I usually drink coffee every day, but always a cappuccino. Today I had straight granulated coffee, and I was shaking so bad and felt EXTREMELY anxious. I told my mum, and she looked at me like, ‘c’mon’ and I felt so embarrassed because I could feel my heart beating through my chest and I felt like I was going to die. On top of this, I was going with my friend to a job interview, and I had to pick up some contact lenses before. I had my glasses on, and they were crooked so I sat on a bench with my friend to put my contact lenses in, and I couldn’t get them in because my hand was shaking so violently! Eventually I did, but it was so annoying. Like I had no emotional anxiety, but I was shaking like a leaf. And then we got into the place, and it was a room full of people. I wasn’t emotionally nervous but I was so self-conscious of how physically anxious my body was, and how shaky I was that I started to panic. For some reason, my vision went SO weird, like I can’t describe it. It just felt like something shifted and, as someone with intense health anxiety, this really freaked me out and I was struggling to concentrate. It eventually died down, but it was so stressful and embarrassing like my actual face was shaking!! Like my cheek!! Like WHAT! Just thought I’d write it here to see if anyone’s had a similar experience!

EAT with your caffeine if you’re going to drink it!!! especially if it’s straight coffee or espresso.

honestly, i had a panic-indused anxiety attack about 7 weeks ago that spiraled my OCD out of control. just like cocaine, caffeine is a drug and has physiological effects. ever since that day, i haven’t drank caffeine or consumed any drugs in order to cleanse my nervous system. im going to return to drug use in the future. i love caffeine, marijuana, and even psychedelics, but i realized my relationship with the drugs worsened my OCD and anxiety. im just giving my personal experience and beliefs to potentially provide some insight. when i return, i want to use these substances as a treat rather than a crutch. caffeine everyday can build up in your nervous system and lead to underlying anxiety and the perpetuation of OCD symptoms. i would advice to perhaps cut out caffeine for a while, or perhaps cut down and replace coffee with green tea. a small cup of coffee can have anywhere from 110-150mg of caffeine in it. for reference, an espresso has around 70-80mg, green tea has 40-60mg, and pre-workout can have anywhere from 200-350mg of caffeine. so yes, i’ve had a similar experience to yours, albeit i’m willing to bet that my experience was a bit more severe, considering that i had a full blown panic attack which produced about 2 new terrifying themes of OCD, as well as brining up old ones. drugs are a wonderful thing; they save lives, provide relief to those and pain, and allow us to have a new perspective on things. but they also deserve reverence, and should be used sparingly as a tool.

I get so many serious spasms and tremors even without caffeine, and I know how scary they can be at first and then how seriously inconvenient they become. I don’t want you to think I’m saying, “It’s all in your head,” because I abhor when people, even nurses tell me that. However, your brain and body are connected, so that even if the caffeine started the shakiness, the best thing you can do (aside from the advice above to eat something) is to practice some calming exercises. Even when I have allergic reactions that make my throat swell—can’t call that “just in my head”—staying calm and not panicking has meant almost every time that I didn’t need more medical help than just to take an antihistamine on my own. I know not panicking, especially when it’s a new and scary experience, is easier said than done. This is why it can be helpful to practice calming exercises before an anxiety-inducing event occurs. Sending you calming energy. 💜