I prevent panic attacks with this tasty hack — ‘crisis candies’ are a real anxiety treatment
Looking for some sweet relief? Well, suck on this.
The lightning strike of a panic attack can be terrifyingly mind-blowing.
The shortness of breath, racing heart, dizziness and body tremors caused by a sudden wave of intense anxiety, fear and worry can last up to an hour, rendering victims virtually helpless.
However, one suffering sweetie’s deliciously sharp hack has helped her ward off the stressfully sour episodes.
“My therapist told me to eat a ward whenever I’m feeling a panic attack coming on,” revealed mental health content creator @Taylor.Talking in a viral TikTok testimonial.
“When I say I’ve never had anything rip me out of the throws of a f- -king panic attack faster,” continued the blond in the clip with over 1.4 million views, “I f- -king mean it.”
Online audiences agreed that the cheek-puckering candy — with acid levels that once burned a hole through a four-year-old Australian girl’s tongue — made them feel fine and dandy ahead of an oncoming attack.
“ITS THE POWER OF SOUR!!!!!!!!,” screamed a supportive sucker.
“The crisis candies!,” teased a separate commenter of the cathartic confection.
“Any sour candy will likely do but a warhead is definitely gonna do it,” added another.
“It makes your brain focus on the intense sour instead,” a fan offered. “Simple but genius.”
“Then it’s sweet after — so it’s like a little reward for yourself for being brave,” another chimed.
And backers of the mouth-watering hack aren’t just bumping their gums.
In fact, an April 2023 report from Pathlight Mood & Anxiety Center noted the mood-boosting benefits of savoring a sour snack amid a mental breakdown.
“Panic ensues when our amygdala triggers the flight or fight response, Pathlight medical director and psychiatrist Toya Roberson-Moore told Health.com. “One way to dampen our amygdala’s response and mitigate panic is by turning our attention to the present moment through our senses: taste, smell, touch, sight, and hearing.”
“Sour candy shifts our attention quickly to the sense of taste, intensely, which in turn dampens our amygdala (the feeling part of the brain),” she added, “and gives us better access to our frontal cerebral cortex (the thinking part of our brain).”
The pros of popping a bombastically bitter bite notwithstanding, inner-peace seekers should be warned that not all sour sweets are created equally.
A UK-based tastemaker felt as if she had a “metal rod” jammed into her throat after eating Black Death Mega Sours — delectables that have been touted as the world’s most sour candy.
“It’s so sour that it took my brain a while to process what I was feeling and tasting,” she told The Post after scoring over 47 million TikTok views on a taste test tell-all. “It’s so sour your body feels every acid flowing through your bloodstream! It’s like a sour, eccentric feeling.”
But before folks prone to panic attacks stock up on the tastebud-buzzing treat, its manufacture warns: “Excessive consumption within a brief time frame may cause temporary mouth and/or stomach irritation,” too, noting that the yummy balls of fire are “not suitable for children under 8 years of age.”
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