- Date posted
- 3y
- Date posted
- 3y
This depends. Caffeine is a stimulant, so for most people, it can make anxiety a lot worse. However, there is ample research that people with ADHD and sometimes other neurodivergencies have the opposite reaction to stimulants (caffeine included). This is why Adderall and Ritalin (for example) are prescribed for ADHD. A lot of people with ADHD will also self-medicate with caffeine. This does not mean using caffeine is good, and it does not mean it is bad, either. Like all drugs, it in itself is neutral, and depending on the specific chemistry of your brain and body, it can either help or hurt you to take it (up to a certain dose, at which point it would hurt anyone—the dose makes the poison, as they say). You’ve been off caffeine long enough that feeling a benefit from a single cup of coffee would very likely not be due to withdrawal (which tends to last between 2-9 days, according to Cleveland Clinic), so it is unlikely that your body itself is dependent on it at this point. That does not rule out a psychological dependency, nor am I saying I know 100% that you don’t still have a physical dependency on caffeine, because I am not your doctor. What I am saying is that there is a possibility (not a certainty, because again, I am not your doctor, but a possibility) that you are one of the people for whom caffeine is a legitimately helpful drug, and I would talk to a doctor you trust about whether or not they recommend cutting out or using caffeine (in safe doses, like a cup of coffee or tea or something like that) in your specific situation. A psychiatrist would be best for that, but a PCP who is knowledgeable about psychotropic medications would also be a good resource.
- Date posted
- 3y
wow!!! thank you so much for all of that information. i will definitely talk to my psychiatrist about all of that. Coffee is just a hit or miss for me
- Date posted
- 3y
It's Because Your Body Is Now Dependant On Caffeine, It's A Psychoactive Drug, You Should Be Leaving It... But, Just Like Anyother Drug, You Must Ween Off, By Small Amounts
- Date posted
- 3y
that’s what i figured. thank you!
Related posts
- Date posted
- 23w
These past few days I was fine. Minimal intrusive thoughts ,no anxiety etc(to add I'm on medication so maybe it's starting to work although it barely is 2 weeks) and today I got a sudden wave of anxiety and it started latching on some thoughts like" what if I'm in denial and I wanna break up with my bf? And what if erp doesn't work for me because I actually wanna break up with my bf?" But they didn't really stay long usually those thoughts would make me spiral for days or so, now they lasted for some hours. And now I'm trying to trigger myself into being anxious again because if I don't it means I don't have ocd and if I don't have ocd it means I don't love my bf and if I don't love my bf it means I have to break up. Idk if it makes sense but the lack of anxiety makes me wonder if I actually have ocd or not.
- Date posted
- 9w
Hello does anyone get such severe panic and anxiety that comes along with bad intrusive thoughts. Then the thoughts give you more panic because you feel you may act on them? Then I worry I’m going crazy, can anyone relate? Thank for reading
- Date posted
- 8w
I am trying to see if there are others like me. For the past 12 years, I’ve had crippling Anxiety that leads to intense panic attacks. I’ve been in and out of Ambulances and ER rooms and have called 911 several times. The panic is that intense. I can be just driving down the road and out of no where, BOOM! Hit by the anxiety bus. Most of the time it leads to me panicking, thinking I’m going to die or something is fatally wrong with me. The fear is so intense that I can only find a fraction of calmness by consistently checking my blood pressure, putting on a pulsometer and even checking my blood sugar until it passes. I’m not even a diabetic. I’m always having intrusive thoughts that doctors can’t even fix me. I’ve never met anyone else like me. I feel so scared sometimes that I’m going to loose my mind and that I’m going crazy and will end up in a straight jacket. Then I get another attack just thinking about that as well. Starting new medications freak me out too. If I experience ANY minor side effect, I immediately panic and freak out. I’m being so held back by this . This is a constant obsession that I can’t shake. It’s like I walk hand in hand with Anxiety and panic. Anyone else ever had these issues?
Be a part of the largest OCD Community
Share your thoughts so the Community can respond