Model Shares Video Having Panic Attack, Raises Awareness about Anxiety

Since 1949, in the United States, May has been observed as Mental Health Awareness Month. And, recently, one of the Instagram models decided to spread an important message about anxiety during "Mental Health Month."

Here we are talking about a model, Kharina Kharuddin, who runs her Instagram handle with the nickname kharina97 and also has over 97.7k followers. Mostly, she shares beautiful shots of herself and her daily life, but recently, she did something different. That day she posted a video of herself which was filmed at the moment she had a panic attack.

What Was the Post?

Source = Thesun

If you scroll down the social media handle of the Malaysian Instagram model Kharina K, you will see many of her photos, which depicts that she lives her best life most of the time. But the reality is a little different. Surely she is paid the big bucks to endorse various products — brands want to be associated with a beautiful woman who seems to lead an awesome, fun life. Still, behind Kharina's smile and fun-loving demeanor, a lot is going on, and not all of it is "rainbows and sunshine" as she shows it.

A few days ago, the model posted a video of herself in the middle of an intense panic attack. And, that too was not the easy one as she named it one of “THE WORST panic attacks I’d ever had.”

One would know how terrifying it can be and how vulnerable it can make you feel if they've experienced a panic attack ever before. Panic attacks have symptoms that are similar to symptoms of a heart attack — sweating, pain in your chest, shortness of breath, rapid heartbeat, and an awful sense of death.

Considering all that, this Instagram model showed herself in such an "imperfect" light. Well, she did not do it for so-called publicity but an important reason. Yes, she did it to help dispel the stigma that still exists around mental illness in parts of the world, especially in her home country of Malaysia.

While sharing a message about mental health, she captioned the video,

“⚠️WARNING! VIEWER DISCRETION ADVISED!⚠️ No, this is NOT an act, this is REAL LIFE. This was me earlier having one of THE WORST panic attacks I’d ever had that happened to be caught on camera. Why I had this attack isn’t important so I’ll leave that bit out. I’m posting this not for attention or sympathy, but because I have been given this platform on instagram and would like to do some good with it. You guys see most of my life as rainbows and sunshine (cuz no one likes to post the bad parts anyways) , however this is my reality. Constantly having anxiety and being fine one minute, and like this the next. I try to post as much as I can about mental health to bring AWARENESS to it because it is REAL, and is not taught very well in Malaysia, however I have never been able to show you guys until now. I didn’t choose this, I do not want it, and it’s a horrible thing to be constantly fighting a battle no one knows about or sees that’s in your head 24/7 and constantly feeling like a crazy person. It burdens not only you, but the people around you & yet all you can do is apologize when you yourself don’t even want it which is one of the worst feelings ever. I’m very lucky to have a great support system around me that loves & takes good care of me in times like these, however not everyone is as lucky as I am... and so this post is to remind those who suffer from it that you ARE NOT ALONE, & to hopefully bring awareness to the people who don’t know/understand mental illnesses. If I can enlighten even 1 person by posting this, I’ll be happy and will feel like I have used this platform to do something useful & good instead of just for selfish nonsensical reasons. I may or may not delete this, but I just thought that after everything today, & the fact that someone had actually gotten this on camera, that it felt almost like it was my duty to do some good with it. I hope if someone you know has any form of mental health illness that you try your best to be patient with them time & time again which I know can be hard, but is sometimes the best or only thing you can do for that person... to just try your best to understand, and just BE THERE. ❤️❤️ #mentalhealthawareness”

Soon after she posted the video, it quickly went viral and received over 2.6 million views on Twitter and that too in two days. One of the users posted the video with the caption,

“People always thought that having anxiety is okay and some of them think those people really don’t know how to control it. People always thought that this never happened in real life. But guys, it does and this happened to be caught on camera.”

What is a Panic Attack?

Source = Uofmhealth

For all those who don't know about panic attacks: it is a panic disorder referring to incidents of extreme fear that are accompanied by physical symptoms including sweating and rapid heartbeat.

According to some reports from the National Institute of Mental Health, in the past year, around 2.7 percent of US adults had the panic disorder; and nearly about 5 percent of adults in the United States will experience panic disorder at some point in their lives.

Reports also suggest that it tends to be more common in women as compared to men.

Maybe panic attacks are not inherently dangerous, but surely the person who is experiencing them feels that something is rigorously wrong, like a heart attack, or a threatening sense that they may die.

There are times when panic attacks become so severe that it can result in hospitalization.

One of the emergency physicians at University of Missouri Health Care, Dr. Christopher said,

“The important thing is panic attacks can look like someone is very seriously ill and the person can feel the same way.
Panic attacks can come out of nowhere and may not have an inciting event.”

That is to say that while symptoms may not harm the individual, it doesn’t make what they are experiencing any less real.

And, as indicated by Kharuddin’s video, a panic attack is not only about one’s brain head. It’s also about how the body is reacting to a perceived threat: heart rate and increase, sweating starts, and also the breathing becomes rapid.

Emergency Physician at Lenox Hill Hospital, NYC, Dr. Robert Glatter, said,

“The symptoms of a panic attack mimic the ‘fight or flight response’ — when you are actually confronted with real danger such as being chased by a wild animal.
The release of stress hormones such as epinephrine and norepinephrine — responsible for the fight or flight response — is ultimately responsible for elevated blood pressure, heart rate, and rapid breathing.”

Look What People Have to Say About the Video

Many panic attacks usually last for several minutes only. Also, it is possible that sometimes an individual may overcome it on their own, but most of the time, medical intervention is required. And apart from all, the most important thing is awareness. Hats off to the model for posting such video which is not only spreading awareness but also giving strength to people who are facing this.

Be Aware, Be Safe!