Australian meteorologist Nate Byrne had a panic attack on live TV. What we can all learn from his “masterful” reaction.

On Monday, Australian meteorologist Nate Byrne was giving the morning forecast when he informed the audience that he needed to “stop for a second” because he was having a panic attack, as shown in a clip posted on ABC News Australia Instagram. Before calmly asking his colleague Lisa Millar to take over, Byrne addressed the audience. “Some of you may know that I am occasionally affected by some panic attacks and in fact this is happening now.”

Millar quickly intervened and directed viewers to Byrne’s story wrote about her first panic attackwhat happened while he was in the air. “It’s fantastic that he’s been so open and transparent about this,” Millar said. Later in the broadcast, Byrne joined Millar in the studio, laughing with his colleagues and sharing that he was grateful for their support.

Her panic attack sparked an online conversation about the importance of transparency and support around common mental health issues. Commenters praised the news team for how they handled the situation, for the “effortless transition” and for talking openly about panic attacks. “This is the BEST thing I’ve seen in years,” one commented, while another wrote, “This is the gold standard on how to handle mental health advocacy WHILE supporting a colleague who is having a panic attack.”

Whether you’ve never seen a panic attack before or have experienced one yourself, experts say there are some lessons you can take away from Byrne’s experience.

What is a panic attack?

A panic attack is a period of extremely intense but brief and non-life-threatening fear and discomfort. “Panic is really the essence of the fear response,” psychologist Kevin Chapman tells Yahoo Life. “The difference is that a fear response is a ‘true’ alarm; you are actually in danger and therefore your body is responding to prepare you to deal with the threat.”

On the other hand, a panic attack “is what we call a ‘false’ alarm,” says Chapman. “You are literally having a fear response when in fact there is no threat, but your body has an all-or-nothing system, so it will respond as if you are in a fire.”

Chapman called the way Byrne and his colleagues handled the meteorologist’s panic attack “masterful,” adding: “People have this sinister perception of panic attacks, especially if they’ve never had one,” he explains. “The way he communicated and the way his colleagues handled the situation… lessened the stigma and demystified what happens during panic.”

Echoing the sentiments of Chapman, psychologist Sanam Hafeez says Byrne and his colleagues serve as a great role model for others. “The fact that [Byrne] Sharing this with them and his audience in advance made the situation easier for him to deal with in the moment,” she told Yahoo Life.

What does a panic attack feel like?

Symptoms of a panic attack include fast or irregular heartbeat, increased blood pressure, dizziness, difficulty breathing, and stomach pain. You may suddenly feel sweaty and hot or cold. “Two symptoms that are really scary are depersonalization – an out-of-body experience – or derealization, which is the feeling that things around you are not real,” explains Chapman. It may feel like you’re having a heart attack even if you’re not, and you may have some or all of these symptoms, he adds.

During a panic attack, cortisol and adrenaline flood the body, but only briefly. A panic attack typically peaks within 10 minutes, although many people feel like it lasts for “hours,” according to Chapman. This is because residual stress hormones stick around for a while, but this discomfort probably won’t be as intense as the panic attack itself.

Chapman says there is no correlation between panic attacks and heart attacks. But living with chronic stress can increase your risk of cardiovascular disease, stroke and other serious health problems, according to Chapman and Mayo Clinic.

Anyone can have panic attacks – but there is a prerequisite

“Panic is an equal opportunity employer,” says Chapman. That’s because we all have the same limbic system regulating our emotions and reactions to the world around us, and has the potential to go wrong in anyone. Panic attacks are also common. Up to 11% of people in the U.S. have a panic attack in a given year, according to Cleveland Clinic.

Chapman notes that while women are more likely to report panic attacks, such incidents can be just as common among men—they just don’t talk about it as much. That’s why Chapman was particularly happy to see Byrne open up about her panic.

Although a panic attack can strike anyone, anxiety is a necessary ingredient. As Chapman says, “Anxiety always primes the pump for panic attacks. You can’t panic without anxiety being there.” Panic arises when anxiety turns into overwhelming fear.

Panic attacks may seem random, but they are not

It’s a “myth” that panic attacks come out of nowhere, says Chapman. In reality, these attacks are usually triggered by one of two triggers, he says.

Thoughts that something might be scary – for example, being on camera isn’t dangerous, but it might be nerve-wracking – can be a subtle panic trigger. Or you may have a physical sensation, like your heart stopping beating or a sudden pain in your stomach, that reminds you of panic and becomes a kind of self-fulfilling prophecy. Chapman explains that thinking about an uncomfortable feeling can intensify it, “which leads to more negative thoughts that turn into full-blown panic.”

The subtlety of these triggers makes it seem like they occur “without warning,” says Hafeez. “This unpredictability can make panic attacks particularly disturbing, as individuals may feel overwhelmed by fear and physical symptoms, even when there appears to be no immediate cause,” she explains.

How to get out of a panic spiral

Panic attacks can seem impossible when you’re in the middle of one, but Chapman always recommends two simple steps:

1. Breathe. Inhale through your nose for four to six seconds and exhale through your mouth for another four to six seconds. Repeat this 10 times. “Breathing properly is a portable tool to help you stay in uncomfortable situations,” like a crowded place that may be triggering panic, says Chapman.

2. Focus on something outside of yourself. Chapman notes that focusing on your own discomfort and scary thoughts is a hallmark of panic attacks. But you can start to shift your attention to something external to “ground yourself in the present moment,” he says. Try some grounding techniques, like focusing on something you perceive with each of your five senses.

If you are around someone who is having a panic attack, take a cue from the ABC News Australia team and help them. “The best thing that others can do is stay with the person and remain calm, reminding the individual that this will soon pass”, advises psychologist Bunmi Olatunji. “Remember, panic attacks peak in about 10 minutes.”