Shark Tank CEO Anupam Mittal Speaks over his Panic Attack Experience

Anupam Mittal founder and CEO of Shaadi.com, who was also a judge of Shark Tank India, opens up about his struggles with anxiety on the Ranveer Allahbadia podcast. In the podcast, he shared his experience with panic attacks. Mittal remembered he experienced his first panic attack when he was in his 20s. He was in the United States at the time it happened.

According to him, many Indians still think mental health is taboo, though a lot of people around us suffer from issues related to mental health. The only reason to share his mental health journey is to help and inspire the affected people. He said, “Panic attack ek aisi cheez hai, agar aapne experience nahi kiya to bhagwan chaahe aap kabhi na karo”

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

He had his second panic attack around 2008. Which 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.”

He started taking therapy in 2012 and is continuing it. From his point, “After reading and speaking to the therapist, I realized 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.”

The term panic attack refers to a sudden episode of immense fear with the potential to trigger severe physical reactions even in the absence of any real danger or cause. It begins suddenly, without any warning like one may experience a panic attack when they are driving a car, in sound asleep or in the middle of an important meeting. It may be occasional or may occur frequently also the symptoms peak within minutes. 

Symptoms of panic attack include fear of loss of control, rapid heart rate, trembling or shaking, sweating, shortness of breath, chills, nausea, chest pain, headache, numbness, feeling of unreality or detachment and many more. The CEO requests people who have similar experiences of having panic attacks, anxiety often should seek help as there is no need to be ashamed about it. Also if someone still feels uncomfortable it can even be done anonymously.