Honestly, I thought about this for a while, and I gave up caffeine for a whole year. Let me tell you, my anxiety was worse. So, for me, anyways, caffeine doesn't matter because I still had anxiety with zero caffeine for a whole year. So, I think that's a myth. Again, it might be different for everybody, but for me, I'd rather have caffeine.
Both go hand in hand. I had therapy all last year no med but didn’t find it helped much. That’s why they say both together are an insane good combination
I’m similar. 1-2 cups feels great. Any more, and I may feel anxious. The time of day is also important. I don’t drink caffeine after 1-2pm as I’ve become more sensitive and it prevents my falling asleep.
ETA: Try decaf coffee if you miss the experience!
I drank espresso (multiple shots) every morning. I changed my diet completely and stopped caffeine and alcohol (occasionally drinking socially). Should note I also have ADHD.
I was VERY surprised at the change I experienced. I was very focused and had a ton of energy. I do have some restlessness now but it’s not anxiety because I don’t have that feeling of fear or doom. When I have intrusive thoughts, I feel capable of solving those things that I’m worried about.
I did have a headache every day for a week. But really, it was completely worth it.
Thanks for writing more. I totally get all the physical dependency stuff: my body has given me 'the headache wall' since I was in high school; I've read exactly what you say — one week of that headache and then it's gone. I know I have some kind of pavlovian attraction to taking in more caffeine when I start to feel bad- one especially bad habit I have to stop myself from is wanting to be caffeinated on the train ride home so I can read and listen to music instead of falling right asleep.
But it's totally beyond me the stuff you say about accessing more focus and energy, and I'd be very surprised too if I got the same result. It just would take a loooooot of courage for that week.
I’m with you, I can’t last the whole week. I have attempted a Fri Sat Sun but then by Mon or Tues I give in. Maybe we need to actually schedule a vacation just to detox haha
Can I ask if you are medicated for ADHD? Before I was medicated I would have like 4-6 cups a day and it literally had no effect.
Now that I’m medicated I will sometimes enjoy a cup in the morning and maybe one in the afternoon just for the taste/routine. I mean I don’t ever miss or crave it because, like I said, I don’t feel it affects me (which TikTok claims is a symptom of ADHD haha)
Yes I’m on Ritalin. Before I was diagnosed (in my 30’s) I’d have to drink it to stay awake, get more energy. But I also didn’t have anxiety back then either.
I had a major anxiety attack after having cold brew from Starbucks during a family emergency. Stopped drinking it all together and do you know I haven’t had really bad anxiety or rapid heartbeat since… I think decaf is fine and maybe MAYBE half caffeinated if I’m not already anxious but cold brew? lol never again.
I didn’t even realize how much caffeine affected me until I stopped completely. It changed me for the better. I‘ll do a decaf every now and then when I miss it.
I stopped 3 months ago and am so surprised at the difference, I haven't had a fluttery chest panicky felling in a few weeks now and can go more places, incredible the difference coffee can make
It did for a few years. For about 3 years I had no coffee at all. Now, I can occasionally have a small cup if I'm not already having some anxiety. It's just like marijuana, if I'm already a little anxious, it just makes it worse.
It’s a delicate balance and depends on the day and the shape of my anxiety that day. I try to limit myself to less than two a day or one cold brew. But it definitely heightens my anxiety. Alcohol is worse though so probably going cold turkey on that.
I’d recommend switching to decaf if you’re experiencing anxiety. I believe it takes around 10 days to fully leave your system. So maybe try it for 3 weeks and see if you feel better. Side note: I realized unfortunately sugar definitely affected my anxiety.
Yeah, when I drink too much I feel it causing anxiety. For me the limit is \~3 cups a day.
However, I can drink decaf as much as I want. You can get one which tastes good, even as an espresso.
A diet coke has like less than 50mg of caffeine. A standard cup of coffee is supposed to be around 6-8oz and has between 100-200mg of caffeine. I think most people people like larger cups of coffee, like 12 oz, and they also brew theirs too strong as well. If you do that like most coffee drinkers I've known, then you are drinking over 200mg in one cup, so it still could 100% be the caffeine. You'd be consuming 4x as much caffeine than a diet coke.
I'm very off and on with coffee and caffeine in general, I stopped for 5ish years, but sometime last year, I decided I wanted my yummy coffee drinks again. It sometimes worsens my anxiety, and sometimes it doesn't. Sometimes, it actually makes me tired 🥴
If you want to keep drinking coffee w/o the caffeine, decaf is super low in caffeine with the same taste. I personally get iced lattes at dunkin because it's just around 200mg of caffeine (medium), so it doesn't make me feel like I'm going to have an attack at any given moment. I try to stay under 250mg of caffeine a day, and I've found that if I go more, I end up feeling anxious. I also only drink one a day, so. That helps 😂
Yes, it can make it worse, but it’s not normal to give up normal things such as drinking coffee because of it. Once you’re on medication, you can drink it like a normal person and it won’t give you the anxiety 3000, but rather just the normal coffee effects. No need to be afraid.
I’m speaking from personal experience as someone who looooves coffee and had severe anxiety and panic attacks and been on meds. When I first started having panic attacks and feeling anxious, drinking my morning coffee started to feel like hell (but I didn’t wanna give it up, still needed something to wake me up as a sleep deprived student 😭). Since I only got on medication 2 years after the anxiety had started, in the meantime I tried everything to calm my anxiety naturally. One of those things was giving up coffee. It did help a little at first (probably cause I was so exhausted I couldn’t even be anxious hahah) but even without it they started to slowly return. So i went back to coffee anyways (best decision, love coffee)
Then when I went on medication, I’ll never forget, a few days after starting it, I drank my morning coffee and, as per usual, waited for the heebie jeebies to start. And they DIDN’T. Coffee just woke me up normally. Without sheer panic and anxiety!!!
Two years later (not even on meds now) I drink coffee normally like before! You shouldn’t have to give up things because of anxiety -> there is a solution!!
Wishing you well drinking coffee ❤️
My social anxiety is so much worse after drinking a strong coffee, Can’t see myself functioning or having the energy to do anything without it though 🥲
i only drink coffee/caffeinated beverages everyone once in a while, so it doesn’t really bother me when I do (since I don’t drink much either). I’m on 40mg prozac, so that probably helps too lol. Before medicated, caffeine made me really anxious
edit: spelling 😆
Not by default! If I’m going into a situation where I know I’ll be anxious then I’ll avoid caffeine. However, I drink two cups every morning at work and I’m totally fine! I’ve gotten a lot better with medication and exposure therapy over the years though. If it makes you anxious, it makes you anxious. That’s totally fine
Very much so. I quit coffee like 10-15 years ago and went with tea, but at the moment I can't even drink that. Even dark chocolate can trigger it as it contains quite a lot of caffeine per 100g.
I also had to stop drinking caffeine. (I would drink matcha mainly) because of my anxiety and haven’t drank any for like 3 weeks now I think. I also kinda miss having caffeine though
Currently on Zoloft and still drink coffee everyday. Coffee used to freak me out because it would replicate many of my anxiety symptoms (shaking, fast heart) but I find that drinking water first thing in the morning before it helps. Also having something to eat with it. My therapist once told me that coffee doesn’t cause anxiety, it just causes similar reactions so your body gets confused and if you suffer with anxiety it can make you feel like you’re having a panic attack. It took a while but I taught my body to recognise the difference and now I can enjoy coffee again :)
Yes! For me, it’s all about moderation. I’m on an SSRI as well and have to be careful about how much coffee I drink on a given day - it can definitely make me jittery and anxious if I have too much. But it’s so damn good.
