- Sucking on sour candy could stop your next panic attack, a trauma therapist shared on TikTok.
- This mouth-puckering sensation will distract you from panic symptoms.
- To stop panic from arising, you can use sensations such as super-sourness or freezing cold.
You might want to buy sour candy if you are prone to panic attacks.
Whether your heart is racing or your stomach is churning, focusing on your physical symptoms will only make a panic attack worse, licensed trauma therapist Micheline Maalouf told Insider.
The sour sting of a Warhead or Toxic Waste candy may be shocking enough to distract you from feelings of panic and avoid a full-blown attack, Maalouf said in a TikTok for Better Help therapy.
Another TikTok user, m3monette, whose real name is Megan Michelle, filmed herself trying the hack on the brink of a panic attack. In the video, she explained that she rates her panic on a scale of 1 to 10, and when she reaches a 7, she can’t pull back from “the whole crying mess and freakout and everything.”
At the start of the video, Megan said she was at a 6 on that scale. She popped a Toxic Waste hard Candy and then grimaced. “I actually kind of feel better,” She said that she was still eating the candy when she returned.
Sour taste ‘shocks the senses’ and distracts from panic, Maalouf says
Maalouf, the trauma therapist and founder of Serein Counseling, suggested taking a super-sour candy as soon as you feel a panic attack coming on. You should not try to stop the symptoms, but instead focus on the tart sensation.
“Most of the time when someone is having a panic attack they are focused on stopping it or not making it worse,” Maalouf said. “But the problem is that the more we fight the panic, the worse it gets.”
Savoury, spicy or salty foods can help you forget your shallow breathing and sweaty palms. Maalouf suggested popping Extreme Sour Warheads for a mouth-puckering experience.
“It shocks our senses into focusing on the sourness of the candy,” Insider was told by Maalouf. “It sort of puts us into a mindful moment using our sense of taste and shifts the focus away from our symptoms or whatever triggered the panic.”
People also use ice cubes for a similar grounding effect
In a separate video, Maalouf mentioned some other tricks that can stop your fight-or-flight response from going into overdrive.
A similar sensation can be achieved by placing an ice cube on your neck, or taking a cold shower. Texture also works — Maalouf said her favorite recent find is a spiky acupressure mat that she lies on to feel grounded.
Aly Raisman said that when panic attacks start, she holds an icecube in her hand.
Maalouf said that it is possible to stop panic attacks from worsening by focusing your attention elsewhere.