Caffeine And Anxiety

Question:

Can drinking caffeinated coffee aggravate anxiety and possibly interfere with my recovery from anxiety disorder and hyperstimulation?

Answer:

We often receive questions asking:

• Should I eliminate stimulants, such as caffeine, if I want to recover from anxiety disorder and hyperstimulation?

• Should people with anxiety disorders avoid caffeine?

• Should you avoid excess caffeine intake which can increase feelings of anxiety and agitation?

Yes, caffeinated products can aggravate anxiety disorder and hyperstimulation and interfere with recovery. Here’s why:

Anxious behavior creates anxiety, which activates the stress response. The stress response secretes stress hormones into the bloodstream, where they travel to targeted locations to bring about specific physiological, psychological, and emotional changes that prepare the body for immediate emergency action – to fight or flee.

This instinctual survival reaction is commonly referred to as the fight or flight response. You can visit “The Stress Response” article for more information about how it affects the body and mind.

The stress response brings about many changes because stress hormones are powerful stimulants that stimulate the body.

Since stress hormones push the body beyond its internal balance (homeostasis), stress responses stress the body. A body under stress can exhibit symptoms of stress.

Therefore, anxiety symptoms are symptoms of stress. They are called anxiety symptoms because anxious behavior is the main source of the stress that stresses the body, creating symptoms.

There are primarily two kinds of stress: Acute stress, which produces acute symptoms, and chronic stress, which we call “Stress-Response Hyperstimulation” since stress hormones are powerful stimulants” that produce chronic symptoms.

To reduce and eliminate anxiety symptoms, we need to reduce and eliminate unhealthy stress.

With that in mind, caffeine brings about its stimulating effect by causing the secretion of stress hormones into the bloodstream.

Since caffeine is a stimulant that stimulates the body, ingesting caffeine into an already anxious and hyperstimulated body is like pouring gas on an already raging fire.

In fact, anything that stimulates the body can aggravate anxiety disorder, hyperstimulation, and their symptoms. This aggravation can interfere with and even reverse recovery from anxiety disorder and hyperstimulation.

Moreover, research has shown that caffeine, even in moderate amounts, is linked to anxiety and depression.[1][2][3][4]

For instance, a study by Kenneth Kendler, director of the Virginia Institute for Psychiatric and Behavioral Genetics, found that prolonged use of caffeine increased the likelihood of developing anxiety and depression.

The study showed that heavy caffeine users were almost twice as likely to develop panic disorder, generalized anxiety disorder, and major depression. Even among those who moderately consumed caffeine, there was an increased likelihood of developing these disorders.

Kendler said, “Any form of drug use is broadly related to aspects of psychopathy. You’re consuming a substance that influences the way you think.”

The findings of this study appeared in the December (2006) issue of Psychological Medicine.

If you want to eliminate anxiety symptoms, we recommend eliminating stimulants, such as caffeinated products.

While you might not WANT to eliminate caffeine, continually ingesting it can be a major barrier to recovery and the persistence or escalation of anxiety symptoms.

So yes, caffeine consumption is a “no-no” for successful anxiety disorder and hyperstimulation recovery.

Once you have successfully recovered, you can reintroduce caffeine. But if it brings a return of symptoms, you may need to eliminate it for good. Some people have to eliminate caffeine, while others notice the stimulation but not to the point of it causing problems.

Some say, “But I don’t want to stop drinking my coffee or eating chocolate. I’m just not prepared to do that.”

Well, like all other recovery strategies, you don’t have to do anything. No one can force you into making behavioral change. But then, it’s unrealistic to expect to see results.

The decisions we make cause the consequences we experience. We seldom escape the consequences of our decisions.

Ingesting caffeine stimulates the body, and a body that’s already hyperstimulated and symptomatic will react badly to added stimulation. There is no getting around that reality.

When the body is hyperstimulated, it needs reduced stimulation and sufficient time to recover. The body won’t stop presenting symptoms UNTIL it has recovered and stabilized.

As you can see, continually stimulating the body by regularly ingesting stimulants, such as caffeine, can easily undermine recovery from anxiety disorder and hyperstimulation.

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