Coffee consumption.

[Adam1910]

Hi I'm new to the forum. I'm Adam and I was diagnosed with GAD in June 2013.

Just wondering if anyone else with GAD or other forms of anxiety consumed unusually large amounts of caffeine before being diagnosed. Or would consume more than 700mg caffeine a day for an extended period of time (about 8-10 instant coffees - one tsp coffee granules/ 7 shots of espresso)....

[Davit]

No. It does not cause anxiety, it makes it worse is all.

[Pipkin]

Depending on your tolerance, those levels of caffeine could bring on physical, transient anxiety symptoms such as shaking, racing heart and restlessness. I don't believe it can cause an anxiety disorder per se but if you already have one, it can make it worse.

I spent years not being able to tolerate caffeine in any reasonable dose but I've slowly weaned myself onto a couple of medium coffees a day as I think they can have moderate health benefits.

My opinions only, just formed on experience.

Pip

[swgrl09]

I have a few cups a day, I don't think it effects my anxiety either way. If anything it helps it because I am less tired and better able to focus, also helps get rid of my frequent headaches without having to take pills sometimes.

But that's nowhere near the amount you are mentioning, so I don't know.

[Adam1910]

It is interesting, though, that caffeine works the same as some drugs like speed, blocking adenosine receptors, so as to not feel tired. But also increases norepinephrine and cortisol, both of which are increased in people with anxiety disorders. Furthermore, norepinephrine is the neurotransmitter linked to producing the fight-or-flight response, and cortisol is your stress hormone.

I personally was consuming up to 1500mg caffeine a day for three and half years while studying 2 hours away from home, surviving on an average of 5 hours sleep.

Caffeine intolerance has been found after consuming 300mg caffeine 4 times a day (1200mg/day) for 18 days. This may also cause sleep disturbances. Caffeine can also produce the same symptoms as those experienced in anxiety...

Just some food for thought....

[MyNameIsTerry]

Its not that it creates a disorder, it can mimic anxiety symptoms. Anxiety disorder are "learnt behaviour" so if you provide a trigger long enough and react negatively to it by panicking - the disorder develops.

Its just like the issue with gluten or other intolerances, candida overgrowth, etc. It doesn't create a disorder, it influences one to develop. So, you withdraw the trigger and you still have work to do to retrain your mind but its much easier than in people who have no chemical/bacteria triggers.

Thyroid disorders are a known one with anxiety. There are examples of people who have been written off as anxiety disorder sufferers who later on cure themselves. You can try all the CBT in the world and all it will do it prevent your conscious reaction to pain, known as "secondary pain". It won't cure you though, just teach you to cope with it.

Acceptance is often seen as the cure. It may work for some but its not going to work if you have an underlying condition or trigger that you can remove. If your doctor told you by ruling out X substance and having retraining therapy (likely CBT) he would look at you like you were not of sound mind if you say 'no thanks, I'll just accept it and it might cure itself'. Thats not acceptance, thats putting up with it - coping. Acceptance can work on the secondary pain response but it isn't going to cure the primary response unless there is no underlying issue other than a matter of learnt behaviour.

I suddenly snapped at work with panic. I couldn't go back in there without panicking yet I had done it thousand of times in much greater levels of stress. I had spent about 12 months not noticing the signs and some of these were physical. I was taking Guarana supplements daily for training and added more & more stimulants on top of that (e.g. Stacker) and these put me in a negative physical environment. They weren't enough alone though as I withdrew from social connections to work harder & harder for my "career" which didn't pay off and I stopped getting as much exercise. The combination of all this led to that final day where I snapped and from there I was panicked and started down the avoidance route.

I had taken stimulants for years with no issues. For me, they didn't do it on there own. However, you will hear of people (there is at least one on here) who have ended up with anxiety disorders due to strong antibiotic use.

So, there is no one way into this maze just like there isn't one way out. However, at a chemical and neurological level, the same processes will take place.

[Adam1910]

All these points are understood, however, I suppose my point is that if we identified the original trigger (that which has taken stress to GAD), as many of us have tried to do in psychoanalysis sessions, and for example, if caffeine is this trigger, we could monitor the impact on the body and potentially reverse the effects through something other than CBT.
Imagine if we could reverse the effects the high level of consumption has had and reverse it, in hope to "cure" the GAD caused.

Before everyone goes off tap, I. UNDERSTAND. THIS. IS. A. BIG. THEORETICAL. CALL. and probably have done as much reading into the condition as you all have. But from what I've found, research into such things has been scarce at best.

---------- Post added at 22:19 ---------- Previous post was at 21:19 ----------

OK so I did some further research. According to the DSM-IV (which I know is an issue back) there is a thing called Caffeine-Induced Anxiety Disorder, with Generalized Anxiety. Usually prevalent in people who are prone to anxiety and panic, yet in rare cases can "just appear".

[MyNameIsTerry]

Anxiety is linked to the methylation process and I know of studies where methylation has been corrected to that which would not be a conducive environment for anxiety to thrive and how that reduced anxiety levels. What I can't remember is whether that included therapy to remove a disorder or whether the study was meant to show a short term impact.

I would guess that high caffeine consumption, like many other things, could cause the methylation process to tilt in favour of anxiety. I can't say I've read far enough into methylation or epigenetics though to understand it all.

As far as I can tell on the DSM-IV versions, removing the caffeine removes the disorder but this is because the disorders are temporary and linked to consumption. Other people may have this issue but because they already have a mental health condition, it would just be seen as a trigger to an existing problem or susceptibility. So, if you could have GAD in the future, whether removing this trigger event removes the GAD is debateable and I would suggest it comes back to time experienced because if its one episode, other than it being PTSD, I can you going back to normal but if its over years I doubt it would be so simple. This would be because of all the negative thinking which will have altered or created new core beliefs and they will still be in there once the trigger is removed. So, whilst you may feel much better, you would still need to correct all this via the neuroplasticity route hence the need for therapy.