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Twenty years ago, Dan Harris appeared to have it all. He had joined ABC News in 2000 by age 29, and had covered the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, in addition to other historic events around the world.
What viewers didn’t see was the tumult behind the scenes: Harris experiencing depression from his time as a war correspondent and anxiety from working in a high-pressure industry. He tried to stay afloat by using cocaine, ecstasy and prescription sleeping pills.
It would all come crashing down on June 7, 2004, when Harris had to sub for anchor Robin Roberts on Good Morning America.
Indian women holding hands. Emily Stein/Digital Vision/Getty Images
While reporting news updates, he had a nationally televised panic attack that “was the direct result of an extended run of mindlessness, a period of time during which I was focused on advancement and adventure, to the detriment of pretty much everything else,” Harris wrote in his 2014 book, “10% Happier: How I Tamed the Voice in My Head, Reduced Stress Without Losing My Edge, and Found Self-Help That Actually Works.”
But this moment, though frightening, would be the catalyst for a journey that propelled him from anguish, drug abuse and being a meditation skeptic to mindfulness — and to a total occupational overhaul. Now, his career focus is meditation and happiness, and helping others struggling with the thought traps keeping them from a more mindful life.