I am a very food-minded person. To me, it’s among the top pleasurable activities we partake in. I know I over indulge and I know that I comfort myself with food, which aren’t always healthy practices. I’m also aware of how much my mood can be affected by what I’ve had to eat or if I’m hungry. Case in point: just last week I had a meltdown about my vacation from my (day job) work being over. I knew I was getting hungry, and I even thought to myself “you’re going to start feeling worse emotionally if you keep waiting to eat.” But instead of listening to that voice I went for a full on tantrum (which was just crying aloud to my dog, who, she would like it noted, was also very hungry at the time). So, my curiosity was piqued by this headline that a doctor suggests eating sour candy when you find yourself having a panic attack. Please continue, doctor:
Dr. Jason Singh, a physician who uses social media to share his advice on everything from “when to clean your bedsheets” to masking on airplanes, took to his socials to explain how sour candy can help stop anxiety in its tracks.
Noting the trend making its rounds online that advocates for the use of sour candy in this way, Singh notes, “As a doctor, I can tell you this actually works really well.”
“I’ve shared it with a lot of my patients,” he continued, specifically noting the use of sour Warheads. “The act of consuming something intensely sour diverts the attention away from the panic attack, then engaging the taste buds and focusing on the sensory experience disrupts the anxiety cycle.”
Singh added that “the sour face expression” made when eating a sour food actually helps to “release tension.”
“Then, as you all know, sour Warheads are sweet at the end,” he added. “This creates a pleasurable experience, signaling the brain to release dopamine and that creates a positive, rewarding association with overcoming the panic attack.”
Singh is not the only one who’s vouching for this trend. In 2023, mental health counselor John Delony told Health that “a piece of sour candy may be enough to jerk someone from the mindless looping of anxiety and bring them back to the present.”
Delony added that in addition to tasting the candy, intentionally focusing on the sensations being experienced can be even more helpful — a strategy that can be utilized with other methods like smelling essential oils.
Along with any other mild shocks, it is useful for pulling people from their catastrophic, spiraling thoughts and back into the present.”
While reaching for the treat can be a useful tool in the moment, Dr. Toya Roberson-Moore told Health it’s important to be wary as, “primarily using sugary foods like candy to reduce panic symptoms can develop into a maladaptive coping mechanism.”
What do we think, folks? On the one hand, I definitely understand how the sharp, tart taste can pull you out of your head and into the present moment. I love those sour flavors precisely for that reason, the jolt they give you. Eating a sour candy sounds like the more appealing version of someone smacking you across the face to snap out of it. On the other hand, it’s so simplistic. Just eat candy, you’ll be fine! Is Dr. Singh being paid by Warheads?! And the other doctor, Dr. Roberson-Moore, is absolutely right that you run the risk of becoming dependent on the candy. Can we suck on a lemon slice instead? Between this doc and the one who told Brooke Shields to eat more potato chips, what’s going on in med schools today?! Anyway, experience is the greatest teacher, so I’ll keep some SweetTarts handy and report back after my next emotional crisis (it’s a when, not if situation).
As someone who does have panic attacks, and who very much believes in distraction techniques during an attack, I admit I was super quick to add this to my little panic attack toolkit
I’d rather be reaching for a sour worm than my bottle of Xanax (which is far more addictive and I’m more likely to develop a tolerance to – meaning next panic attack, I’ll need a higher dose)
Something I do use, but not easy to keep on hand, is ice chips, an ice cube or a cold face cloth
The 5-4-3-2-1 mindfulness technique is still a fav, as is listening to music
HMMMMMM…..I have type 1 diabetes. I cant always grab a candy bc of blood sugar. I wonder ab the “LEMON WEDGE” too?
On a superficial note, those Mike and Ike Sour Mega Mixes are the top shelf of sour candy. 15/10.
Can confirm! They are amazing
Agree 100%. I live in France and every time friends or family visit, I ask them to bring 5 boxes of Mega Mix Sour. Good to know I now have a medical excuse for asking for them!
Interesting! My auntie told us to give a lemon slice to our toddler when he feels carsick. Something about shocking and then rewiring the brain when it goes down a familiar pattern.
Interesting. The food thing that stuck in my mind was a friend who was told to have a cherry lifesavers before each chemotherapy session. Why? Because the nausea caused by the chemo can cause food aversions, because your body will think the last food you ate made you sick. So you basically give yourself an aversIon to cherry lifesavers instead.
I wonder if you should only have sour candy during a panic attack. If you are constantly chowing down on them, will it still work?
But hyperventilating can be part of a true panic attack, and can also be part of an anxiety episode.
Hyperventilation + hard candy = object stuck in bronchus.
That can go bad in so many ways.
I don’t think this guy was thinking it through.
Good point! Maybe just substitute biting into a lemon or lime for the shock value??
I’d rather he suggested a quick bite into a lemon or lime instead. We’re SO addicted to sugar, and the artificial colors and flavorings are not doing us much good either. That said, having read others’ comments (#1 & #3 especially), I’m going to try this technique to work on some behavior modifications for myself, like when I’m about to binge eat or go for sugar (which I’m trying to give up for a month).
Upside sugar distracts the brain. Downside sugar is addictive. ..sometimes I just wish everyone was happy. I know that’s childish but I do sometimes think it. 🧡
I try to keep lemon slices in my pockets or have my panic attacks at home near the fridge, but sometimes they just sneak up, ya know?
The “oh no, sugar!” responses are so diet-culture-y. Do yourselves a favor and divest.
For real. It’s a helluva load off.
I’m bipolar, panic disorder among other things and if sugar helps, use it.
What really helps is fat and sugar, like donuts and ice cream for a episode of whatever.
If I cant get to ativan or vistral ect this works in a pinch.
also if you have neither a good dose of benadryl helps
I’ll try the sour now too.
But geez some of us have things going on that are far worse than worrying about a little sugar :p
I just started using those Listerine breath strips for this. It’s helped!
Ok, but eating potato chips *is* the fastest, cheapest, and most effective way to increase electrolyte levels in a situation like Brooke’s. I know because I have chronic low blood sodium levels and my doctor gave me the same directions. It’s because your body absorbs sodium fastest if you eat it with a combination of fats and simple carbohydrates. Potato chips have the *perfect* ratio and combination of sodium, fats, and carbs to do that. I mean, I can take expensive salt pills on their own, but it will take a lot longer for the sodium to be absorbed. It’s the same reason why electrolyte drinks contain sugars and small amounts of oil. The doctor was spot-on.