Caffiene Helps???

[Neon]

As someone who suffers from anxiety I do feel a bit ridiculous sharing this but does anyone else find Caffiene helps with their anxiety?!

For a while I thought I was sensitive to Caffiene so stopped having it, as much as I enjoyed the occasional coffee, but it had no change on my behaviour. After one drink I'd generally be very shaky, anxious and feel sick etc. However one day, when I was feeling particularly stubborn I went to a coffee shop and had 2 very strong, large coffees back to back (because I wanted too) and basically it's like my brain had a melt down and I felt a-m-a-z-i-n-g. No shaking, no anxiety, nothing. I just felt normal. Actually I felt high. It was the best feeling. I think I actually just felt great because I wasn't anxious for once after years of misery. From that point on i tried drinking Caffiene daily, but more then I usually would and for months it really helped. I felt clear headed and confident. I handled stress. Then I got a kidney infection and then gastritis so I had to stop drinking it for a while and BAM the anxiety is back. I've started drinking coffee again and when it kicks in I do start feeling better again. So.... My question is...

Is my anxiety connected to feeling tired and by having more energy I feel better?

Or is the Caffiene compensating some chemical imbalance in my body in some other way?

I've never drunk much Caffiene and two-three cups a day isn't a huge amount. I'm also not that keen on sugar either so I'm sceptical if I'm just a Caffiene/sugar addict. (My point being I could stop consuming each of those things easily but then I will start getting jittery again).

One a further note I've noticed that drinks like Lucazade and Red Bull RELAX me rather then stimulate me. What's that about?! Am I just a freak like I've always suspected?

[Catherine S]

Hi Neon, well they say that caffeine increases dopamine in the brain which a lack of can contribute to depression, so could be that your dopamine levels are a bit low and the caffeine is just topping them up. Even though you mention anxiety, sometimes being constantly anxious can exhaust you and therefore deplete certain 'well-being and feel-good' chemicals in the brain. I started buying only de-caff tea and coffee some years ago because more than a couple of cups of the regular and my heart would be doing flip-flops, but I'm not precious about it when i'm out and do still have the odd one if I can't get de-caff.

There have been reports recently about the benefits of caffeine instead of the usual bad boy stuff lol!

ISB x

[Neon]

That's REALLY interesting as I do suffer from bouts of low mood so I wonder if I'm actually depressed rather then anxious. If I'm not tired/depressed I don't get anxious so maybe the anxiety is a symptom of other problems which the Caffiene helps with. I suffer badly with PMS too which seems to correlate with the start of my anxiety/insomnia.

[Rennie1989]

I think it's an individual thing. I drink too much coffee so without it I'd have withdrawals, but I know when I shouldn't drink anymore, or if at all, if the anxiety is bad.

[Neon]

I've just been looking into low dopamine levels and WOW that's me all over. So I'm guessing my anxiety is a symptom of that. Feels very strange being confronted with such a true description of myself and my behaviour. I've been very clearly self medicating with Caffiene to counteract low dopamine. I need to find alternatives!!

[swgrl09]

It definitely perks up my mood a bit

[hanshan]

I find one or two cups of tea definitely help with my general mood, particularly in the morning. As was said above, it's an individual thing.

There are also lots of other beneficial natural compounds in tea and coffee, and I seem to recall reading studies that indicated that moderate tea and coffee drinkers had overall better health.

[darksideofthemoon]

I drink a lot of caffeinated beverages as it helps with my depression. I make sure I stop drinking them at least 7 hours before bed time. It does not do much for my anxiety, but I seem to function better than when not taking it.

[Ryan92]

I've been trying to cut down on caffeine for the last few months because I heard that apparently it can sometimes make anxiety worse, but I've noticed I've been feeling more depressed so maybe the lack of caffeine is connected with my mood, I honestly don't know lol ugggghhhh

[wnsos]

This has me curious! My IBS all kicked off when I gave up caffeine in July. Ironically I stopped having it to be healthier.