He has now bravely opened up about the experience, which he described as "the worst public embarrassment of my career" in a blog post for the ABC.
"The interview was a disaster from the get-go as I melted down under the weight of anxiety," he wrote.
"The experience was mortifying, the feeling afterward devastating, and the humiliation very public.
"In doing the News Breakfast interview I inadvertently thrust my lifelong battle with severe anxiety into the public domain."
The lecturer admitted that he "did not sleep a single minute" between accepting the invitation on Sunday afternoon and doing the interview on Monday morning.
Dr Habib said he felt "instant discomfort" when he was led into the "claustrophobic" which was filled with cameras, auto-prompter screens, TVs and computer screens.
The expert had 'no memory' of the first question as his mind was "swimming in a haze".
"As I realised that seconds were ticking away without me forming a coherent answer, the physical anxiety reactions intensified," he said.
But with every question the presenters asked, he 'struggled more' as his anxiety took control of his mind and body.
"I was in complete shock. I have never before experienced such an intense anxiety reaction, even as someone with a long history with social anxieties.
"All I wanted to do was crawl into a hole away from human contact".
- Daily Mail
