The 3 Most Realistic Panic Attacks on TV

Panic attacks are painful. They are exhausting. They are terrifying.

Unfortunately, they are also very common.

Thanks to mindfulness and medication, I haven't experienced a panic attack in several years. However, there was a time when they were a constant concern in my life. My panic attacks were so vivid, so life-pausing, that they will likely always be a part of my consciousness when it comes to mental health.

There's something so cathartic about seeing them portrayed on TV.

Here are three shows that did them (mostly) right:

David Rose from Schitt's Creek

David Rose assumed his panic attack was something else entirely - a heart attack. I've been there. Panic attacks are surprisingly physical. Mine, too, came with chest pains and palpitations that made me fear I was having some kind of cardiac episode or stroke. This, of course, fueled more panic...just like it did for David.

David's response to learning his episode was, in fact, a result of anxiety is also notable. He immediately disagrees. Panic attacks aren't real, he explains - it's just an excuse people use. What happened to him, he insists, was very different. It was real. It was legitimate.

I've witnessed this attitude so many times - and, to be honest, I felt this way myself at first. Panic attacks are so much more physical - and so much more terrifying - than most people think. They can come with chest pain and tightness, dizziness, shortness of breath, and myriad other symptoms. Often, someone experiencing a panic attack will be so sure it's something life threatening that they end up going to the hospital.

No, they'll insist. This isn't a panic attack. This is something serious.

Well, David Rose and I are here to tell you: panic attacks are serious. They are real. They are treatable. They are a medical problem as legitimate as any other.

Ted Lasso from Ted Lasso

This show does everything well - feminism, bullying and acceptance, relationships, and even shape-based jokes. Mental health is no exception.

Ted's panic attack on the night he signs his divorce papers is so well choreographed I was afraid I'd be sucked into one myself. One moment we're witnessing a powerful vocal performance in an invigorating atmosphere of colored lights and friendly faces. Suddenly, the tide starts to turn. We feel Ted's chest tighten as he gasps for air. What once felt cozy and exciting is, in an instant, alarmingly loud and claustrophobic. Ted is suffocating. He needs to escape.

Happy, positive, easygoing Ted Lasso is not a character one would associate with anxiety. This is why his panic attack is so important.

The happiest person you know may experience them, too.

Phil Dunphy from Modern Family

Although all three of these shows are comedies, Modern Family is the only one to present the panic attack itself as a comedic moment.

For some of us, that's what it takes to slip into a deeper discussion. Portraying his panic attack as a joke may seem insensitive, but this is also a step towards normalizing a topic that is, for many families, still very much a taboo.

This takes on more significance once it's revealed that Phil's phobia of clowns comes from finding a dead body as a child. The darkness of this revelation exposes the true heft of the panic attack. This time, we are laughing at ourselves. We feel awkward. Only now do we realize the whole story, and we feel silly for not having taken him seriously.

Here, Modern Family highlights a cruel reality: We do not understand panic attacks, and we laugh at what we do not understand. Many people feel ashamed after they experience one. They may even try to overcompensate, like Phil did.

We tell them not to worry. However these feelings are, unfortunately, valid. Don't minimize them. Accept that panic attacks can feel embarrassing, even if they shouldn't.

Phil, like Ted, appears sunny to a fault on the surface. That's why this bit worked so well. It was a stark contrast with the character as we knew him. Phil's phobia, and his trauma, are a part of him, even if they're at odds with his outward persona.



Television - and especially family friendly comedy - has social power. These shows can inform, educate, and start important conversations. Mental health awareness is growing in this realm, and for an anxious person like myself, the representation is really nice to see.