No Coffee, No Anxiety

By Linda Friday, February 16, 2007

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I began having chronic anxiety and panic attacks during a very stressful period in my life. As time passed and the stresses went away, my anxiety got much better, but never fully left. For years I lived with a the constant sense of dread and that feeling that something was off. I had medication in case of emergency, but I rarely took it. I am not a person who is comfortable taking medication on a regular basis and I never wanted to be dependent on a substance to get through the day. So I lived with it.

I stopped drinking coffee because I noticed that it was making me feel a bit nauseated on a regular basis. I didn't remove caffeine completely -- I started drinkine tea instead. It was about two weeks without coffee when I realized that the anxious feeling was gone. Completely. The ONLY change I made in my life at the time was cutting out the coffee. That was more than two years ago and the anxiety has never returned, even in stressful situations. It may sound crazy, but I'm a firm believer that coffee was the cause of my anxiety.

When Life Itself Makes Us Anxious

Comments (29) | Add comment

Lynne Taetzsch, Health Guide

3/22/07 9:53am

Hi Linda,

Thanks for sharing this insight. It's worth a try for any of us who drink coffee regularly. I know I have to limit my intake or I get jittery.

It's wonderful that you found this simple cure to your problem!

Lynne

Anonymous

3/30/07 10:13am

i can definitely relate. i found that my anxiety from coffee would sometimes be quite delayed, up to nearly a day after. i ahve the same experience. since i stay away from coffee i have no anxiety.

Kristina

5/23/07 12:23pm

This really gives me hope! The "feeling of dread" you are escribing COMPLETELY resonates with me. I have been trying to put my finger on what has been wrong in my head for the last two years. I have a wonderful boyfriend whom I love very much, and yet I am constantly anxious/having feelings of dread about our relationship. I also become really anxious and am constantly worrying about other things that I have no reason to worry about. I feel paralyzed by this and it doesn't help that I'm constantly worrying about what is wrong with me. The worrying and overthinking has made it difficult for me to really see what was wrong. For awhile I thought it was depression, but I am not a depressed person, I have always been a very happy lover of life and the idea that I was depressed never seemed right to me. Only recently did I realize that what I have been feeling the last few years is probably anxiety. I am going to try quitting coffee before I try anything else, and am hoping that this will be enough!

Linda

5/23/07 4:25pm

Hi Kristina,

Good luck to you! Please let us know how you make out.

caity

6/21/07 11:30am

I work early morning hours at a local hospital, and rely heavily on extremely strong coffee (and lots of it) to wake up and function that early. I'd get an intensely paranoia about my relationship (with a great guy and completely unfounded), and a general sense of anxiety and panic. It only occurs after having drank coffee. I switched to a stronger green tea/pomegranate drink (a few cups each morning) and have eliminated that awful feeling of dread/paranoia/panic. Wierd. Coffee wakes me up much quicker (having drank it regulary for years------and it was only very recently--within the last year or so-- that this panicky feeling occurred), but the benefits of tea much outweigh the "quick fix" coffee gives. That, and being able to sleep at night helps. With coffee I would only drink it in the morning, and when it was time to sleep at night (10 or 11pmish), my body was tired and ready, but my mind was not, and it took me hours to actually fall asleep. Not the case with tea, which is great. Not really sure that I've posted anything useful, but finding this site and seeing that other people have similar reactions, reinforces my assumption and its nice to know that i'm not going crazy.

Dahlia

4/ 8/11 4:18am

Thank you very much for sharing this with us. I am exactly in the same boat, and have noticed that coffee definitely makes my anxiety attacks worse, and am looking for a substitute for coffee. I would like to try the drink that you mentioned of green tea and pomegranate. What brand is it? Thank you x

Sonja

9/ 1/07 10:41pm

I stoped drinking coffee a week ago, and I already feel great. I'm less streesed out and intense, and can easily deal with stressful situation at work with ease.

The reason why I stoped drinking coffee is my panic attacks during the day, and sleep apnea during the night. And, I'm not overweigh like some people with sleap apnia, but I had it. I haven't had neither panic attack nor sleep apnia after I stoped drinking coffee, but may be too early to tell. It lokks like the anxiety wants to come back when I'm drinking coke or a tea, so I plan to eliminate all that. First four days after I stoped fdrinking coffee I had strong headackes, but not anymore. For my surprise I don't get the regular migranes that I used to get. If I knew that stoping drinking coffee could make feel so much better, I would've stoped earlier then this.

George

10/22/07 2:29pm

Usually, I never drink coffee, I am 21 and during my whole life, I rarely drank any coffee.

