Micheline Maalouf, a licensed trauma therapist for Better Help Therapy, posted a TikTok where she advises popping a sour WarHead candy when a panic attack starts brewing. Instead of focusing on your symptoms, your brain will be shocked by the extremely sour sensations, effectively distracting you from your anxiety. All manner of sour candies would likely work, such as Sour Patch Kids or Toxic Waste candy.
During a panic attack, not only are you focused on the anxiety, but you're also spending effort to control the attack. This can create additional pressure and may even feel dire, especially if you're in a public place. Like snapping a rubber band on your wrist, your brain is temporarily drawn in a different direction when the candy's tartness overtakes your tastebuds. You're no longer thinking about how to de-escalate your anxiety, instead thinking about the waves of sour overtaking your tongue.
Maalouf told Insider, "It sort of puts us into a mindful moment using our sense of taste." Toya Roberson-Moore, M.D. concurs, stating that "Sour candy shifts our attention quickly to the sense of taste, intensely, which in turn dampens our amygdala (the feeling part of the brain) and gives us better access to our frontal cerebral cortex (the thinking part of our brain)." (via Health). This allows the thinking part of the brain to communicate with the feeling part and say "Hey, we're not really in any trouble." Intentionally focusing on the flavor may help to further results.
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