Caffeine, anxiety's no.1 evil potion.
Im an avid coffee drinker, today ive had no coffee at all and it seems because of this i feel absolutely fantastic tonight, seriously i would think about stopping coffee if you drink it, i knew caffeine was bad for anxiety but damn, what a difference!
It seems this stuff is the no.1 thing to avoid permanently.
Re: Caffeine, anxiety's no.1 evil potion.
Wow, that's great news - hope the "feeling fantastic" continues for you! BUT, if you are an avid coffee drinker and stop cold turkey, I'm sure you know you will experience some withdrawal side effects, right? Maybe wean off slowly?
Sue
Re: Caffeine, anxiety's no.1 evil potion.
Coffee and migraines is a weird one. I love the stuff, but before I quit it I was getting migraine auras at least once a week (sometimes several in a day). Since giving up, I haven't had a single aura since last August.
Re: Caffeine, anxiety's no.1 evil potion.
I've been rethinking my thoughts on caffeine for the past few weeks, too. I have been drinking coffee since I was a teenager, and I remember when I went to see my doctor about my panic attacks he, of course, asked me tons of questions and got a thorough history on me. One of his questions was about my intake (alcohol, caffeine) and I remember telling him that I probably average 10 cups of coffee every day, and had for years. I am now shocked when I think back on that that he didn't bat an eyelash and never even suggested that I try to cut back. As a matter of fact, when I questioned it, he said if I had been drinking that quantity for years, that that would not be the cause for why I was now having panic attacks.
I now average 3 cups of caffeinated a day, and think that's a good number, but may someday even go down to 2. BUT, a couple of days ago, I was having a fairly good day, running lots of errands, and then suddenly went bad. Started feeling antsy, anxious, sickly, tired, and just wanted to rush home and crawl into a hole. it lasted the remainder of the night, and in trying to figure out what went wrong (because that's what us anxious people do!) I remembered that while out running errands I had ordered a large black coffee and had ingested the entire thing, in addition to the three I had at home before leaving the house. Could that be the cause? Will never know for sure, but very possibly!
Sue
Re: Caffeine, anxiety's no.1 evil potion.
Coffee is a big no no.
I changed to decaffeinated tea for just that reason.
Re: Caffeine, anxiety's no.1 evil potion.
Quote:
Originally Posted by
DustingMyselfOff
I've been rethinking my thoughts on caffeine for the past few weeks, too. I have been drinking coffee since I was a teenager, and I remember when I went to see my doctor about my panic attacks he, of course, asked me tons of questions and got a thorough history on me. One of his questions was about my intake (alcohol, caffeine) and I remember telling him that I probably average 10 cups of coffee every day, and had for years. I am now shocked when I think back on that that he didn't bat an eyelash and never even suggested that I try to cut back. As a matter of fact, when I questioned it, he said if I had been drinking that quantity for years, that that would not be the cause for why I was now having panic attacks.
I now average 3 cups of caffeinated a day, and think that's a good number, but may someday even go down to 2. BUT, a couple of days ago, I was having a fairly good day, running lots of errands, and then suddenly went bad. Started feeling antsy, anxious, sickly, tired, and just wanted to rush home and crawl into a hole. it lasted the remainder of the night, and in trying to figure out what went wrong (because that's what us anxious people do!) I remembered that while out running errands I had ordered a large black coffee and had ingested the entire thing, in addition to the three I had at home before leaving the house. Could that be the cause? Will never know for sure, but very possibly!
Sue
I'd say so Sue yes.
Ive cut right down to 2 small cups a day, since ive done this the anxiety has calmed down a lot, since caffeine is a very aggressive stimulant (worse than smoking) so much so it can actually kill you instantly with too much of the stuff! and it helps anxiety to kick in bigtime, as with us neurosis sufferers we have a lot of nervous energy inside that needs to be got rid of, and coffee just adds to it and amplifies the problem, a simple weird thought turns into a big panic attack because of this.
After 5PM i highly recommend Twinings chamomile herbal tea, or something similar, also dark chocolate (not full fat milk chocolate)
Another massive thing i will mention too, keep busy im in the process of re-decorating two rooms, this alone has dropped my anxiety from 9/10 to 2/10, and please take note this is very important, NEVER EVER drink energy drinks, these things are pure poison to the body in about 10 different ways, i call them "canned anxiety" at one point france banned them all completely, to be perfectly honest they need to be banned worldwide, theyre absolutely no good for the body in any way.
But going back to coffee, yea, by all means have a small one in the morning and a small one at mid-day, but late afternoons should be avoided at all costs for the sake of sleep and panic attacks.
I know America has a big coffee culture, they do love the stuff, its boomed here in the UK in the past 5 years too, ive never seen so many coffee machines on the shelves of currys!
Please dont let anxiety dictate your life, its all about portion control, easy does it always wins the race in the end.
Look after yourselves folks
Re: Caffeine, anxiety's no.1 evil potion.
Good advice, Lavender.
If I miss the taste I can always drink decaf. I would never dare drink an energy drink, I won't even drink soda. Water and coffee and occasional tea are my only beverages. And yes, when I am engrossed in a major project my anxiety is much better, but I also want ot be able to have days where I do nothing but relax and enjoy them. Baby steps..... years of anxiety and a fast pace won't be fixed in a month.
Sue
Re: Caffeine, anxiety's no.1 evil potion.
I love painting! lol, from walls to model trains hehe, bought myself a professional airbrush recently i absolutely love it! no more horrid smelling canned spraypaints! they are an incredible tool to have i tell you.
I do N gauge model railways, such a great hobby to get into and so relaxing and rewarding, when im at the baseboard doing modelling i literally forget the world!
Re: Caffeine, anxiety's no.1 evil potion.
You don't have to stop it forever. At one point in my life I used to drink 2-5 strong coffee's a day and ultimately gave it up completely by switching to decaf.
Recently however, I've re-introduced one or two real coffee's again and it seems to be fine. By real, I mean good ground coffee through our espresso machine at home. I take them relatively strong, and black. The key thing here though is that I've been 'recovered' from anxiety for a couple of years. I think it's only at that point that your body can take the stimulant without reacting with too much adrenaline.
I can feel the effects of caffeine much more than I used to, and I think I always will now. I also know 100% when I've had enough, some days I'll only have one cup.
Re: Caffeine, anxiety's no.1 evil potion.
Everything in moderation. I don't ever want to give anything up completely because then your body reacts strongly when the item is re-introduced (either intentionally or accidentally). If I could stay at 2-3 cups a day I think that's a good number.
Sue