A woman who was having panic attacks from the moment she woke up until she went to sleep has shared the unique hack that is helping her cope – sucking on Warhead sweets.
Taylor Case recently started going to therapy to help with her anxiety and extreme panic attacks.
With her mental health so severe, the 32-year-old was given advice on ways to cope, one of which includes hard candy.
Hoping to help others, Taylor has shared the hack on TikTok (@taylor.talking), where she has 14,500 followers – and it has racked up over 1.4 million views, 170,800 likes, and thousands of comments from thankful users.
“It was hard to get through the day and I was mentally and physically exhausted,” Taylor, who works in tech and is from Iowa, US, told NeedToKnow.co.uk.
“My therapist had been teaching me different coping skills to help distract myself during an attack.
“And one of them involved eating a sour candy.”
Taylor starting sucking on Warhead sweets whenever she felt a panic attack coming on.
Also Read: ‘I thought I was suffering panic attacks – it turned out to be rare HEART condition’
She said: “When I’m having a panic attack it’s almost like my brain is convinced I’m dying.
“My heart starts to race really quickly, my chest gets tight and it can get hard to breathe, my blood pressure sky rockets.
“Because of this, some of the coping skills I learned, like breathing exercises and distraction techniques were not helpful.
“This led me to try the sour candy method.
“My therapist recommended really any sour candy like Sour Patch Kids, but because of the severity of my panic attacks I wanted to go a more extreme route which is where Warheads came in.”
Warheads were originally invented in 1975 in America and are still extremely popular among candy lovers.
She said: “Warheads were a super popular candy when I was a kid but it had been probably 20 years since I last had one.
“I went to Amazon and had a bag delivered, then one day I was starting to feel an attack coming and none of my other coping skills were doing the trick.
“I grabbed a Warhead and popped it in my mouth.
“As soon as it hit my tongue I was immediately overwhelmed by the strong sour taste.
“Amazingly, to my surprise, it worked!
“The shock of the sour was enough to distract my nervous system and yanked me out of the fight/flight mode.”
In the TikTok, Taylor can be seen sucking on a sweet, as she explains that she felt a panic attack coming on.
She says: “My therapist told me to eat a Warhead whenever I felt a panic attack coming on.
“And when I say I’ve never had anything rip me out of the throats of a panic attack faster I mean it.”
Social media users have been left stunned by the trick.
Steven said: “And then it’s sweet after, so it’s like a little reward for yourself for being brave.”
Katie joked: “Sales of Warheads soar.”
Nicole wrote: “Warhead sour spray works great too!”
Jade commented: “Getting a Cosco sized barrel of Warheads tomorrow.”
“I was doing shots of lemon juice, it works,” said one follower.
“I think a warhead would GIVE me a panic attack, those mfers are PAINFUL,” commented Sid.
“GROUNDING! I wish my clients would believe me when I tell them this,” wrote a user also called Taylor.
“Mental health pharmacist here! I TELL PEOPLE TO DO THIS! It works!,” said someone else.
Taylor added: “I originally posted this video just on a whim.
“I figured I can’t be the only person that struggles with anxiety or panic attacks so why not share a tip that helped me with other people in the hopes that they can also get some relief.
Also Read: ‘I have stiff person syndrome like Celine Dion – I feel like a living statue,’ says housebound mum
“The amount of likes and comments I received from people who are going through a very similar situation as me was baffling.
“This one video helped me find and connect with people just like me, and I feel like I’m finally finding my tribe.
“Every day mental health is becoming more and more important and it’s truly amazing to be a part of it.”
