It's a technique centered around using ice cubes or an ice pack to help calm you during a panic attack or anxiety. This could include holding a cold compress to your chest, holding ice cubes in your hands, eating ice or holding it against the roof of your mouth, rubbing ice cubes along your face and arms.
It's the trend where people dunk their faces in ice water, or place ice on their chest or face, as a way to ease anxiety. Aka vagus nerve icing. And everyone from TikTok influencers to AOC have documented their experience with using something cold to stimulate the vagus nerve (the longest cranial nerve in the body).
You can place one against your neck and wrists to help calm your system. If that's not an option, try holding a piece of ice. If none of those options are accessible, you could go to the bathroom and splash cold water on your face. I've also had some clients keep instant ice packs with them for emergencies.
Anxiety often comes with an increased heart rate and high blood pressure. Exposure to cold water lowers the heart rate, which makes you feel calmer and thus less anxious.
First, you may want to start with a simple deep breathing exercise called the 5-5-5 method. To do this, you breathe in for 5 seconds, hold your breath for 5 seconds, and then breathe out for 5 seconds. You can continue this process until your thoughts slow down or you notice some relief.
The four levels of anxiety are mild anxiety, moderate anxiety, severe anxiety, and panic level anxiety, each of which is classified by the level of distress and impairment they cause.
Benzodiazepines for anxiety
Drugs such as Xanax (alprazolam), Klonopin (clonazepam), Valium (diazepam), and Ativan (lorazepam) work quickly, typically bringing relief within 30 minutes to an hour. That makes them very effective when taken during a panic attack or another overwhelming anxiety episode.
Put an Ice Cube in Your Hand or use Cold Water
Splashing cold water on your face repeatedly or putting an ice pack on your forehead can reduce anxiety. This process activates the divers reflex which lowers heart rate and breathing when exposed to cold water.
Raising your body temperature is another effective remedy for anxiety and stress. Heating up your body aids in muscle relaxation and boosts your mood. Hopping in a sauna, hot tub, or steam room will melt your worries away in no time.
Physical changes like these stimulate the parasympathetic nervous system, a.k.a. the opposite of the body's fight-or-flight response, to help bring down your heart rate. So, next time you are having a panic attack, try splashing your face with cold water or holding an ice cube in the palm of your hand until it melts.
Cold therapy is especially effective around a painful or stiff joint or tendon. This type of therapy also reduces nerve activity which further aids in the relief of pain. Types of cold therapy treatment can include ice packs, coolant sprays, ice massage, or ice baths.
A big event or a buildup of smaller stressful life situations may trigger excessive anxiety — for example, a death in the family, work stress or ongoing worry about finances. Personality. People with certain personality types are more prone to anxiety disorders than others are.
Recognize the Signs
Physical symptoms of anxiety such as rapid heart rate, increased breathing rate, sweating, trembling, and shortness of breath. Extreme feelings of fear or anxiety that are out of proportion to the actual threat. Irrational fear or worry about different objects or situations.
An anxiety emergency or extreme panic attack may require an ER visit if the sufferer is unable to get it under control. Extreme cases of hyperventilation can lead to tachycardia, an occurrence where the heart is beating so fast that it is unable to properly pump blood throughout the body.
Take a deep breathe in, scanning your body to see what's there, and if you notice any tension, on your next exhale see if you can let it dissolve. Breathing into any tension, breathing out allow it to soften. On each out breath, let your whole body relax, allowing it to feel heavy like a weight.
Anxiety can be caused by a variety of things: stress, genetics, brain chemistry, traumatic events, or environmental factors. Symptoms can be reduced with anti-anxiety medication. But even with medication, people may still experience some anxiety or even panic attacks.
Beyond that, we're more fatigued at the end of the day which means we're less equipped to cope with anxious thoughts in a productive or helpful way. Also, anxiety is often associated with difficulty falling asleep, so those with anxiety may start to get anxious as night falls and fear of another restless night sets in.
It's no secret that lack of sunlight during winter months can affect our mood. In fact, a new study has confirmed just how true this is, revealing that one in six Brits feel more anxious when the temperature drops.
When you feel panicky, flushed, or emotionally overwhelmed, take a large bowl or sink and fill it with ice cubes and water. Take a deep breath. Submerge your face (particularly your forehead, eyes, temples, nose, and upper cheeks) for fifteen seconds. Come up, breathe, take another deep breath, and submerge again.