Caffeine & anxiety, can it actually help?

[clyde22]

Hi. I'll start by saying that i have GAD plus a bit of OCD, both diagnosed. I've been dealing with my anxiety for the past 8 yrs. Today I was feeling pretty typical, although not too bad. I felt anxious, a bit restless, & couldn't quite focus.. Although the main problem, as is typical for me, was the anxiety.
Well, I took a PRN Xanax which will typically help me. And it did, but not very much. Later, about 3 hours, I was feeling just as anxious as before my Xanax, so I said " how about I try an experiment." I drank a 1/2 mug of FULLY caffeinated instant coffee. That was about 2 1/2 hours ago. And I still feel great. I know all about caffeine and that stuff.
My question is: does coffee, which I know should typically be avoided when you already have bad anxiety, do the opposite? That is, can't also producing a calming, relaxed state. Because that is what I experienced today. Has anyone else had similar results? Thanks!

[Renee87]

I try to avoid caffeine, but that is mainly out of my irrational fear that it will give me a heart episode or something because I am almost always anxious. But, I have heard that caffeine calms down children who suffer from ADHD, so that makes sense to me that it could have calmed you down.

[feelingalone]

I'm thinking Clyde the coffee maybe had a placebo effect on you I have gad and silly things I do make me feel better I say if. You feel it helps then continue to do it (in moderation)

[Buttercup]

I have one coffee in the morning before I start my day and if I don't have it I feel crap and can begin to feel anxious. If I am working i will also have one mid afternoon and it perks me up. Maybe placebo maybe not but for me it helps to have my caffeine fix and it has never induced a panic attack. Everyone is different and some anxious people can not handle coffee and some are totally fine. If you have no ill effects from it and think it helps then no need to worry.

[ivanas757]

I took adderall for my anxiety for 2 years before my pregnancy and I was rid of anxiety.. I'm back to having a hard time again an it doesnt seem to work at the moment but it will. I'll be fine again soon. Just keep the faith:)

[Yanni]

You were scripted an ADHD drug for anxiety?
Caffine makes me feel really anxious, so if I need a pick me up in the morning I will take a quick run.

[jon mike]

Coffee has been wiped out of my diet more or less completely. I love the stuff. Nothing like the first 10 minutes for me. But after a while it keeps me awake. Affects my ability to calm myself. I Sat and thought about it. The bad out ways the good for me

[ivanas757]

I was given adderall by my doctor for anxiety. And it worked. An a few people I know also had it work for their anxiety as well. When you think about it i feel as though it can make sense. My anxiety was many what if thoughts going through my head at all times. With the adderall I thought of only one of them at a time. Lol

[John Campbell]

Please get off the caffeine.

Check out the research findings referenced here. caffeineevaluation. blogspot. co.uk/

And these poor 170+ pages of people coming off caffeine. coffeefaq.com /site /node/11

I am now c.100 days clean (with one brief relapse). Going without caffeine has changed my life; my past anxiety is massively reduced. Indeed I haven't woken once with my old early-hours terrors for several months now. Suicidal thoughts very largely disappeared. I'm not saying life is a bed of roses, but massively, massively better.

[dazza]

Caffeine affects peeps in different ways.
Most say it gives energy while some say it has a calming effect.

However, medical authorities will ALWAYS tell you to cut out caffeine while suffering from anxiety as the chances are it will give energy, and, while anxious folk are already suffering from excess adrenalin (causing all kinds of nastiness), it makes sense not to add to that energy by consuming caffeine.

It's down to you really. Give it a go and see how things pan out?

[sharjen]

I gave up caffeine last weekend and the shakes and palpitations that I've had perminantly for 3 mths stopped in 24 hrs- so it's worked for me

[EMZ]

I used to have horlicks at night instead of a cup of tea.

[clyde22]

Well, it's been a couple weeks since my last post on this thread. I've still been drinking my daily caffeine. Here's just a slightly different question about caffeine, anxiety, and tension headaches.
Today, actually just now, I was having my usual afternoon tension headache, I believe it's anxiety related. My overall anxiety was actually pretty mild, considering how bad it's been the last month. Anyways, I had taken an ibuprofen an hour earlier to get rid of it and that did absolutely nothing. I just drank my fully caffeinated (instant) coffee and I'm alert and the headache is now gone. I know coffee and caffeine does that, but my anxiousness has also subsided. Hmmm....
A side note: I'm not sure I 100% knew Xanax was an ADHD med. I've been on stimulates at different times in the past 8 yrs also. Way too many meds in my opinion. Thanks for any insights!

I'm a tough nut to crack :)

[AceParadox]

I tried staying off of caffeine because I heard it wasn't good for anxiety, but I'm a hardcore Gamer, and caffeine fuels me through whatever it is I'm doing, whether it's fast paced FPS or drawn-out Strategy, or a mix of both. Gaming is what takes my mind of anxiety and helps me cope, because I'm super competitive and planning strategies in my head, making calculations, and winning is far more important than being worried about stuff I shouldn't even worry about.

However, yesterday, I had 3 cans of mountain dew (spread out over a few hours) and suddenly I started feeling really anxious, and my heart was thumping hard, and I started to feel loopy. But, I was also awake for 22 hours straight at that point - I'm trying to get back on a normal sleep schedule. Anxiety had me going to bed at 6 AM and waking up at 4-5 in the afternoon because sleeping during the day was the only way I wouldn't have nightmares.

I've been drinking caffeine products for years, and it's never really had a bad effect on me. I agree with the other person who posted saying it affects people differently. I'd experiment with care.