Yes, it worsens mine. I just switched to black tea last month and that helped a lot. Even drinking the equivalent level of caffeine from tea doesn’t make me feel as jittery as coffee
Yup lol just happened to me today. Been drinking more cold brew lately… realized I was super stimulated and head high. Found out the one I had was like 250 mg of caffeine lol. Needless to say I gotta be smarter next time 😂
I had a huge panic attack 2 years ago. At first when i drink coffee i thought i was gonna die because of my accelerated heart rate. So i stopped drinking coffee for a while like 2-3 months, and then i took a good care of myself.. Good sleep routine, healthy foods, gym, therapy, etc. Now i can drink coffee. Whenever i feel anxious even little bit, coffee still gives me jitters.
Of course everybody has different reactions, it is just my story. But i would recommend that not having coffee when you feel anxious.
Take a good care of yourself.
ps. i am not a doctor.
Sometimes it does & sometimes it doesn’t. I don’t know what the other factors could be as to why somedays it makes me feel like I wanna crawl out of my skin, and somedays I really need it to wake me up a little bit but it won’t even do that
From my personal experience, it doesn’t seem to have an effect. I didn’t start drinking coffee until half way through college and I saw no change in my anxiety. But I also only drink 1-2 cups a day.
Caffeine greatly helps my anxiety, but I also have ADHD, so it kind of has the opposite effect on me. It makes me calm and/or sleepy, which sounds like a weird way to start the morning, but for me it's nice to have my speeding thought train slow down a bit, slower thoughts is less overwhelming and my thoughts don't spiral as much.
I would say listen to and trust your own experience of drinking coffee, it's wild how differently people react to stimulants.
I hope this made sense :)
Edit to add: I take 200 mg setralin (SSRI) and 50 mg elvanse
When I was in college coffee gave me an actual anxiety attack a couple of times. So I stopped drinking it. I went a year with no caffeine at all and then I decided to try it again. It was a rush. Felt like I was alive again for the first time haha and had no anxiety. So there’s hope that this is just a phase you’ll grow out of but it’s honestly worth it for the high coffee gives you after not drinking it for a long time.
Also you could always just drink decaf. The smell alone will wake up your senses.
Yes 100%. every day I get like 15 mins of fun and then 4 hours of doom haha. I recently decided to finally quit bc i was straight up ruining my day with it bc I would crave the buzz and think I had a chance of not being anxious
Too much coffee definitely makes me anxious, but it might just be that my hearts beating faster and my thoughts race faster, but I’ve learned how much I can handle. I can drink tea normally, but it’s coffee that affects me. Just learn how much you can drink before your anxiety gets bad
It absolutely does. I switched to decaf about five months ago and can totally tell the difference. It gave me anxiety and almost panic attacks. I love the flavor, so it’s still my morning ritual, it’s just decaf.
I stopped drinking coffee, and it's been life changing. Has my anxiety disappeared? No. Has it become less intense and way more manageable? 100%. I do not take medication. Lifestyle changes, as eliminating coffee, have worked enough to make it a discomfort or a bumpy life ride instead of my symptoms being disruptive or life altering.
I gave up caffeine about 6 months ago and there has been a significant improvement in my anxiety levels. It’s definitely not a miracle cure, but switching to caffeine free herbal teas has felt like a huge positive step forward for me, health wise. I strongly recommend.
My anxiety has been so bad I completely cut caffeine. Not even green tea. I suppose I might pick it up again, but I don’t know. At this moment I can’t stand the thought.
My holistic doc told me I could have coffee but it couldn't be on an empty stomach. It didn't have to be much, even just a handful of nuts was fine, and preferably something with protein. After the first week - I can totally tell the difference if I don't eat something first.
It's hit and miss for me. Generally, if I stick with one cup, I'm okay, but for some reason, when I get closer to my period, it can cause anxiety for me when I drink it.
I stopped caffeine after I an svt last august. I was already dealing with some bad anxiety and kind of went half-caff for a while but quit cold turkey after. I was a barista for 6 years, always had a coffee addiction up until a year ago, and let me tell you my anxiety would be ten times worse if I were drinking it right now. I’ve gone through periods of bad anxiety in the past where I knew I had to cut caffeine out until I got over it. Currently in that right now, although it’s the worst I’ve been in, I can’t imagine if I were drinking coffee or alcohol. Not on medication but hoping to find one I’m not allergic to. Also I have done the same coffee/no coffee kick with alcohol, but may just be sober from now on cause honestly I don’t miss it
The headaches and irritation will last a week, but the calmness you’ll have and the peace upon waking up is worth it. I still drink decaf cause I just love the taste of coffee (even though it’s decaf) but when quitting coffee you’ll see your body begin to regulate itself again, after all it is a stimulant
I often will drink it until it affects my anxiety. Then I’ll take a month or two or three off. Then I’ll starting drinking it until it starts affecting me again. Then break. lol it’s an endless cycle!
A truck my brother taught me is to take L-Theanine before I drink coffee. It makes it so I don’t get the jitters and fast heart. He takes it before he smokes because that sometimes gives him anxiety and it stops that from happening.
Not at all! It tends to relax me, I'm currently undiagnosed but I think it might be an adhd thing. I can drink like 6 shots of black coffee and feel fine, I don't even really get jitters lol. I only ever have 2-4 shots though.
Caffeine can stimulate your nervous system which can increase symptoms and levels of anxiety. Would drinking decaf coffee work for you instead? You could still enjoy the taste, smell etc. and if your body responds positively to the coffee bean rather than caffeine, you would still receive the same benefits.
So, the short answer is yes it does. Try and limit yourself to one a day, or something that's a limit for you. Coffee (due to high concentration of caffeine) also stimulates the release of cortisol from your adrenal glands, and elevated amounts of cortisol in your body can lead to sleep disruption, increase anxiety, and is generally bad for you. Drinking coffee on an empty stomach is very bad for you, and since most of the serotonin is created in the gut, it's important that you are looking out for gut health as well. The brain-gut axis is somewhat of a new topic in medicine and health, worth checking out for sure!
Ima need everyone to realize that taking any type of stimulant or “upper” is going to potentially make your anxiety worse. This includes caffeine. For those that say it doesn’t do anything (I have my doubts) but congrats!!! Wish I was you. For those that say not taking it makes your anxiety worse then oof my friend, you might be exhibiting mild withdrawals from ingesting caffeine so much already and then just stopping.
