Shaadi.com's Anupam Mittal on panic attacks: 'Scariest thing I experienced, pray to God…'

Recounting his first panic attack, Anupam Mittal said that it happened when he was in the United States in his 20s. Here's what he said

Shaadi.com founder and CEO Anupam Mittal recently talked about his struggles with anxiety. In a podcast, he shared how he experienced panic attacks and also talked about ‘Shark Tank India’ season 3 where he was seen as a judge. Recounting his first panic attack, Anupam Mittal said that it happened when he was in the United States in his 20s.

Anupam Mittal- Shaadi.com founder and CEO- appears as a ‘shark’ on Shark Tank India.

He said, “Panic attack ek aisi cheez hai, agar aapne experience nahi kiya to bhagwan chaahe aap kabhi na karo (If you have never experienced a panic attack, I pray to god that you never do),” he said.

He added, “A panic attack is the scariest thing I've experienced. You feel like the earth will eat you whole, the walls will crush you, you have difficulty breathing. On the outside, you look calm, but inside, there's a volcano erupting. In that moment, you are prepared to do anything. If someone told you to shoot yourself, you probably would. It's so scary."

The second panic attack that Anupam Mittal went through was in 2008, he said. He shared, “When you are a problem solver by nature, panic attacks can make you feel helpless. You feel like a complete failure, useless. If your baseline anxiety levels are high, you can get a panic attack easily."

Talking about starting therapy in 2012 and continuing it, he said, “After reading and speaking to the therapist, I realised every person has a different mental condition. Anxiety is good, it happens when you have a fear of something not working out. It’s normal. It’s not a problem with mental health.”