Leah's anxiety battle HOW I GOT MY MAGIC BACK

The bubbly presenter was feeling deflated after a series of heartbreaks

- Fleur Guthrie

Two years after her husband suddenly collapsed in their lounge from a heart attack, broadcaster Leah Panapa found herself sitting in the same place in the middle of the night believing she was experiencing the same thing.

But able to get her pounding heart under control and not wanting to worry anyone, she slipped back into bed with the unnerving thought, “What the heck is wrong with me?”

Over the following days, however, the symptoms intensified until one Sunday evening, while watching television, Leah turned to husband Mike Nesbitt – who had long recovered from his heart surgery – and told him he was going to have to take her to the hospital’s emergency department.

“Of course, I like to be dramatic so, clutching my chest, I said, ‘I think I’m having a heart attack,’ to which he calmly replied, ‘No babe, you’re not.’

“I convinced him I felt really terrible, though, so he agreed to take me,” recalls the Magic Talk announcer.

After spending 12 hours in A&E doing “every test known to man”, all the results came back fine, with the doctor convinced that her problems were psychosomatic.

After decades of being upbeat and easy-going, seemingly able to manage stress, Leah realized she just had her first encounter with anxiety.

She had seen friends and family members struggle with their mental health, but never herself and it caught her unaware.

“I just didn’t recognize what a panic attack looked or felt like, or that traumatic life events can trigger them,” explains Leah.