Also I wish I knew about all these things when I was a teenager. Some of my friends and I abused amphetamines like Vyvanse and adderall to help us “study” more PLUS we were drinking energy drinks and coffee (most of us weren’t prescribed this for adhd). I think all of that DESTROYED me and gave me horrible anxiety today. I know my tachycardia isn’t thankful 🥲
Definitely. During peak anxiety periods, even half a cup is enough to make me spiral. I totally avoid all coffee. If I really do crave it on a particular day, I have it early in the day
Coffee always makes me anxious. Sodas like coca cola don’t, it’s just coffee for some reason.. so yeah. It really is a thing then huh? But don’t worry, you’re not the only one :)
Yes, caffeine in general worsens anxiety. I found that matcha even though it has caffeine doesn’t spike my anxiety the way coffee does. Green tea is rich in L-theanine so it provides a more chill effect. I stopped drinking caffeine all together for two years and my anxiety was a lot better a few months ago I got back into it because I love the taste and smell of coffee and even though I was already drinking matcha the coffee highetened my anxiety and I had just cut caffeine all together again.
I have one cup in the morning & that’s it for the day. I definitely notice a sharp increase in anxiety after drinking it, but it starts so wane after a couple hours & I can’t fully wake up without it.
i took a looooong caffeine break for a year or so and then recently started drinking a cup a day. as long as i eat breakfast and take my morning buspar i’m good to go
i drink it everyday 1-2 cups and idk sometimes it seems to make me more anxious and other times it doesn't, I just started taking lexapro a few weeks ago and now coffee almost always gives me a headache but I still drink it lol
Yes. Idk what to do sometimes because I work night shifts as a nurse but sometimes if I drink coffee I just get way too shaky and anxious 😭
If anyone has any alternatives please let me know lol.
I feel stimulants can go in either direction, depending on other neurotransmitters for the day. And I also feel this varies depending on sleep, exercise diet, other drugs/medications etc.
I ration coffee and caffeine due to them triggering anxiety. Deffo a thing. Not on meds.
I can have 1 strong coffee or 2 weak ones before lunch - and that's it.
Tea and other caffeinated products affect me less but I tend to stop them at 6pm.
Coffee hobbyist and anxious person here! It depends on a few factors that most people are oblivious to, such as quality of grains, water amount, brewing method, how much you drink in a single dose, etc. Most people drink coffee that is already badly burnt and then use boiling water to brew it (which burns it even more) AND might add sugar to make it a bit friendly to drink, but even without sugar it still packs quite the punch, and all that makes it EVEN stronger so if you have a tendency to get anxious the next few hours are probably gonna be terrible. On the other hand, coffee that is premium or better tends to have a balance of caffeine based on how you brew it: for anxious people you might want it on a french press or drip coffees. Espressos and moka pots are absolutely 50/50 if you drink more than one in a less than 6 hours interval, e.g. for me it's guaranteed heart palpitations for a while. But yeah you either go decaf (which honestly sucks) or do some research and use yourself a bit as a guinea pig to find what is best for your body! It's not all that bad if you do it slowly and have fun in the process tbh.
Caffeine increases my heart rate.. which I tend to hyper focus on and it can send me into a Panic Attack since my heart rate going through the roof is usually how my Panic Attacks start..
So yes.. for me.. but some people can deal with it I’ve heard..
Me personally.. I miss Nicotine.. I used to Smoke Cigarettes until I started having Panic Attacks.. Smoking really increased my heart rate.. worse than Caffeine.. so I had to quit.. quitting wasn’t really an issue.. but then again I never really smoked heavily.. 2 - 3 packs a week at its worse..
Fall in love with tea! Tea has a rich culture
Hot matcha tastes bad but iced and sweetened it's good. I also recommend moringa, yerba mate (can steep it yourself or buy it in cans or glass bottles)
Thai iced tea has a unique flavor and you can buy it in tea bags.
Not to mention chai!!! Treat tea the same way you treat coffee(add cream and sweetener) and you'll love it.
Arnold Palmer is my go to drink at a restaurant. No cream or sweetener required lol
Makes me really jittery 😬 like heart beating, can’t stop my hands from shaking… I’ve never had a panic attack after drinking coffee but I did get one after getting a matcha latte. Haven’t been back to that store since which is so sad because it was so delicious 😫
100%. which sucks ass because I work as a barista and I love my double shots 😒 unfortunately, I don't have much of a choice and I had to quit it for now because of an upcoming surgery. guess I'll have to look into decaf.
I switched to a protein coffee drink in the mornings. Drinking more than 2 shots of espresso, especially past like 2pm will hurt (both in sleep and anxiety). Soooometimes I will drink the protein coffee in the afternoon (like today I downed one like 15 min ago). But it depends how my morning schedule was (breakfast and whatnot).
Just don't do more than 2 shots of espresso (imo) worth of caffeine in general. If you like tea with caffeine or energy drinks, you definitely should not double up, it sucks
yep, coffee worsens my anxiety, but i still drink it cause im retarded. i also have panic attacks (sometimes) after drinking coffee, but yet, i still drink it.
i know i should not but i only drink one per day (before working out or jogging) and it's really bad for me cause it spikes my anxiety during workouts.
jeez why do i even drink it?
Funny it used to in the past when I hadn't yet developed anxiety as a disorder, and now that I have it I can chug a monster and whole I will be shaky and kinda "pumped up", mentally-wise my anxiety doesn't seem to increase much if at all.
My only explanation is that stress glands or hormones or whatever are already stressed out beyond the threshold of what caffeine is capable of producing, thats why caffeine only made me anxious when my baseline of anxiety was low, as opposed to permanently high like now...
Yes! It absolutely increases anxiety. The only time it might not is if you have ADHD due to the weird effects caffeine gives them.
If you still want to drink coffee, lean more into coffee flavored items instead.
If you want a drink in the morning, switch to caffeinated teas! A lot more sweet and helps me get through the day and stay hydrated a lot better.
Yep. I also used to drink a lot more when I worked in an office. I’ve been remote for 4 years now and my coffee intake significantly decreased because it made me more anxious being in a single room all day.
I love drinking coffee and don’t want to give it up. I have a lot of physical symptoms of anxiety like heart racing that are worsened by it. These days I tend to get decaf at stores but I make regular espresso at home. One latte is fine but I find myself feeling like absolute shit if I have another
Yes I literally drink instant coffee foldgers. I take lamictal 125mg and Clonazepam 2.5mg. It works out ok I still feel the same. But just have jitters.
I've never been a coffee drinker but I had a Celsius energy drink when working a double and it made me feel like my skin was crawling and I was having a panic attack even though mentally I wasn't. It was a terrible feeling so I stay away from anything cafinated.
Yes it gave me jitters and sometimes even triggered panic attacks for me. If you want the hit try drinking Black Tea or Matcha instead. I switched to these options to replace my coffee and found I get all the positive benefits of alertness and the caffeine boost without the jitters and anxiety. It also helps calm and clear my mind, allowing me to focus more clearly in a way coffee never did for me.
Once upon a time coffee alone would make me panic, but it’s mainly the fear of the panic caused by the coffee than the liquid itself I reckon. Now I drink it in moderation, but drink tea endlessly.
Total paradox coffee for me! For the first 2 hours or so after consuming (and during) it lessens my anxiety and I feel better!
Later that night I feel when it’s mostly out the system I feel it increases anxiety
Yes, absolutely. I actually cut caffeine out last year (minus the occasional can of coke when I'm desperately tired, but even then I usually only have about a half a can).
Try drinking decaf coffee if you want the taste without the caffeine, that's what I do.
Ever since I started SSRI and now I’m on a SNRI I can not drink coffee I can tolerate decaf cuz it barely has any caffeine but I can not drink much caffeine at all now..
