I was just about to spiral into a bad panic attack, and my boyfriend goes "Stick an ice cube in your mouth." I'm not really sure where he got the idea, and I kinda laughed at it because I didn't see how it would help, but he was insistent. So I did it.
And now I'm on my second cube, because it worked.
He explained his reasoning to me when he got home.
1. I would initially think "what the fuck" and be distracted from the anxiety. (Correct.)
2. The cold of the ice would shock my system, bringing me back to the physical world and reality, drawing my focus to the cold in my mouth, and keep my brain away from thinking "I'm panicking, I must be dying." (Correct.)
3. He assumed I hadn't drank much water today and wanted to keep me hydrated. (Triple correct.)
It also forced your mouth to make saliva!
When you go into fight or flight mode, non-crucial body functions stop working so you have more energy to do what you need to do to survive (oooor to spiral into a panic attack). By forcing yourself to make saliva it helps calm you down because since fight or flight is an all or nothing response, they can’t happen at the same time.
Learned that from my old therapist, who would use it with veterans with ptsd
