While there are various strategies you may have learned to manage feelings of anxiety and the fight-or-flight response, one particular method you might not be familiar with involves the use of oranges.
In an episode of Steven Bartlett’s podcast “The Diary of a CEO,” Dr. Martha Beck, a sociologist with a Harvard education, explains the concept.
She described, “You’ve entered a fight or flight arousal state, thinking, ‘Something’s wrong.’ I’m very focused and anxious, but also irritable. I feel the urge to escape the situation while also being confrontational, demanding to know what’s wrong.”
“So you experience the full fight or flight reaction and can access that by envisioning the scenario.”
“Now, I want you to vividly imagine something else, and it might help to close your eyes.”
“[…] Imagine you are holding an orange.”
It’s worth a try, even if it sounds unusual.
Dr. Beck continues, “Picture yourself holding a ripe, juicy orange at its peak ripeness. You can smell the citrus, and when you take a bite, you feel the spray of citric acid from the peel and taste the bitterness of the rind.”
“As you bite into it, the juice fills your mouth, offering sweetness with a tangy hint. You notice the texture of the skin and the stringiness inside, peeling it back and feeling it under your nails, while taking in its scent.”
“Press the broken part to your lips, squeeze, let some orange juice into your mouth, savor it fully, then swallow, relishing the experience.”
Give it a try and see the logic behind what seems like a peculiar idea.
Dr. Beck clarifies that this sensory imaginative exercise diverts your brain by engaging the right hemisphere, allowing you to “enjoy the sensation of tasting, feeling, hearing this experience.”
The left hemisphere, responsible for verbal imagination, might create “horror stories” and worst-case scenarios. By activating the right hemisphere, you immerse in a sensory experience.
When anxious, your imagination feeds on the horror stories from your verbal imagination.
However, by engaging your right hemisphere and sensory experience, and “imagining forward with your senses,” a sense of relaxation is induced.
Dr. Beck explains, “When you are fully connected to the imaginary orange experience, your physical body responds—you breathe more deeply, stop producing cortisol, glucocorticoids, and adrenaline from the fight or flight response, and begin producing serotonin and dopamine.”
If you maintain the energy from this exercise, you can become more “curious” about your situation and challenge the horror stories your verbal imagination creates, or the uncertainty of, for example, someone appearing tense.
Instead of “fighting” anxiety, Dr. Beck advises against “running at a frightened animal” demanding answers.
The orange technique aids in “shifting your nervous system to a state of calm, providing a peaceful space for someone else who might be anxious.”
If you or someone you know is struggling or in crisis, assistance is available through Mental Health America. Dial or text 988 to reach a 24-hour crisis center, or visit 988lifeline.org for webchat support. The Crisis Text Line can also be accessed by texting MHA to 741741.