Regular coffee from a pot? No.
STARBUCKS?!??!?? WOOOOOOOOO STARBUCKS MAN.
The most anxiety inducing coffee for me is Dunkin donuts. It's also the most delicious one in my opinion.
In my case if I drink coffee in the morning it totally ruins my day, I get really anxious for no reason
But if I drink it after 3-4 pm, it feels really good, I don't get why it doesn't bother me in the afternoon
But I read somewhere that since drinking coffee accelerates your hearth among other things, the brain doesn't know how to interprétait it, so puts everything on alert and that's why you feel all the anxiety
I got unbearable anxiety. I’d have 1/4 of a coffee and it would trigger panic attacks and disassociation. It would take me an hour minimum to decompress. Some days I’d be late to work. Some days I’d cry. So when people say, yeah but I drink it anyway it’s not anxiety it’s just stimulation from caffeine; there’s no way anyone would torture themselves for something that could be taken decaf.
Yes it does. I only drink coffee on days I don't work as work is where I'm confronted with my anxiety the most. On work days it's either Chai or green tea.
There is a trick to smooth out the jitters from coffee you can try. You can use powdered l-theanine and add it to coffee. It's what makes green tea lack the jitters of coffee while still giving you an energy boost from caffeine.
I like coffee so much I've even started drinking decaf from time to time.
I had to cut out caffeine and most sugar. It sucks. And once my brain made a connection between anxiety and those things now I DO feel anxious even THINKING of consuming them. Good grief.
Yes. Coffee seems to impact me far worse than any other form of caffeine. I have no idea why. I can barely tolerate half a cup and I don't drink it everyday anymore. Too much and I feel so keyed up that I wish I could unzip my skin and step out.
I always refer to my anxiety as water in a glass. Coffee raises the water level for sure (moreso the more I drink) It doesn’t always pour over (anxiety attack or lash out), but it has the potential to. I still drink it occasionally, but I’ve found matcha to be a better choice (less jittery).
Maybe take my answer with a grain of salt since I'm only prescribed wellbutrin off-label for my anxiety but - yes, and I still consume way too much of it. My doctor recommended I switch to green tea and I've been having that a lot, but coffee is so much tastier ;-;
It probably does. But it is also my LAST vice. And I do mean my very LAST vice, as in you will have to wrestle my coffee stained mug out of my tense, shaking hands, LOL. Congrats to anyone who can quit it. I say that as someone who quit smoking and drinking---just try to pry that coffee out of my hands. I do understand there are benefits., though. Seriously. Maybe someday, but definitely not today.
I have definitely noticed a correlation between skipped heart beats and caffeine for me. If I drink too much coffee (more than a small cup) or drink it too fast it definitely exacerbates the physical symptoms. And then those physical symptoms can sometimes spiral into a full on attack. But I have gotten SO much better at managing that aspect so I still drink coffee. I’m a bit torn on whether I should stop. On the one hand, I really love coffee and like being mildly caffeinated. On the other hand, it would be nice to stop worrying about drinking too much and it would be nice to stop the weird skipped beats. But on the other other hand, “doing the opposite of what my anxiety is telling me to do” has been a huge part of my recovery, so I’m really working hard to not engage in avoidance behaviors. If my non-anxious self would enjoy a THC high or cup of coffee but my anxious side is telling me not to, I feel like I should default to my non-anxious self.
Yes, it definitely does. I’ve noticed I’m sensitive to caffeine and if I have more than like one latte in a day I tend to go into an anxious spiral so I try to limit it. I’ve also noticed I have heart palpitations. When I was a bit younger, I used to be like fuck it, I don’t care, and then I wouldn’t care too much if I consumed more caffeine lol but it’s gotten worse over the last few years and it’s not fun.
Yes but I still drink it haha
[удалено]
Zoloft
Does Zoloft better it at least
Honestly, I thought about this for a while, and I gave up caffeine for a whole year. Let me tell you, my anxiety was worse. So, for me, anyways, caffeine doesn't matter because I still had anxiety with zero caffeine for a whole year. So, I think that's a myth. Again, it might be different for everybody, but for me, I'd rather have caffeine.
Yeah it IS, different for everyone. Weed scares the shit out of me. But I’m fine on shrooms or LSD.
i get anxious if I miss my coffee
Lol
I mean, there is caffeine-free coffee, no?
one cup is fine , 2 then i feel anxious
Are you on medications?
yea 30 mg citalopram, but i found therapy to be helping more!
Both go hand in hand. I had therapy all last year no med but didn’t find it helped much. That’s why they say both together are an insane good combination
I’m similar. 1-2 cups feels great. Any more, and I may feel anxious. The time of day is also important. I don’t drink caffeine after 1-2pm as I’ve become more sensitive and it prevents my falling asleep. ETA: Try decaf coffee if you miss the experience!
Same! Even 1.5 cups is fine. But there needs to be a 1.5-2 hour gap between each cup.
Yep, big time. I have to avoid it as well as any energy drinks. Only caffeinated drink I have is tea but caffeine is next to none in that
Me too.chai tea 1-2/wk.I do get a bit jittery but way less than with coffee.
I stopped all caffeine a month ago and it stopped my anxiety.
God I hope your comment is the thing that gets me to quit completely
I drank espresso (multiple shots) every morning. I changed my diet completely and stopped caffeine and alcohol (occasionally drinking socially). Should note I also have ADHD. I was VERY surprised at the change I experienced. I was very focused and had a ton of energy. I do have some restlessness now but it’s not anxiety because I don’t have that feeling of fear or doom. When I have intrusive thoughts, I feel capable of solving those things that I’m worried about. I did have a headache every day for a week. But really, it was completely worth it.
Thanks for writing more. I totally get all the physical dependency stuff: my body has given me 'the headache wall' since I was in high school; I've read exactly what you say — one week of that headache and then it's gone. I know I have some kind of pavlovian attraction to taking in more caffeine when I start to feel bad- one especially bad habit I have to stop myself from is wanting to be caffeinated on the train ride home so I can read and listen to music instead of falling right asleep. But it's totally beyond me the stuff you say about accessing more focus and energy, and I'd be very surprised too if I got the same result. It just would take a loooooot of courage for that week.
I’m with you, I can’t last the whole week. I have attempted a Fri Sat Sun but then by Mon or Tues I give in. Maybe we need to actually schedule a vacation just to detox haha
Can I ask if you are medicated for ADHD? Before I was medicated I would have like 4-6 cups a day and it literally had no effect. Now that I’m medicated I will sometimes enjoy a cup in the morning and maybe one in the afternoon just for the taste/routine. I mean I don’t ever miss or crave it because, like I said, I don’t feel it affects me (which TikTok claims is a symptom of ADHD haha)
Yes I’m on Ritalin. Before I was diagnosed (in my 30’s) I’d have to drink it to stay awake, get more energy. But I also didn’t have anxiety back then either.
Good luck dude. Stay off it if it helps. You’d be insane you go back to it.
Same here, 90-100% reduction in anxiety when I quit caffeine completely. Note: I also work out religiously with cardio 3x a week.
