Alyssa Farah Griffin opened up about suffering from anxiety on this morning’s episode of The View, where she revealed that she was once “hospitalized” for a panic attack.
The former White House staffer’s confession came as she and co-hosts Whoopi Goldberg, Sara Haines, Joy Behar and Sunny Hostin interviewed ABC News’ National Correspondent Matt Gutman, whose recent book No Time to Panic discusses how he curbs his anxiety and has conquered panic attacks.
“I really appreciate that you wrote this book because I suffer from panic attacks, too, and I didn’t know what to call it until it happened,” Griffin told their guest. “I had to be hospitalized once for one.”
She continued, “I [have a] similar background. I’ve been to war zones, I’ve been detained in foreign countries. [I] can survive that. But there’s something when you lose control of your body and your mind and you don’t even know how to identify it.”
The co-host went on to ask Gutman for his message to “fellow panic attack sufferers.”
After expressing his sorrow for Griffin’s experience, Gutman explained that 40% of “all patients who present at the nation’s [emergency rooms] with chest pains thinking that they’re dying of a heart attack are actually suffering a panic attack.” According to him, only 1-2% are actually treated for panic.
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“The symptoms are so similar that they mimic a heart attack and that’s how severe it is for people who suffer it,” he said. “So my message to people like you, to people like me and maybe others in this crowd is first: panic is normal. We are wired to be anxious. It is an evolutionary advantage.”
He added, “Second: you are not alone, I promise you that. Third: it’s not a life sentence as you can tell by this amazing person here.”
Griffin’s career has been anything but easy-breezy. The Republican co-host served as the Press Secretary for former Vice President Mike Pence as well as Special Assistant to former President Donald Trump from 2017 to 2019. At only 30 years old, she was then appointed youngest press secretary in the history of The Pentagon.
She ultimately resigned from her role in the Trump administration in 2020, before landing her full-time gig as Meghan McCain‘s replacement on The View during Season 26.
The View airs on weekdays at 11/10c on ABC.
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