbed my left thigh so hard I started to bleed. Thirty seconds is what it lasted, but it felt like an eternity. But I made it."

While Daly acknowledged that he may never cure his anxiety, he maintained that it's "more important that I have the bravery to share my story just in case it helps somebody the way my friend helped me."

He hopes that, through Project Healthy Minds, he is able to build "a world where everyone knows that mental health isn't something to hide from, but a journey to take openly. And a journey where you'll find support along the way."

Watch Daly's full speech above.

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