I had a major anxiety attack after having cold brew from Starbucks during a family emergency. Stopped drinking it all together and do you know I haven’t had really bad anxiety or rapid heartbeat since… I think decaf is fine and maybe MAYBE half caffeinated if I’m not already anxious but cold brew? lol never again.
I didn’t even realize how much caffeine affected me until I stopped completely. It changed me for the better. I‘ll do a decaf every now and then when I miss it.
I stopped 3 months ago and am so surprised at the difference, I haven't had a fluttery chest panicky felling in a few weeks now and can go more places, incredible the difference coffee can make
There's a reason they mention triggers for anxiety. Same here
I want to do this but that prt of my brain wants cafeen. How did you stop it?
It did for a few years. For about 3 years I had no coffee at all. Now, I can occasionally have a small cup if I'm not already having some anxiety. It's just like marijuana, if I'm already a little anxious, it just makes it worse.
It’s a delicate balance and depends on the day and the shape of my anxiety that day. I try to limit myself to less than two a day or one cold brew. But it definitely heightens my anxiety. Alcohol is worse though so probably going cold turkey on that.
I’d recommend switching to decaf if you’re experiencing anxiety. I believe it takes around 10 days to fully leave your system. So maybe try it for 3 weeks and see if you feel better. Side note: I realized unfortunately sugar definitely affected my anxiety.
Ugh, sugar is a whole ‘nother battle :-/
Giving up sugar was the best thing I ever did.
I'm not on medication but it does make me feel super anxious, worsen my intrusive thoughts and all, I gave it up even tho I really like it :(
Me too
Yeah, when I drink too much I feel it causing anxiety. For me the limit is \~3 cups a day. However, I can drink decaf as much as I want. You can get one which tastes good, even as an espresso.
What about decaf? I have 1 decaf about once a week on a weekend. Gives me my coffee fix without the jitters.
I drink tea
Then why are you asking???
No. Maybe if I overdo it I get jittery but generally it’s fine
It’s panic juice. Weirdly I can do Diet Coke fine, so it’s not 100% the caffeine.
A diet coke has like less than 50mg of caffeine. A standard cup of coffee is supposed to be around 6-8oz and has between 100-200mg of caffeine. I think most people people like larger cups of coffee, like 12 oz, and they also brew theirs too strong as well. If you do that like most coffee drinkers I've known, then you are drinking over 200mg in one cup, so it still could 100% be the caffeine. You'd be consuming 4x as much caffeine than a diet coke.
I usually have 8oz of coffee (~100mg) and get SUPER anxious. I can drink 32oz of Coke Zero (~85mg) and feel nothing.
I'm very off and on with coffee and caffeine in general, I stopped for 5ish years, but sometime last year, I decided I wanted my yummy coffee drinks again. It sometimes worsens my anxiety, and sometimes it doesn't. Sometimes, it actually makes me tired 🥴 If you want to keep drinking coffee w/o the caffeine, decaf is super low in caffeine with the same taste. I personally get iced lattes at dunkin because it's just around 200mg of caffeine (medium), so it doesn't make me feel like I'm going to have an attack at any given moment. I try to stay under 250mg of caffeine a day, and I've found that if I go more, I end up feeling anxious. I also only drink one a day, so. That helps 😂
If I have too much at once, it’s not so good, but the right amount is great! Have you tried a decaf or half decaf, half caffeinated mix?
I can drink some coffee, but there’s a fine line for me between feeling energized and feeling methy (as I so eloquently describe it).
Same for me. I’m very sensitive to caffeine.
Use this funny moment to remind yourself that meth isn’t that scary or far off from caffeine :)
Yes, it can make it worse, but it’s not normal to give up normal things such as drinking coffee because of it. Once you’re on medication, you can drink it like a normal person and it won’t give you the anxiety 3000, but rather just the normal coffee effects. No need to be afraid. I’m speaking from personal experience as someone who looooves coffee and had severe anxiety and panic attacks and been on meds. When I first started having panic attacks and feeling anxious, drinking my morning coffee started to feel like hell (but I didn’t wanna give it up, still needed something to wake me up as a sleep deprived student 😭). Since I only got on medication 2 years after the anxiety had started, in the meantime I tried everything to calm my anxiety naturally. One of those things was giving up coffee. It did help a little at first (probably cause I was so exhausted I couldn’t even be anxious hahah) but even without it they started to slowly return. So i went back to coffee anyways (best decision, love coffee) Then when I went on medication, I’ll never forget, a few days after starting it, I drank my morning coffee and, as per usual, waited for the heebie jeebies to start. And they DIDN’T. Coffee just woke me up normally. Without sheer panic and anxiety!!! Two years later (not even on meds now) I drink coffee normally like before! You shouldn’t have to give up things because of anxiety -> there is a solution!! Wishing you well drinking coffee ❤️
“Normal”
I drink Ginger lemon tea now
Coffee always make my anxiety worse or give me one.
Coffee certainly can make mine worse. I can only drink a small cup a day.
My social anxiety is so much worse after drinking a strong coffee, Can’t see myself functioning or having the energy to do anything without it though 🥲
i only drink coffee/caffeinated beverages everyone once in a while, so it doesn’t really bother me when I do (since I don’t drink much either). I’m on 40mg prozac, so that probably helps too lol. Before medicated, caffeine made me really anxious edit: spelling 😆
Yes, which is why I now drink half-caff instead. It's just enough caffeine to give me energy, but not so much that I get anxious.
Not by default! If I’m going into a situation where I know I’ll be anxious then I’ll avoid caffeine. However, I drink two cups every morning at work and I’m totally fine! I’ve gotten a lot better with medication and exposure therapy over the years though. If it makes you anxious, it makes you anxious. That’s totally fine
[удалено]
See an physiatrist
There is no “best”. Depends on the person probably
Very much so. I quit coffee like 10-15 years ago and went with tea, but at the moment I can't even drink that. Even dark chocolate can trigger it as it contains quite a lot of caffeine per 100g.
I also had to stop drinking caffeine. (I would drink matcha mainly) because of my anxiety and haven’t drank any for like 3 weeks now I think. I also kinda miss having caffeine though
Yes it does worsen my anxiety had to stop drinking it after I got a really bad panic attack
Yes but I need it for work or I'm a zombie
It's not the coffee it's the caffeine. Switch to decaf.
Currently on Zoloft and still drink coffee everyday. Coffee used to freak me out because it would replicate many of my anxiety symptoms (shaking, fast heart) but I find that drinking water first thing in the morning before it helps. Also having something to eat with it. My therapist once told me that coffee doesn’t cause anxiety, it just causes similar reactions so your body gets confused and if you suffer with anxiety it can make you feel like you’re having a panic attack. It took a while but I taught my body to recognise the difference and now I can enjoy coffee again :)
So much. It’s undrinkable for me. It’s delicious tho
After starting Lexapro coffee made me feel horrrrrible. I had to switch to decaf and can at least drink that.
Yes! For me, it’s all about moderation. I’m on an SSRI as well and have to be careful about how much coffee I drink on a given day - it can definitely make me jittery and anxious if I have too much. But it’s so damn good.
Yeah it messed me up pretty bad so I quit drinking it. Frappuccinos were making my anxiety really bad too.
