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.
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.
To activate your vagus nerve try placing a cold compress on the back of your neck or chest for several seconds up to 15 minutes. You can also try other cold immersion techniques such as: dunking your head or splashing water on your face.
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.
When you cool down your body temperature, your system responds by moving fresh blood. Anxiety may cause an increase in blood pressure, so in theory, a cold shower may help bring it down. Another way cold showers may work is by increasing endorphins, or the feel-good hormones in your brain.
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.
Ice should be applied as soon as possible after the injury occurs in order to alleviate pain and swelling caused by tissue damage. The first 48 hours after an injury are the most critical in terms of controlling inflammation.
This will help reduce swelling. Put ice or cold packs on your wrist for 10 to 20 minutes at a time. Try to do this every 1 to 2 hours for the next 3 days (when you are awake) or until the swelling goes down.
Commonly affected joints include the shoulders, elbows, wrists, knees and heels. If you experience a sudden injury to a tendon, ice can reduce pain and swelling. Ice the area for 15 to 20 minutes every 4 to 6 hours — and put a towel or cloth between the ice pack and your skin.
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.
Feeling nervous, restless or tense. Having a sense of impending danger, panic or doom. Having an increased heart rate. Breathing rapidly (hyperventilation)
Difficult experiences in childhood, adolescence or adulthood are a common trigger for anxiety problems. Going through stress and trauma when you're very young is likely to have a particularly big impact. Experiences which can trigger anxiety problems include things like: physical or emotional abuse.
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.
Know When to Seek Help
If your anxiety, or the anxiety of a loved one, starts to cause problems in everyday life—such as at school, at work, or with friends and family—it's time to seek professional help. Talk to a health care provider about your mental health.
Another large study found people who drink five cups or more of water per day were at lower risk of depression and anxiety. In comparison, drinking less than two cups per day doubles the risk. This link was less noticeable for anxiety alone (although feelings of depression and anxiety often influence each other).