Next time your anxiety flares up with a vengeance, maybe try a… sour sweet?!
While it’s not a cure by any means, if you struggle with anxiety or panic attacks, therapists and doctors alike have shared that this quick trick could briefly stop them in their tracks.
There are dozens of videos online from a range of medical professionals highlighting that eating something very sour, whether a sweet or something else, could help alleviate anxiety or even stop a panic attack in its tracks.
In one video, Dr Joe Whittington, an A&E doctor known as Dr Joe MD on social media, described it as “one of the coolest ways to break a panic or anxiety attack”.
“How sour? The more sour, the better,” he noted.
But why does this work?
As you can imagine, scientific literature on the impact of sour sweets on anxiety is pretty hard to come by. However, anecdotally, people have noticed that it seems to distract them from their impending anxiety attack.
Professor Chris Williams, Emeritus Professor of Psychosocial Psychiatry at the University of Glasgow and author of www.llttf.com, which contains free resources for low mood, anxiety, and stress, told HuffPost UK that there are several reasons why this might be.
Distraction could be one, he noted. There is some literature on how strong sensory sensations might help in the short term as a grounding or distraction technique to help people move their mind from worrying thoughts and sensations towards a strong taste/smell/texture/crunch.
“This might help break a cycle of anxious rumination where worries go round and round in the person’s mind, making them feel worse,” he explained.
“Strong sour candy sensations might, therefore, act as a short-term coping strategy for those who have not learned traditional mindfulness or CBT skills.”
There’s also a strong existing research base showing that placebo responses are present in anxiety, he said, “so believing that sour candy might help anxiety may itself reduce anxiety for a time in many people”.
“A final possible mechanism is if the sour taste is so strong that there is a possible release of dopamine – a brain neurotransmitter that might potentially cause a momentary mood lift,” he added.
“This sort of mechanism has been suggested for some other foods such as curry, but this is more theoretical, and the idea that this is the mechanism for improved anxiety with sour candy isn’t based on published evidence as far as I’m aware.”
In a TikTok video, Dr Joe suggested that the intense sour taste of sweets could act as “a sudden shock to your nervous system, which helps redirect your focus away from the racing thoughts or overwhelming feelings of anxiety”.
The A&E doctor also suggested that it works in a similar way to other grounding techniques, like placing a bag of ice on the back of your neck.
“While this isn’t a cure for anxiety or panic disorders, it can serve as a quick trick to break the cycle during an acute episode, giving you enough pause to regain a sense of control,” he added.
But what if sour sweets don’t work for you?
While people have anecdotally noted that sour sweets can help them during an anxious period – one respondent to Dr Joe’s video said, “I always bring sour candies in my purse, and it helps a lot!” – it might not work for everyone.
It’s not really advised as a go-to solution for people with diabetes either, due to the high sugar levels.
Prof Williams, who is a clinical advisor to Anxiety UK, said he would “generally point people towards evidence-based treatment approaches such as CBT”.
He also suggested building closeness and connection with others, doing activities that lead to pleasure, tackling practical problems that worsen how we feel, being kind to ourselves, and avoiding coping strategies that can harm (like turning to alcohol).
“If you have anxiety, enjoy occasional sweets, and if it helps you get through an upsurge in anxiety, that’s great,” he said. “But even if the strong taste helps in the moment, it is not recognized as a long-term treatment for anxiety disorders.
“I’d, therefore, advise seeking out and engaging with longer-term solutions such as NHS recommended talking therapies.”
For more support, visit Anxiety UK or call the charity’s self-care infoline on 03444 775 774.
In conclusion, while sour sweets may not be a cure for anxiety, they can serve as a helpful tool in managing acute episodes. However, it is
