Recently, people eating sour candies on TikTok are gaining traction, and it is not without reason. 

Apparently, according to TikTok users, eating sour candies helps relieve anxiety and/or panic attacks. In the original TikTok video by Micheline Maalouf (@micheline.maalouf), she learned from one of her clients that sour candies help with anxiety as the extreme taste takes the mind off whatever is running through the mind. Micheline Maalouf is a licensed trauma therapist, mental health counselor, creator, and educator. 

Anxiety attacks and panic attacks, while having similar symptoms, are not exactly the same. While having an attack, one may experience sweating, a fast or irregular heartbeat, dizziness, shaking, distress, and even a fear of losing control. The main difference between the two attacks is that anxiety attacks usually have a trigger, something that is deemed stressful for the person, and panic attacks happen unexpectedly. Regardless, they can be induced by experiences of the same nature, such as having a traumatic past, recent stress, worries, health conditions, mental health conditions, and such.

Toya Roberson-Moore, MD, a psychiatrist for Pathlight Mood and Anxiety Center, shared with Health 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).”

Eating sour candy is a form of grounding technique that is a suggested remedy for feeling overwhelming emotions. This is also referred to as the 54321 method. This is what you do when you start to feel an attack coming or are going through one, you go look around your surroundings and focus on the:

5 things you see,

4 things you feel,

3 things you hear,

2 things you smell, and

1 thing you taste

This technique is supposed to help the individual shift their focus to their external surroundings instead of what they are thinking.

So here, we find out that eating sour candies is grounded (pun intended) on the 1 thing you taste, and having a REALLY sour one can help relieve overwhelming thoughts and/or emotions.

Of course, there are other techniques to remedy anxiety and panic attacks, such as square breathing, wherein you inhale, hold, exhale, and hold again your breath for 4 seconds each. It is also recommended to have an exercise or meditation routine to lessen the occurrences of these attacks, and of course, cut down on the caffeine and sugar intake as these are both stimulants, meaning they increase brain activity and energy.

Experiencing an anxiety or panic attack does not mean that you have a mental health disorder, it is normal for people to experience these every once in a while, especially when there is a big phenomenon going on in our lives, but if it happens so frequently that it disrupts your day-to-day function, it is always better to seek the advice of a mental health professional. Remember, seeking help is human and is not an indicator of weakness; on the contrary, it signifies strength, as that means that you are continuously working on yourself to be better.