Caffeine

[Merritt]

Do you find caffeine has much of an effect on your anxiety levels? I'm wondering whether to try cutting down on coffee to see if I notice any difference. My anxiety manifests in a lot of physical ways, itching, fidgeting, feeling like my skin and nerves are on edge, which I imagine caffeine can't be helping.

Is it worth switching to tea, do you reckon? Or is that not much better? I'm trying to drink more water too. I love the buzz caffeine can give me, nothing makes me feel that awake or energised, but maybe it comes at too much of a cost.

[Oddity]

^ Pouring fuel on the fire is exactly how I'd describe it too. I find I need caffeine to function, but it makes anxious situations so much worse.

Perhaps you could try limiting it to when you really actually need it, or avoid on days when you know you're going to have a lot of anxiety.

[Rocket Spud]

It used to have a big impact on me back in the day when i was housebound with panic disorder and during the years subsequent in recovery. It quickly became apparent that consuming caffeine was a bad idea and my advice is that it's best left alone if your nerves are already shot (.. unless you actually enjoy breathing into brown paper bags).

I think it's definitely worth experimenting if you're currently looking for relief from anxieties and tensions, perhaps find an alternative buzz food/drink in the meantime. I wouldn't advise going from coffee to tea, unless you're only wanting to reduce by a small amount. Have a Google, but i'm sure there's not a lot of difference (i dislike coffee and have gone off tea, so am not too sure).

Other than that, if you're prone to feeling low-medium levels of anxiety, just tread with caution and, as already said, if you have a busy day ahead, go easy or without.

[anxiouslondoner]

I used to drink loads of cans of Coke (terrible habit, they give us free cans at work) but I switched to Diet Coke to cut down on sugar. I was getting very stressed and angry due to the caffeine though so I've cut those right down now too.
I've never liked tea or coffee.

[Ajax Amsterdam]

My former CBT therapist encouraged me to give up caffeine a few years ago saying an anxiety sufferer drinking regular caffeine is like trying to put out a fire with petrol. Caffeine certainly didn't help me. I only drink it one day a week now when out studying in town, just like I am today. I have three cappuccinos and it feels like I've had two pints of beer.

I definitely feel better for binning it off through the rest of the week, though.

[Wings]

yes I avoid caffeine... makes me more nervous

[Ronnie_Pickering]

I've been off it years(about 10), i always called it an amplifier for me. Oddly I've started drinking the odd caffeine drink recently, once a week seems fine enough and that hasn't been too significant.

[les]

I worked out that caffeine had an effect on the physical symptoms of my anxiety, the racing heart rate the tight chest and dry throat, many years ago. So I cut out all caffeine that meant no coffee, tea, chocolate, cola, basically anything that is nice was cut from my diet and oh boy did I feel ill, headaches, and nausea, however this passed after three days and I feel much better for it.
Now I rarely drink cola's and watch my tea and coffee intake, as for the chocolate I now have better quality chocolate, just less of it, and am now fine.

[Dandelion10]

The stress provoking effects of caffeinated coffee are so obvious I'm surprised you're asking!

It tends to amplify whatever your anxiety symptoms are. It keeps me awake at night even if I foolishly drank it that morning and creates a tension which makes the (body-focussed) OCD worse.

Tea isn't as bad, it's comforting and better with biscuits etc but a bit drying on the mouth. Herbal is beneficial, pop of any kind makes me feel sick.

[BritishPeace]

I've tried to cut down and failed, I am certainly addicted to caffeine and have thought about quitting over the past two days. I may start on Monday cold turkey. It is very damaging to the body, I read just one cup raises homocysteine by 11%. Tea is less damaging, I think because it also has the relaxant L-theanine in it. Some psychologists (e.g. DiClemente) advise drinking no coffee or tea at all if you addicted to it, like alcohol.

[Mr. Spaceman]

For about 15 years now I've drunk maybe 4 or 5 cups of coffee - proper filter coffee with just a pinch of sugaar and milk - per day. It's a great mood booster. Anxiety wise it can make my mind race for a while but overall it hasn't had any effect and I'm certainly a lot less depressed than when I didn't drink it.

It has to be proper coffee though. Any other caffeine source - instant coffee, tea, coke, red bull etc - does my head in, makes me irritable and depressed. In the case of soft drinks I put that down more to all the sugar and other artificial nasties in them rather than the caffeine.

[Aimz]

I literally try to stick to one cup of coffee - black no sugar first thing when I wake up.

I really don't fancy it at all later on in the day I find.

However, there was one time recently where I didn't have the coffee in the morning, and I was really moody at work.
My supervisor even said (although she knows I never have coffee or tea at work, just water) "Shall I get you a coffee?" Lol.
So it definitely does have some withdrawal symptoms for me, even though I only have one cup a day!

[Merritt]

Thanks for the replies I definitely think I should cut down, but I'm not sure how good an idea it is to go completely without, at least just yet. I've made a lot of other changes to my diet and I'm always wary of anything being the straw that breaks the camel's back (and makes him order a massive takeaway and chug four cans of Red Bull)

Maybe the one cup a day as a pick-me-up method is best for now. I want to give my nerves a rest, but I also don't want to feel run down all day.

[Aimz]

Originally Posted by biscuits

It makes no difference to me.

If I have a red bull then my heart races too much and I think I'm going to explode, but a cup of tea, coffee or diet coke doesn't make me feel worse. I find a cup of tea to be calming. Although, it seems like most other people feel worse... so I'm not sure why it makes me feel nice.

I totally get this too when I drink Lucozade (she says as she drinks her 2nd bottle of it!).
Heart races and I ultimately end up crashing and feeling tired. But I love the taste of the orange one

[Marco]

I usually have two cups of filter coffee first thing in the morning and I love (maybe need) the buzz of caffeine then. It***8217;s part of my wake-up and face the world routine and gives me a lift without usually making me more anxious. Truth is I***8217;m not chronically anxious now, it***8217;s only when I face certain kinds of social interaction. I normally have one more cup of coffee later on in the morning and then I avoid any kind of caffeine after that. I know I***8217;m addicted to caffeine because if I miss my coffee in the morning I suffer a headache and feel awful and I***8217;m probably quite grouchy. However, I don***8217;t intend to give up coffee or the occasional cup of tea any time soon because I enjoy it too much. I think in my case coffee or tea has a kind of therapeutic effect, especially in the morning. So I plan to remain a caffeine junky. That said, if anxiety became a bigger problem for me again, I would consider cutting down or weaning myself off caffeine altogether. I have found exercise is the best way of de-stressing and controlling my anxiety whilst still being able to enjoy my coffee in the morning.

[Rachel87]

I think I read somewhere that L-theanine is good to take with caffeine as it reduces the negative effects of it. Might be worth looking into

[Cairn]

Caffeine used to affect my anxiety a lot and have a terrible diuretic effect.

Doesn't affect me anywhere near as much now.

[Rocket Spud]

^ Yep.

A bowel movement was nearly always forthcoming after i'd had my morning tea, back years ago. Works with cigarettes too, if anyone's a bit constipated.