Caffeine

[theharvestmouse]

I have noticed that Caffeine adds to me feeling jittery and anxious. I just googled it and read that there is a link.

I had a couple of glasses of coke in a pub and I felt as though I had taken a drug, my teeth chattered and I could not sit still.

Anyone else have this problem?

[Fishmanpa]

H Mouse,

Caffeine is a known stimulant and known to aggravate anxiety. What do you think the answer will be? ;)

Positive thoughts

[Rennie1989]

I used to be very sensitive to caffeine, I couldn't drink fizzy drinks and could only drink decaf tea and coffee (much to the annoyance of my parents). I stopped drinking caffeine for a year or two and I can now tolerate it. Like alcohol, at the time, it would make me feel very spaced and odd and often induced panic attacks. Now I monitor my caffeine intake, I can drink a few cups of coffee in a day and feel fine, if I feel anxious I won't drink them.

[Antonio2301]

I was away at the weekend . I normally drink decaf at home. I had 3 cups of nescafe (caffeine) in the space of 2 hours .I can see it definitely sends me jittery and more anxious , so much I felt sick for hours with it .I'll definitely be taking my own decaf next time ..
2 things I avoid are alcohol and caffeine which do increase my anxiety & panic
I won't be drinking that stuff again in a hurry !
If you drink coffee or tea , switch to decaf , you will get used to it after a while

[Daisy Sue]

I'd definitely advise going caffeine-free for anyone who's shown sensitivity to caffeine. Having caffeine-free tea, coffee and diet coke have been the most helpful diet changes I've ever made... you notice the difference straight away when it's out of your system.

[almamatters]

I love coffee but I have had to stop drinking so many cups for the reason that it just increases all my anxiety symptoms, heart palps being the main one. I just have the one cup in the morning now. I try and avoid coke etc for the same reasons.

[mikewales]

I limit how much caffeine I have now to only two cups of non decaff a day. You can get caffeine free coke though, and some of the decaff coffee is just as nice as the caffeinated stuff

[pinkofire]

I loved coffee so much but its so bad for my health as I could easily drink about 7 cups a day, it gave me headaches and made me more tired than awake. I have been feeling much better in myself and with anxiety since I cut out most of the coffee and started on decaf :)

[HoneyLove]

I limit how much caffeine I have now to only two cups of non decaff a day. You can get caffeine free coke though, and some of the decaff coffee is just as nice as the caffeinated stuff

Caffeine free soft drinks are not necessarily good replacements as they will still contain lots of sugar/sweeteners/additives that may still act as stimulants and can add to a feeling of anxiety. You don't have to avoid them totally, but it's best to keep them to a minimum in your diet if you're struggling with anxiety.

[teej]

Caffeine free soft drinks are not necessarily good replacements as they will still contain lots of sugar/sweeteners/additives that may still act as stimulants and can add to a feeling of anxiety. You don't have to avoid them totally, but it's best to keep them to a minimum in your diet if you're struggling with anxiety.

I try to keep my diet as pure as possible - I don't need any extra chemicals floating around in me! There's a particular fast-food chain's milkshakes which have a horrendous reaction with me.

Too much sugar can cause awful ups and downs too.

I still have my one cup of filter coffee in the morning to get me going though. :blush: