Ice proves as help in controlling panic attacks and anxiety

Known by professional athletes as a way to relieve muscle fatigue, ice has several benefits to the body. However, the technique has gained new adherents and can be approached to relieve stress and anxiety. Getting into an ice bath is much more common than we realize after performing high-intensity physical exercise. The use of ice, either by immersing the body in a bathtub or applying it to a specific location on the body, is a recurrent practice in the recovery of athletes with fatigue.

This technique, called cryotherapy, is a therapeutic practice that consists of treating injuries and pain in the body through low temperatures, as it reduces blood flow in the area and promotes vasoconstriction. Despite being directly linked to the physical, the practice is also linked to other functions, such as reducing stress and anxiety.


According to Psychology professor José Aparecido da Silva from the Faculty of Philosophy, Sciences and Letters of Ribeirão Preto (FFCLRP) at USP, specifically in relation to anxiety, this functionality acts as a mechanism of action to try to reduce blood flow. “For the most part, it has been used as analgesia, to reduce pain and probably improve neural conduction,” he says.

In addition, there are other ways to apply ice for emotional healing. During an anxiety crisis, for example, some experts indicate that patients hold an ice cube in their hand. In this way, attention becomes the sensation that the ice causes on the skin, diverting the focus from the symptoms of the crisis.

distraction strategy
Physiotherapy student Larissa Zumstein, aged 19, learned about the ice technique. She says that between the ages of 13 and 15, she was diagnosed with borderline personality disorder. Larissa confesses that she was a very anxious and depressed person and that, to relieve everything she felt, she self-harmed.

By inserting the practice of holding an ice cube during her crises, the student prevented herself from getting hurt. “Whenever that urge to self-harm came, I tried to use these strategies, even taking a super cold shower, which helped too”, she reports.

According to her, it is a good distraction strategy. “It is important for you to observe the details, feel the ice in contact with the skin, observe the ice melting and the sensation it causes”, points out Larissa.