Will all the treatments for anxiety end up acting like a child at a candy store?
According to one medical expert, reaching for eye-catching sweets is a legitimate way to subdue anxieties.
Dr. Kunal Snood recently responded to another person’s video Tiktok user When she began to feel anxious, her therapist insisted that she had told her to eat something sour.
“I tried it and it helped me, so now I’m making urgent sour candy bags for work,” she wrote in the video.
Dr. Snood cried out with his thoughts about this technique. And for anxious candy enthusiasts, it is actually a “basic” technique that helps them focus on the present.
“When someone is experiencing anxiety, the brain moves to high vigilance,” explained the Maryland doctor.
“Some people use indigenous techniques to settle down, and for some, sour candy helps,” he continued.
Medical experts explained the science of chasing sour snacks. It centers around experiencing sudden sensory changes.
Dr. Kunal Snood recently responded to a video by another Tiktok user who claimed that her therapist told her to eat something sour when she began to feel anxious
“A intense sour thing can cause a strong physical response and separate you from anxious thoughts,” he said. “This quick sensory shift is especially useful during panic attacks.”
The caption added, “The intense taste focuses on lace ideas, but the effect depends on personal preferences and specific triggers.”
“Note: Make sure you’re consuming moderately because there’s more sugar,” he said.
He warned that personal preferences and certain anxiety triggers play an important role in their effectiveness, and that may not work for everyone.
Other social media users shared their experiences with this technique.
“Therapists here – I tell patients it doesn’t sound very clinical, but “warhead” lol,” one user said in connection with the “extremely sour” treat.
The other day, during a violent panic attack, I soaked my face in ice water and quickly got me out of it. I had to do it a few times as it creeps up, but whenever it was very helpful, I added someone else.
It is not the only grounding technology accessible.
Medical experts described the science of chasing sour snacks, centered around experiencing sudden sensory shifts (stock images).
I’ve seen Instagram reels 18 million times, said trauma therapist Lauren Auer:
“What you do is focus on the object, then move your gaze beyond that point and hold it in front of you to return to that point.
“So you’re like focusing on close-ups far and back.
“What you’re doing is that you’re activating the reflexes in your eyes. It calms your vagus nerve and regulates your breathing.”
The nystagmus reflex is a drop in heart rate that occurs after applying slight pressure to the eye, such as the extraocular muscles involved in shifting focus between objects.
In theory, this technique causes changes in the nervous system from the “sympathetic” mode (what we associate with battle or flight) to the “parasympathetic” or “rest and digestion” mode.
Following this simple technique, Oar claimed, it slows the heart rate and relaxes the muscles, just like when the body rests naturally.
