Her Therapist Told Her To Eat A Warhead Candy Whenever She Has A Panic Attack
If you deal with panic attacks, it’s important to have a collection of coping methods in your arsenal to help calm you down.
Popping a sour candy in your mouth may be an effective way of finding immediate relief when you notice that you’re headed down a spiral.
A TikTok user named Taylor (@taylor.talking) is sharing a hack she learned in therapy for fending off panic attacks using a brand of super sour hard candy called Warheads.
“My therapist told me to eat a Warhead whenever I’m feeling a panic attack coming on, and when I say I’ve never had anything rip me out of the throes of a panic attack faster, I mean it,” said Taylor as she chewed on a piece of the candy.
The video has accumulated over 1.7 million views, with many commenters sharing similar methods for managing panic attacks.
“I heard ‘add a harmonica to make your panic attacks more fun,”” wrote one commenter.
“Someone told me to just bite into a whole lemon. All the flavors and textures completely obliterate your panic attack,” another weighed in.
“It shocks the brain! I do this all of the time. Works like a charm, but I use ice water, submerge hands for a few min,” stated someone else.
According to the Mayo Clinic, a panic attack is described as a brief episode of intense anxiety that comes on suddenly without warning.
Photo 194675515 © Martinmark – Dreamstime.com – illustrative purposes only, not the actual person
It is accompanied by physical symptoms, including rapid heart rate, shortness of breath, dizziness, nausea, and headaches.
Panic attacks are often very frightening and may cause the person experiencing one to believe they’re losing control, having a heart attack, or even dying.
Mental health experts have explained that the trick of sucking on sour candy works by “distracting” your brain and shifting your attention away from whatever is causing your anxiety. The sudden, intense flavor will become the center of focus instead.
It’s useful for pulling yourself back into the present. By the time your brain has recovered from the sourness, the stressor or trigger of your anxiety has passed.
As effective as sour candy may be, it’s best when used in moderation. Consuming sugary foods and large amounts of acidic substances can negatively impact your health. So, it has been recommended to combine this hack with other strategies, such as therapy or mindfulness exercises.
The occasional Warhead probably won’t lead to any serious harm, so you can keep a pack on hand in case feelings of panic hit. But just remember that it is not a long-term solution.
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