Caffeine! Tips for General anxiety, helped me a LOT

[bandar1113]

I used to drink soda's and double-shot's everyday and later found out by my therapist that drinking caffeine is bad for people with anxiety. At first i was a little bit skeptical that caffeine could worsen my anxiety but it's actually helped a lot!

I used to drink a lot of caffeine and get panic attacks afterwards, not knowing what caused them, but lately i've just been drinking juice, iced tea, milk, just stuff like that and I haven't had a panic attack since!

one of the main factors that has helped me be able to control my anxiety and make it more tolerable is a healthy lifestyle

[redzzed]

Glad that that worked for you , in my case i had been drinking coffee for
25 years and was with a dedicated homeopathic doctor (whom i knew)
in India .He read out a list of bad symptoms of coffee drinkers ..irritablibilty , sleeplessness , headaches , bad for the heart..etc.
He read thru them and finally came to a recommendation from the homeopathic bible ' curtail ' he said and looked so seriously at me that i roared with glee .
I did stop drinking coffee from that moment , for 1.5 years and i drank tea.
It didn't seem to make any difference , so i started drinking coffee again , instant coffee , about 4 years ago .

I was not particularly anxious before though .

Mostly decaff.

[staple]

I went off caffeine over a yer ago as I would have been a tea addict over 10 cups a day. The firrst few days were difficult as I had headache and flu like symptoms which lasted over 3 days, I dont miss the cafeine and i avoid anything with it.
I use alternatives that I get in the health shop and I am sleeping better.
Mike

[eeyorelover]

Caffeine definitely adds to anxiety symptoms!
I avoid caffeine as much as possible but I'm a chocoholic so I still have to have some of it occasionally
xxx
Sandy

[Budgie]

I try to have as little caffeine as possible. I do like a bit of chocolate now and again I carry some with me during the day because sometimes when I'm very anxious, I feel really weak/faint afterwards, and so I suck a cube of chocolate.

But apart from that, I try my best to stay caffeine free. I buy a chicory drink from my local health shop. I thought it would be disgusting but when I made some I found it quite nice. A Bit of an acquired taste, but so is everything else in life

[Gregor]

Well, i didn't know the awful affects of caffeine until well into my 20th year or so of being addicted! i know the caffeine is at the very least not helping my anxiety problems, but i just cannot stop because of the addiction.

I even read somewhere that caffeine can be the sole cause of anxiety in some people! i'm a prime target for that claim because i drink maybe 4 litres a day - although that's much less than i used to (once up to about 18 cans a day!!).

It's in my plans to cut down, then cut out completely, the Coke because i know it's causing a lot of problems for me.

Gregor

[NoPoet]

I used to drink a lot of tea and while I've been going through this stress/anxiety/depression phase I have cut down on the amount I drink. It hasn't made much impact so far, but then again, not everyone will be affected the same way by the same things.

What I did notice was drinking 8 or more cups a day could cause "caffeine burnout" which left me feeling tired, dried up and annoyed.

You shouldn't go "cold turkey" from caffeine as it could give you withdrawal symptoms for a few days -- especially anxiety, tension and headaches. It is really, really addictive, so respect it -- cut down gradually, don't just cut it out in one go.

Same goes for any drug that you regularly put into your system. Your body learns to depend on it, and cutting it off can cause side effects.

Does anyone know how much caffeine it is safe to drink without provoking anxiety?

[lenore]

Oh my Goodness, I cannot believe the effect caffeine has had on me today! I normally drink tea, and since starting citalopram I haven't had anywhere near as much. Today though, I've been going through cups of coffee like they're going out of fashion and my heart is racing, myhands are sweaty and I have butterflies doing acrobatics in my tummy. I'm chucking that stuff out and buying some decaff.

[NoPoet]

I can't believe how much caffeine you people drink! I used to think I was bad having eight cups of tea a day. I'm a lightweight.

[prettyinpink88]

I'm a med student used to drinking only decaf. I'm quite a highly strung/anxious person and find that drinking a lot of coffee, e.g. in exam periods has 2 effects... makes me really alert but also makes me shaky, my heart races and my palms get sweaty. Obviously not a great thing, but it's only for a few weeks - kind of like binge caffeine!