Caffeine, the stuff found in your coffee, tea, and cola, is
one of the most popular mood-enhancing drugs on the planet.
That's right, caffeine is technically classified as a drug,
and rightly so... it can cause havoc with your anxiety and
worry levels.
Caffeine makes you feel energetic and alert by increasing
levels of brain chemical called norepinephrine. But as with
most things in life, you don't get something for nothing.
Caffeine has a dark side...
"Caffeine is an energy loan shark. What it lends you in the
morning it takes back with heavy interest in the afternoon."
~ Jacob Teitelbaum, M.D.
And every time you drink caffeine your own natural abilities
to produce those feel-good chemicals are reduced, so
eventually you need even more coffee to get the same
alert/energetic feelings. Before long you become dependent
on coffee just to "feel OK." But that's not all...
1. Caffeine increases the levels of your stress hormone
adrenaline. This can trigger feelings of anxiety and cause
sensations of tension and stress. It's not uncommon for such
people to be prescribed anti-anxiety medication, when all
along the symptoms were triggered by caffeine intake. And
every time your body releases more adrenaline unnecessarily,
you are putting more stress and strain on your nervous system,
which ultimately makes you more prone to anxiety.
2. Caffeine blocks the effects of hormones serotonin and
melatonin. When this happens sleep becomes more difficult,
which also makes you more prone to anxiety.
3. Caffeine leeches vital vitamins and minerals out of your
body. Which (guess what?!) makes you more prone to anxiety.
I think you get the message by now. The good news is when you
reduce your caffeine levels you'll find yourself with higher
levels of calmness, more energy, and better sleep. And best
of all, less anxiety and worry. But coming off caffeine can
be tricky, there are some initial downsides...
You'll lose that almost instant energetic caffeine buzz. You
may find, only initially, you get more headaches. And whilst
you're on a caffeine comedown, you'll probably feel cranky
and irritable. Thankfully, all of these downsides are
short-lived.
The best way to become caffeine-free without harsh withdrawal
symptoms is by gradually reducing your intake week-by-week.
Your first job is to get down to just one cup of coffee a
day. So if you drink four cups a day, for the first week
drink three a day, for the second week drink two cups, and
for the third week drink just one cup.
If you are committed to eliminating caffeine from your life
and minimizing anxiety, once you are down to one cup, begin
the week by drinking just half a cup of coffee (that means
putting in half the measure of coffee you usually use, not
just half the amount of water!) For the next week you should
be able to go coffee-free without harsh withdrawal symptoms.
Ideally if anxiety and worry are dominating your life it would
be best to totally eliminate caffeine from your diet
altogether -- you will feel the most benefits that way. But
if you are a coffee/caffeine lover then at LEAST cut back to
100 mg maximum a day. Here are typical caffeine content
levels per drink:
Coffee 90-150 mg
Tea 30-70 mg
Red Bull 80 mg
Dr. Pepper 61 mg
Mountain Dew 55 mg
Surge 51 mg
Tab 47 mg
Coca-Cola 45 mg
Diet Coca-Cola 45 mg
Pepsi Cola 43 mg
It's crazy, just the simple act of having these seemingly
innocent drinks can cause very real anxiety problems. For
some people one cup of coffee is enough to set them up
for a day of worry and anxiety, without them even realizing.