Today I woke up early, and sleepy, so I decided to drink a cup.

This was a bad idea. I started feeling minor anxiety and feelings of hollowness, and just general weird feeling.

I suggest anyone having any problems with anxiety or any other symptoms after drinking coffee, to try to quit and see how much better you feel.

I am never drinking coffee again! :P

I wonder if tea causes this too?

sherry

7/13/08 1:12pm

hi, I started drinking coffee regularly when I was 21 too and that is exactly when I started to become anxious and even literally started pulling my hair out one by one, especially after I drank coffee. I am 33 now and I just recently made the connection. I started to take B6 vitamins which promote seratonin and also completely stopped coffee (its been a month now)! Tea has caffeine and I have been having a couple cups a day but I have completely calmed down. I think coffee is really harmful, and this is coming from a former complete coffee lover!!!

Cal

10/ 4/10 3:32am

Wow...this is a very interesting pattern. Throughout my life I have drank coffee from time to time but not on a daily basis. There was only one short period in the latter half of college where I had a grande size in the mornings for several months which made me alert.

It was when I was 22 that I started to feel extra anxious and almost felt a slight high after the grande size. I noticed it but didn't think it much a big deal.

BUT...there was one incident that occurred at age 23 that changed me psychologically forever. I had gotten incredibly drunk one night and blacked out. The next morning I was still slightly drunk but had no awareness of it. I drank about 4-5 cups of home brew coffee. About 6-7 hours later, the hangover kicked in. I started getting an anxious feeling that escalated drastically in the span of a half hour. In roughly 45 minutes I was suicidal. Now, I've never been depressive, my family has no history of it, and I've never had a suicidal thought in my life, but in that moment I believed that every cell of my body hated me. And I knew the only way to stop that hate was to stop living. For the next 2 hours I was in extreme mental anguish. Everything in life that I tried to bring up to reflect on was immediately disregarded as too small a priority in the face of the horrible thing I knew I had to do to myself. I was astonished that I failed to communicate to myself that it was only temporary. But I had no concrete concept of reason anymore.

I grabbed a friend and told him to drive me somewhere away from the group of company I was with and wait with me until the feelings stopped. I was terrified of the thought of him leaving me for even one minute as we waited it out.

Later that night the feeling had eventually subsided completely. And the second I realized it was gone, as exhausted as I was at that point, I was never happier. I was so relieved to know that it was outside substances and not me that put me through this thing.

I stopped drinking coffee for the next 6 months and only now, age 24, have I had a few cups here and there. And every time I have a cup, I feel a mild anxiety that comes on almost half the day later. I try to avoid it now as much as I can. I do drink decaf though. Because coffee's delicious.

Thomas

12/18/07 6:47pm

A month ago, I stopped drinking coffee because of extreme anxiety/ panic attacks related to relationship problems. I started drinking tea and found I could deal with the stress more easily without the physical effects. Today I had coffee with a friend this morning and found that anxious thoughts I was having before came quickly back. No more coffee!

Anonymous

1/ 5/08 1:40am

It's only been about 6 hours since my last cup of coffee and I'm drinking it everyday all day usually. Though after I read up on this article I figured I'd give it a try.

My anxiety (which I still have no clue on how it started or why) has been ruining my life the past few years. I'm just wondering how long it took you as a regular coffee drinker to feel and notice a difference with your anxiety, and how long after did it diminish?

Paul

2/ 7/08 10:55pm

I have had the exact same experience Linda. When i was drinking coffee regularly, i was getting panic attacks. I recall one time that i did not want to go the local carnival, because i was in no state of mind for it. My girlfriend thought i was going a bit funny but also understood there was something wrong. As soon as i switched to tea the panic and anxiety dissappeared. If i have instant coffee or coke-a-cole a sometimes get mild anxiety. I had a extra strong coffee this morning as i was in a situation were i felt obliged too (approx 5 hours ago), and ever since i have had major anxiety, stress, the gitters, the works. There is no doubt in my mind that some how caffeine is causing these undesireable effects for me.

Clare

3/29/08 12:56am

I am so relieved to read this! I gave up caffeine a week ago because I have been on such an emotional roller coaster for the past months. I have been experiencing such highs and lows that they seemed unreal - so I thought that my caffeine use might be manufacturing some of my feelings.

