[sunnydisposition]

I have developed this physical anxiety (tight chest, a reactive heart, knot in my chest) for one or two weeks now, and I dont know what is causing it. I've ruled out the most obvious and common stressors from my routine that could have been causing it, the only thing left to rule out is coffee. I drink 2 very strong cups of coffee, it helps me keep my appetite in check, thats the only reason i drink it at all. Tomorrow i stop drinking coffee altogether, and i'll know in a couple of days if its the culprit. until then i wanted to get your opinions on this subject.

[Keyplayer]

Hi Sunny ,

Do you drink enough water ?

Caffeine , dehydrates you , so if you enjoy coffee , have a glass of water with it.

I have anxiety issues and I understand tachycardia , not fun at all.

Here is the weird thing , if I can`t sleep at night , sometimes I will have a cup of coffee , and about a half hour later I am out like a light . really .

For some strange reason caffeine makes be sleepy, ok so who's crazy !!

Take care

Keyplayer 

[BreakForTheLight]

Yeah, coffee causes Me anxiety as well so I hardly ever drink it anymore. It's weird but sometimes it has zero effect, other times I get very very nervous. Never have any positive effect of being more awake though.

My doctor told me to give up coffee because I have bad anxiety. I will when I'm ready. Right now I want my coffee. Drinking my second cup as I type. Lol.

[Unrigged64072835]

I switched to decaf a few years ago. Had a migraine for a couple of days and I was fine. I still like the taste of coffee but I feel less anxious now. I used to drink a pot of coffee, so I wonder why.

[Minnow]

When anxious I have no desire to drink coffee. When things calm down I tend to go back for the wake up and also the appetite suppression. Max is one to two cups a day. Maybe I should remove it and see how I feel long term..

[sunnydisposition]

havent had any coffee today..so far so good..no physical anxiety, no chest anxiety, i feel just fine. maybe this was it. i'll know for sure in a few more days. thanks for your replies guys. appreciate it.

[Squaw]

Hi..! I found that having anxiety and/or panic attacks, that I had to completely give up all caffeinated drinks..I only drink decaf coffee, tea, etc..nothing that will amp me up, and I do much better. Good luck!

[wordshaker]

Hi, I love coffee but it does up my anxiety and insomnia (even an AM cup only)- more some times than others. When I gotta get off coffee, gunpowder green-tea is a good substitute. I'm not as mentally keen on it, but it does clear my head with more of a chill vibe. And it fends off headache.

And I think it curbs appetite more than coffee... though I drink more cups of it than I do coffee. I can drink gunpowder all morning to mid-day without stressing from it.

[IndigoChild]

I wish I could quit drinking coffee, no doubt about that coffeine is increasing my anxiety but ... I can't help it - I'm addicted and I like everything about coffee: energy boost, the smell, the warmth of the cup in my hands and sharing it with family and friends

[sunnydisposition]

I dont care what anyone says, ive come to the conclusion that no one is taking away my meager 1 cup of coffee a day. I'll use 1 tea spoon (from now on) of coffee to make that cup. which i believe is quite moderate. Thank you for sharing your experiences everyone, it helped me make my mind.

[rjdb]

I switched mine to decaf. Even decaf makes me jittery. Switched again to hot chocolate... of course even that has a tiny amount of caffeine that can trigger anxiety.

But usually I can tolerate decaf and hot chocolate. I will be traveling this week which kicks off my anxiety so I am trying to take it easy even with hot cocoa and decaf. Unreal huh?

[sunnydisposition]

Originally Posted by rjdb

I switched mine to decaf. Even decaf makes me jittery. Switched again to hot chocolate... of course even that has a tiny amount of caffeine that can trigger anxiety.

But usually I can tolerate decaf and hot chocolate. I will be traveling this week which kicks off my anxiety so I am trying to take it easy even with hot cocoa and decaf. Unreal huh?

Not unreal. I totally get it. We all have our triggers. After living with our anxiety for so long we can't help but become an amateur Master of workings of our anxiety. We see and recognize patterns that it follows over and over, triggers that sets it off. Anyways, I'm digressing. Hope you have a anxiety free trip dear friend.