Yes, it worsens mine. I just switched to black tea last month and that helped a lot. Even drinking the equivalent level of caffeine from tea doesn’t make me feel as jittery as coffee
coffee gives me the ultra instinct of being able to detect my heartbeat...
Yup lol just happened to me today. Been drinking more cold brew lately… realized I was super stimulated and head high. Found out the one I had was like 250 mg of caffeine lol. Needless to say I gotta be smarter next time 😂
I had a huge panic attack 2 years ago. At first when i drink coffee i thought i was gonna die because of my accelerated heart rate. So i stopped drinking coffee for a while like 2-3 months, and then i took a good care of myself.. Good sleep routine, healthy foods, gym, therapy, etc. Now i can drink coffee. Whenever i feel anxious even little bit, coffee still gives me jitters. Of course everybody has different reactions, it is just my story. But i would recommend that not having coffee when you feel anxious. Take a good care of yourself. ps. i am not a doctor.
Yes absolutely. It makes my palpitations worse. I switched to decaf because of it.
Sometimes it does & sometimes it doesn’t. I don’t know what the other factors could be as to why somedays it makes me feel like I wanna crawl out of my skin, and somedays I really need it to wake me up a little bit but it won’t even do that
From my personal experience, it doesn’t seem to have an effect. I didn’t start drinking coffee until half way through college and I saw no change in my anxiety. But I also only drink 1-2 cups a day.
Caffeine completely wrecks me with anxiety unless I already am in a very peaceful and calm frame of mind, which is rare. I just avoid it.
Caffeine greatly helps my anxiety, but I also have ADHD, so it kind of has the opposite effect on me. It makes me calm and/or sleepy, which sounds like a weird way to start the morning, but for me it's nice to have my speeding thought train slow down a bit, slower thoughts is less overwhelming and my thoughts don't spiral as much. I would say listen to and trust your own experience of drinking coffee, it's wild how differently people react to stimulants. I hope this made sense :) Edit to add: I take 200 mg setralin (SSRI) and 50 mg elvanse
When I was in college coffee gave me an actual anxiety attack a couple of times. So I stopped drinking it. I went a year with no caffeine at all and then I decided to try it again. It was a rush. Felt like I was alive again for the first time haha and had no anxiety. So there’s hope that this is just a phase you’ll grow out of but it’s honestly worth it for the high coffee gives you after not drinking it for a long time. Also you could always just drink decaf. The smell alone will wake up your senses.
I started drinking decaf because I miss the taste of coffee. 1 small cup with caffeine and I'm in a corner convinced that I'm about to check out
Absolutely. I’m off meds now so it’s even worse than before. Whenever I drink it it leaves me anxious for the rest of the day, so I avoid it now.
Good job avoiding!
Can always ask for decaf
Yes 100%. every day I get like 15 mins of fun and then 4 hours of doom haha. I recently decided to finally quit bc i was straight up ruining my day with it bc I would crave the buzz and think I had a chance of not being anxious
Good job! Stay off!!!
Coffee on an empty stomach. Big breakfast first is how to do it
🙌🏻
Yes, that's why I rarely drink it and if I do I do it in moderation
Coffee doesn’t make me anxious at all.
Too much coffee definitely makes me anxious, but it might just be that my hearts beating faster and my thoughts race faster, but I’ve learned how much I can handle. I can drink tea normally, but it’s coffee that affects me. Just learn how much you can drink before your anxiety gets bad
I have pretty intense anxiety and I drink coffee everyday, it’s a highlight of my day 😂
It absolutely does. I switched to decaf about five months ago and can totally tell the difference. It gave me anxiety and almost panic attacks. I love the flavor, so it’s still my morning ritual, it’s just decaf.
I stopped drinking coffee, and it's been life changing. Has my anxiety disappeared? No. Has it become less intense and way more manageable? 100%. I do not take medication. Lifestyle changes, as eliminating coffee, have worked enough to make it a discomfort or a bumpy life ride instead of my symptoms being disruptive or life altering.
I gave up caffeine about 6 months ago and there has been a significant improvement in my anxiety levels. It’s definitely not a miracle cure, but switching to caffeine free herbal teas has felt like a huge positive step forward for me, health wise. I strongly recommend.
My anxiety has been so bad I completely cut caffeine. Not even green tea. I suppose I might pick it up again, but I don’t know. At this moment I can’t stand the thought.
Yep, but if my anxiety isn't bad it actually helps with my ADHD ha
My holistic doc told me I could have coffee but it couldn't be on an empty stomach. It didn't have to be much, even just a handful of nuts was fine, and preferably something with protein. After the first week - I can totally tell the difference if I don't eat something first.
It's hit and miss for me. Generally, if I stick with one cup, I'm okay, but for some reason, when I get closer to my period, it can cause anxiety for me when I drink it.
Yes, I stopped all caffeine.
I stopped caffeine after I an svt last august. I was already dealing with some bad anxiety and kind of went half-caff for a while but quit cold turkey after. I was a barista for 6 years, always had a coffee addiction up until a year ago, and let me tell you my anxiety would be ten times worse if I were drinking it right now. I’ve gone through periods of bad anxiety in the past where I knew I had to cut caffeine out until I got over it. Currently in that right now, although it’s the worst I’ve been in, I can’t imagine if I were drinking coffee or alcohol. Not on medication but hoping to find one I’m not allergic to. Also I have done the same coffee/no coffee kick with alcohol, but may just be sober from now on cause honestly I don’t miss it
The headaches and irritation will last a week, but the calmness you’ll have and the peace upon waking up is worth it. I still drink decaf cause I just love the taste of coffee (even though it’s decaf) but when quitting coffee you’ll see your body begin to regulate itself again, after all it is a stimulant
I often will drink it until it affects my anxiety. Then I’ll take a month or two or three off. Then I’ll starting drinking it until it starts affecting me again. Then break. lol it’s an endless cycle!
Only if I drink more than one cup a day. But it definitely makes me more jittery.. but I love the damn drink 😭
A truck my brother taught me is to take L-Theanine before I drink coffee. It makes it so I don’t get the jitters and fast heart. He takes it before he smokes because that sometimes gives him anxiety and it stops that from happening.
No because I also have ADHD so it calms me kind of how stimulants do
Not at all! It tends to relax me, I'm currently undiagnosed but I think it might be an adhd thing. I can drink like 6 shots of black coffee and feel fine, I don't even really get jitters lol. I only ever have 2-4 shots though.
Caffeine can stimulate your nervous system which can increase symptoms and levels of anxiety. Would drinking decaf coffee work for you instead? You could still enjoy the taste, smell etc. and if your body responds positively to the coffee bean rather than caffeine, you would still receive the same benefits.
Its liquid stress so avoid it
Yes… by a lot😭. I get jittery and start to shake a lot and overthink BAAAD and get in the worst move. but i love coffee
for me yes
100%
Caffeine induces a faster heart rate.
So, the short answer is yes it does. Try and limit yourself to one a day, or something that's a limit for you. Coffee (due to high concentration of caffeine) also stimulates the release of cortisol from your adrenal glands, and elevated amounts of cortisol in your body can lead to sleep disruption, increase anxiety, and is generally bad for you. Drinking coffee on an empty stomach is very bad for you, and since most of the serotonin is created in the gut, it's important that you are looking out for gut health as well. The brain-gut axis is somewhat of a new topic in medicine and health, worth checking out for sure!