I thought perhaps I was imagining feeling better and calmer already. Things are still happening, but I don't seem to react so intensely

Marc

5/15/08 9:40am

I agree that coffee makes a person more prone to panic and anxiety attacks. I've been drinking 5 cups of starbucks coffee a day (which has twice the caffeine of other brands) and after doing this for many months, I've found that any little thing can touch off an anxiety attack. I've been off coffee now for three weeks. Since then, life has thrown some curve balls that have been very stressful but I've had no anxiety attacks. It's nice to be able to fight life's battles without being crippled with anxiety attacks.

Marc

5/15/08 2:12pm

I've experienced the withdrawal symptoms of quitting coffee many times in my life and have always experienced intense headaches. This last time that I'd quit, there was no headache and I think it was because I was taking Ibuprofen (I was treating an inflamed tendon at the time). This doesn't constitute a scientific study, but it does make sense because Ibuprofen can be used to treat headaches. Anyway, taking some headache medication while you're quitting coffee ought to make the transition easier.

Anonymous

9/29/08 12:22pm

This is true. Regular coffee drinkers will most likely experience headaches the first couple days, but I promise this does go away. Taking one or two advil will stop the headache, and you will only have to do this generally once a day, maybe twice if you drink an excessive amount of coffee. The headaches subside within 3-4 days.

Drink your favorite drink but in decaf. Starbucks makes everything, EVERYTHING, in decaf. Pop your advil, drink a decaf latte, frappucino, whatever, and you will fine in a few days. Good luck :)

remember, the effects of coffee last longer than its initial "buzz" and your body chemistry most likely changes while being a regular coffee drinker. It is worth a try, especially if you are prone to anxiety.

Anonymous

10/ 8/08 9:18am

I'm 36 now, and have drunk coffee all my life. I have also suffered varying degrees of anxiety too. I live in Italy now, and switch to the espressos a few months back, mainly coz that's how it's drunk here. About 3 weeks ago I had a panic attack. It felt like something unimaginably terrible was about to happen. This is the third time in my life this has happened.

So a week ago I gave up coffee, because I thought that was making the anxiety worse. It wasn't, it was actually the sole cause. All these years of panic were caused by coffee, and now it's gone, replaced with tea instead. Of all the things I tried over the years, this was one I never even suspected. How could it have been so simple? How could I not have realised?

Anonymous

1/10/09 10:46am

yeah, i had panic attacks for about six months whilst at uni. i brought so many self help books and stuff like anyone probably would if they went through it. After leaving uni i like you had the scars of that dark hour in my life where i would simmer with anxiety but would no longer come to boil. Its only now a few years later that i believe coffee to be the cause. I was drinking 6-7 cups a day and when hitting the clubs i had vodka and red bulls. After leaving uni my panic attacks subsided (they started half way through my last year) but as i said simmered. I think this is because i was still drinking coffee but less of it. I now dont drink it at all and have no symptoms. I even have a lot of stress in my life with i now eat for breakfast! Yum Yum!

4/30/09 11:50am

I agree with your thoughts. I work at a jail where coffee is drank alot, because of the shift work... I was having problems with anxiety and panic attacks myself, I have noticed that when I drink coffee, I feel like I am in a fog and feel panicy. I don't drink it anymore and the feeling have went away. Now I find I can't even stand the smell of coffee. Maybe we are crazy, but I think we may have a point

Anonymous

3/24/10 2:18pm

my wife loves super strong french roast - she seems to deal with it fine as it is part of her morning process (plus she drinks tons of water before hand). i have found it acidifies my stomach , makes me very jumpy and anxious - somewhat depressed unless i am doing something. i have switched to caffeinated green tea - but only one cup a day - seems much better now

Heather

8/ 1/10 4:13am

Is decaf coffee okay? I REALLY need too know, because I love the taste of coffee, and it helps me think straight when I need to write. But I'm afraid that if it isn't I'll have the feelings that others have also described. Like someone who's already posted, the anxiety even gets to my relationship with a very, very sweet guy. If you know the answer, it'd be great if you could post something. Thanks.

faith

10/26/10 8:51am

im a single mother of 5 kids and Im a caregiver for two others in my home 24 7 .I have alot of stree .I have this test i do ever year i started floppy out about it ..My twin called me to see how i was doing .he said he stopped coffee he was a big coffee drinker. So as hes older twin i had to stop it to .up this morning with a headack .yestday i looked like a bus ran me over .My other brother said to me.see how to day will go TEA is great.

Craig

11/28/11 9:07pm

This is some very helpful information, I have been dealing with anxiety and panic disorder for the last few years, I dread going to work and being in some social settings, I have only stopped drinking coffee now for 2 days and I feel much more at piece already, i know it's hard for people that don't have anxiety to understand the feelings of no hope and the fear of having a panic attack, I think this no caffeine could be a miracle for me and others, i am switching to herbal tea for my breakfast drink, I am very hopeful know to spend the next few weeks without caffeine to see what the effects will be !! THERE MAY BE HOPE :)

DeeGee

1/26/12 8:16am

I never respond to things online but I was compelled to contribute to this discussion because it could actually impact someone's life as it did mine. First year of college, I got my first and massive anxiety attack on the train. I had just finished a cup of coffee and suddenly my life changed forever. I was always an in control, calm person and I felt like I became crazy and disoriented in minutes. The lasting impact of that panic continued for years and impacted every little decision I made. I recovered and was back to functioning person but had dropped out from college and my world definitely narrowed. Went to therapists, never took any drugs (thought they would make me crazier!) and read every imaginable book on symptoms (there were not that many at the time). I gave up coffee and cigarettes and hoped for the best. They went away.

But a few years later, they were back. I had just completed a cup of coffee when an anxiety struck and the process of healing began all over again. When I mentioned to family members that I thought coffee was a big culprit, they didn't believe it. No one seemed to have the reaction that I had to coffee and nothing was really published on this except that coffee could make you jittery.

I am fine now but I still get freaked out at the idea of getting an attack. I have a great life now and have done more adventurous things than I could have imaged when I was 19 and suffering from panic attacks. I began drinking coffee again over a year ago. After reading these testimonials, I will never drink coffee again. I finally have the validation that I need. There are people like me out there who are so susceptible to coffee that it effects are akin to mind altering drugs.

I would highly recommend that if you suffer from panic attacks, stop drinking coffee immediately! It may not alleviate all the symptoms but it is worth a try. I do not have a similar effect from tea and have enjoyed drinking it my whole life.

God Bless.

Dullahan

9/17/12 2:11pm

**** READ THIS ****

If caffeine was introducted to society today instead of centuries ago, it would be illegal. Period. The FDA would never approve such a thing. The detrimental effects on the body from caffeine taxing the adrenal glands day after day can lead to everything from depression and anxiety to vasoconstriction (cold appendages, especially fingers & toes). I read a book called "Caffeine Blues" by Stephen Cherniske M.S. and it changed my life forever. Quitting caffeine completely - meaning no coffee, tea, pop, chocolate, energy drinks or medications - has cured me of a laundry list of symptoms. I have gone from an anxious depressed loser who could hardly focus on his work or keep friends, to a proud man who has great focus, sleeps well, maintains relationships and most of all, enjoys his life. I highly suggest reading the book. And if you decide to quit caffeine, make sure you quit it completely, allowing absolutely none in your body, and hold out for at least 2 months before judging how well it has helped you. And meanwhile, you can rest assured you will NOT be disappointed.

Riz

11/25/12 5:45am

I am gonna abandon coffee! I have discovered the cause of my generalized anxiety. It's taking its toll on me. I always feel paranoid, anxious and panicked. I have a history of panic attacks and anxiety and I have tried all kinds of anxiolytics available. I need an abrupt change in my life style.

Thanks for your advice and guidance,

Regards.

Msmom

12/17/12 6:56pm

I appreciate all the validation that I am hearing on this post re anxiety and coffee. I have a similar story, I never felt nervous or anxious until the first time I drank coffee in college. I was only using it as a stimulant to stay awake and study but I would always feel emotional, agitated and stressed out afterwards. I grew up as a tea drinker so I immediately noticed the different affect that coffee had on me. It was a catch 22 because I was drinking coffee because I was feeling stressed and under time contraints, it would help to get me motivated to work but it affected my nerves so badly that it made me feel more stressed. I was turning into a nervous wreck. I could not believe that other people could drink coffee without these same affects. I immediately quit after college but made the mistake of starting again after my kids were born. I would use coffee when the baby would wake up early in the morning and also use it to give me the extra push when I come home from work tired but have to keep going to prepare for the next day. It became a viscious cycle because it affect me sleep and the more sleep deprived a new mother the less patience you have. Coffee really wreaked havoc on my life and I am always make it my new years commitment to quit.

12/28/12 5:47am

Every time I drink coffee I become more detached from reality over the course of the next few hours. Intense paranoia comes in waves. I begin to feel like my mind is falling apart at the seams, I don't know what to believe or who I can trust, and I can very easily become suicidal. I've never understood why it has such an effect on my state of mind, which on a day to day basis is quite stable and reasonable.

No Coffee, No Anxiety

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