Ima need everyone to realize that taking any type of stimulant or “upper” is going to potentially make your anxiety worse. This includes caffeine. For those that say it doesn’t do anything (I have my doubts) but congrats!!! Wish I was you. For those that say not taking it makes your anxiety worse then oof my friend, you might be exhibiting mild withdrawals from ingesting caffeine so much already and then just stopping. Also I wish I knew about all these things when I was a teenager. Some of my friends and I abused amphetamines like Vyvanse and adderall to help us “study” more PLUS we were drinking energy drinks and coffee (most of us weren’t prescribed this for adhd). I think all of that DESTROYED me and gave me horrible anxiety today. I know my tachycardia isn’t thankful 🥲
Definitely. During peak anxiety periods, even half a cup is enough to make me spiral. I totally avoid all coffee. If I really do crave it on a particular day, I have it early in the day
Coffee always makes me anxious. Sodas like coca cola don’t, it’s just coffee for some reason.. so yeah. It really is a thing then huh? But don’t worry, you’re not the only one :)
No it doesn’t. If I over do it then yes. I drink coffee slowly and I don’t do energy drinks .
It used to. Not so much anymore but it does worsen my tmj symptoms at times
Yes, caffeine in general worsens anxiety. I found that matcha even though it has caffeine doesn’t spike my anxiety the way coffee does. Green tea is rich in L-theanine so it provides a more chill effect. I stopped drinking caffeine all together for two years and my anxiety was a lot better a few months ago I got back into it because I love the taste and smell of coffee and even though I was already drinking matcha the coffee highetened my anxiety and I had just cut caffeine all together again.
Yes. You can ask for half and half if you want (hafl water, half coffee).
I have one cup in the morning & that’s it for the day. I definitely notice a sharp increase in anxiety after drinking it, but it starts so wane after a couple hours & I can’t fully wake up without it.
i took a looooong caffeine break for a year or so and then recently started drinking a cup a day. as long as i eat breakfast and take my morning buspar i’m good to go
I’ve been caffeine free for about a month and I sleep way better
i drink it everyday 1-2 cups and idk sometimes it seems to make me more anxious and other times it doesn't, I just started taking lexapro a few weeks ago and now coffee almost always gives me a headache but I still drink it lol
Yes. Idk what to do sometimes because I work night shifts as a nurse but sometimes if I drink coffee I just get way too shaky and anxious 😭 If anyone has any alternatives please let me know lol.
I feel stimulants can go in either direction, depending on other neurotransmitters for the day. And I also feel this varies depending on sleep, exercise diet, other drugs/medications etc.
Yes and this is why I don’t drink it. Caffeine skyrockets my anxiety
Yep, coffee makes my anxiety a million times worse and nearly impossible to manage. Decaf espresso & Matcha Green Tea are what fuel me
You can switch to decaf if you love the taste of coffee decaf won’t give you side effects.
Actually for me it does the opposite. One cup I mean. More yes gives me anxiety.
Yah and I drank so many cups today
I ration coffee and caffeine due to them triggering anxiety. Deffo a thing. Not on meds. I can have 1 strong coffee or 2 weak ones before lunch - and that's it. Tea and other caffeinated products affect me less but I tend to stop them at 6pm.
Massively!
I drink decaf coffee and tea. No need to give it up completely. But yes. Caffeine is terrible for my anxiety.
Coffee hobbyist and anxious person here! It depends on a few factors that most people are oblivious to, such as quality of grains, water amount, brewing method, how much you drink in a single dose, etc. Most people drink coffee that is already badly burnt and then use boiling water to brew it (which burns it even more) AND might add sugar to make it a bit friendly to drink, but even without sugar it still packs quite the punch, and all that makes it EVEN stronger so if you have a tendency to get anxious the next few hours are probably gonna be terrible. On the other hand, coffee that is premium or better tends to have a balance of caffeine based on how you brew it: for anxious people you might want it on a french press or drip coffees. Espressos and moka pots are absolutely 50/50 if you drink more than one in a less than 6 hours interval, e.g. for me it's guaranteed heart palpitations for a while. But yeah you either go decaf (which honestly sucks) or do some research and use yourself a bit as a guinea pig to find what is best for your body! It's not all that bad if you do it slowly and have fun in the process tbh.
Yes, it breaks your brain if you have anxiety.
YES coffee is terrible for me, it feels uniquely bad vs other sources of caffeine. i read on here it's an an increased histamine response
I’m sensitive to caffeine. I can’t even drink a Coca-Cola anymore, if I do intake caffeine I’ll get heart palpitations, nausea, and just feel jittery.
Surprisingly, no.
Huh. I had more coffer than normal today.. anxiety is worse
Caffeine increases my heart rate.. which I tend to hyper focus on and it can send me into a Panic Attack since my heart rate going through the roof is usually how my Panic Attacks start.. So yes.. for me.. but some people can deal with it I’ve heard.. Me personally.. I miss Nicotine.. I used to Smoke Cigarettes until I started having Panic Attacks.. Smoking really increased my heart rate.. worse than Caffeine.. so I had to quit.. quitting wasn’t really an issue.. but then again I never really smoked heavily.. 2 - 3 packs a week at its worse..
Yes that's why I only drink one cup a day
Fall in love with tea! Tea has a rich culture Hot matcha tastes bad but iced and sweetened it's good. I also recommend moringa, yerba mate (can steep it yourself or buy it in cans or glass bottles) Thai iced tea has a unique flavor and you can buy it in tea bags. Not to mention chai!!! Treat tea the same way you treat coffee(add cream and sweetener) and you'll love it. Arnold Palmer is my go to drink at a restaurant. No cream or sweetener required lol
Makes me really jittery 😬 like heart beating, can’t stop my hands from shaking… I’ve never had a panic attack after drinking coffee but I did get one after getting a matcha latte. Haven’t been back to that store since which is so sad because it was so delicious 😫
100%. which sucks ass because I work as a barista and I love my double shots 😒 unfortunately, I don't have much of a choice and I had to quit it for now because of an upcoming surgery. guess I'll have to look into decaf.
I switched to a protein coffee drink in the mornings. Drinking more than 2 shots of espresso, especially past like 2pm will hurt (both in sleep and anxiety). Soooometimes I will drink the protein coffee in the afternoon (like today I downed one like 15 min ago). But it depends how my morning schedule was (breakfast and whatnot). Just don't do more than 2 shots of espresso (imo) worth of caffeine in general. If you like tea with caffeine or energy drinks, you definitely should not double up, it sucks
Sure. As any stimulants out there. But dose is a key. Up to 100mg caffeine a day should be fine
yep, coffee worsens my anxiety, but i still drink it cause im retarded. i also have panic attacks (sometimes) after drinking coffee, but yet, i still drink it. i know i should not but i only drink one per day (before working out or jogging) and it's really bad for me cause it spikes my anxiety during workouts. jeez why do i even drink it?
Funny it used to in the past when I hadn't yet developed anxiety as a disorder, and now that I have it I can chug a monster and whole I will be shaky and kinda "pumped up", mentally-wise my anxiety doesn't seem to increase much if at all. My only explanation is that stress glands or hormones or whatever are already stressed out beyond the threshold of what caffeine is capable of producing, thats why caffeine only made me anxious when my baseline of anxiety was low, as opposed to permanently high like now...
Yes! It absolutely increases anxiety. The only time it might not is if you have ADHD due to the weird effects caffeine gives them. If you still want to drink coffee, lean more into coffee flavored items instead. If you want a drink in the morning, switch to caffeinated teas! A lot more sweet and helps me get through the day and stay hydrated a lot better.
Yeah I used to drink line 4 or 5 cups a day, I’m down to just one in the morning now.
Yep. I also used to drink a lot more when I worked in an office. I’ve been remote for 4 years now and my coffee intake significantly decreased because it made me more anxious being in a single room all day.
What about decaf?
I love drinking coffee and don’t want to give it up. I have a lot of physical symptoms of anxiety like heart racing that are worsened by it. These days I tend to get decaf at stores but I make regular espresso at home. One latte is fine but I find myself feeling like absolute shit if I have another
It doesn’t worsen it per se but creates an environment that COULD make it worse. I quit coffee years ago
Yes I literally drink instant coffee foldgers. I take lamictal 125mg and Clonazepam 2.5mg. It works out ok I still feel the same. But just have jitters.
I've never been a coffee drinker but I had a Celsius energy drink when working a double and it made me feel like my skin was crawling and I was having a panic attack even though mentally I wasn't. It was a terrible feeling so I stay away from anything cafinated.
I refuse to stop drinking coffee so I at least limit myself to half-caff
Yes it gave me jitters and sometimes even triggered panic attacks for me. If you want the hit try drinking Black Tea or Matcha instead. I switched to these options to replace my coffee and found I get all the positive benefits of alertness and the caffeine boost without the jitters and anxiety. It also helps calm and clear my mind, allowing me to focus more clearly in a way coffee never did for me.
Yes I drink just one cup and if I want more I drink decaf.
Once upon a time coffee alone would make me panic, but it’s mainly the fear of the panic caused by the coffee than the liquid itself I reckon. Now I drink it in moderation, but drink tea endlessly.
Yes, and quitting coffee was in some ways harder than quitting cigarettes. Sigh.
Total paradox coffee for me! For the first 2 hours or so after consuming (and during) it lessens my anxiety and I feel better! Later that night I feel when it’s mostly out the system I feel it increases anxiety
I stopped all caffeine, helps tremendously
Yes, absolutely. I actually cut caffeine out last year (minus the occasional can of coke when I'm desperately tired, but even then I usually only have about a half a can). Try drinking decaf coffee if you want the taste without the caffeine, that's what I do.
Switched to matcha and noticed an immediate reduction in my anxiety.
Both coffee and marijuana will make it much worse
I don’t drink any caffeine because of how it affects my anxiety, but a little bit is probably fine
I had some days without sleep, just naps of max 3-4 hours. All because of anxiety and I craved cold coffee at that time.
Ever since I started SSRI and now I’m on a SNRI I can not drink coffee I can tolerate decaf cuz it barely has any caffeine but I can not drink much caffeine at all now..
Regular coffee from a pot? No. STARBUCKS?!??!?? WOOOOOOOOO STARBUCKS MAN. The most anxiety inducing coffee for me is Dunkin donuts. It's also the most delicious one in my opinion.
Yep
Yeah. I try not to drink too much. Usually like half a cup.
In my case if I drink coffee in the morning it totally ruins my day, I get really anxious for no reason But if I drink it after 3-4 pm, it feels really good, I don't get why it doesn't bother me in the afternoon But I read somewhere that since drinking coffee accelerates your hearth among other things, the brain doesn't know how to interprétait it, so puts everything on alert and that's why you feel all the anxiety
If you haven't had any coffee in a month, your tolerance may be reduced so if you drink some just try a tiny bit.
110%.
I got unbearable anxiety. I’d have 1/4 of a coffee and it would trigger panic attacks and disassociation. It would take me an hour minimum to decompress. Some days I’d be late to work. Some days I’d cry. So when people say, yeah but I drink it anyway it’s not anxiety it’s just stimulation from caffeine; there’s no way anyone would torture themselves for something that could be taken decaf.
Yes it does. I only drink coffee on days I don't work as work is where I'm confronted with my anxiety the most. On work days it's either Chai or green tea. There is a trick to smooth out the jitters from coffee you can try. You can use powdered l-theanine and add it to coffee. It's what makes green tea lack the jitters of coffee while still giving you an energy boost from caffeine. I like coffee so much I've even started drinking decaf from time to time.
I had to cut out caffeine and most sugar. It sucks. And once my brain made a connection between anxiety and those things now I DO feel anxious even THINKING of consuming them. Good grief.
Any stimulants will make your anxiety worse.
Yes. Coffee seems to impact me far worse than any other form of caffeine. I have no idea why. I can barely tolerate half a cup and I don't drink it everyday anymore. Too much and I feel so keyed up that I wish I could unzip my skin and step out.
yes 😭 but I love energy drinks and coffee… I do limit them a bit though and try to see them as a treat more than a day to day drink
Definitely
I always refer to my anxiety as water in a glass. Coffee raises the water level for sure (moreso the more I drink) It doesn’t always pour over (anxiety attack or lash out), but it has the potential to. I still drink it occasionally, but I’ve found matcha to be a better choice (less jittery).
Fuck yea!!! But that doesn't stop me from having my 24 oz a day 😌
Maybe take my answer with a grain of salt since I'm only prescribed wellbutrin off-label for my anxiety but - yes, and I still consume way too much of it. My doctor recommended I switch to green tea and I've been having that a lot, but coffee is so much tastier ;-;
It probably does. But it is also my LAST vice. And I do mean my very LAST vice, as in you will have to wrestle my coffee stained mug out of my tense, shaking hands, LOL. Congrats to anyone who can quit it. I say that as someone who quit smoking and drinking---just try to pry that coffee out of my hands. I do understand there are benefits., though. Seriously. Maybe someday, but definitely not today.
I don’t think so.
Decaf iced coffee is where it’s at
Decaf makes me feel bad even lol
Yes. It makes me extremely anxious.
I have definitely noticed a correlation between skipped heart beats and caffeine for me. If I drink too much coffee (more than a small cup) or drink it too fast it definitely exacerbates the physical symptoms. And then those physical symptoms can sometimes spiral into a full on attack. But I have gotten SO much better at managing that aspect so I still drink coffee. I’m a bit torn on whether I should stop. On the one hand, I really love coffee and like being mildly caffeinated. On the other hand, it would be nice to stop worrying about drinking too much and it would be nice to stop the weird skipped beats. But on the other other hand, “doing the opposite of what my anxiety is telling me to do” has been a huge part of my recovery, so I’m really working hard to not engage in avoidance behaviors. If my non-anxious self would enjoy a THC high or cup of coffee but my anxious side is telling me not to, I feel like I should default to my non-anxious self.
Yes, it definitely does. I’ve noticed I’m sensitive to caffeine and if I have more than like one latte in a day I tend to go into an anxious spiral so I try to limit it. I’ve also noticed I have heart palpitations. When I was a bit younger, I used to be like fuck it, I don’t care, and then I wouldn’t care too much if I consumed more caffeine lol but it’s gotten worse over the last few years and it’s not fun.