How To Stop Anxiety From Coffee

How To Keep Your Coffee Fix And Avoid Caffeine

If you have anxiety, you can still enjoy coffee by keeping your intake low. Sticking to 400 mg or less per day, the amount deemed safe for adults without underlying conditions by the Food and Drug Administration , will prevent symptoms in most people. This is the equivalent of about two 8-ounce ups. Some people, however, will need to reduce even further.

If you want to keep your coffee, begin by tracking how much caffeine you usually consume daily. Include all potential sources, including coffee, tea, energy drinks, soda, certain medications, and anywhere else you may be getting additional caffeine.

Then, track any time when you feel anxious. This way, you can try to determine if your caffeine use is excessive or may be aggravating your symptoms. Once you understand how various caffeine levels affect you, you can work to find a consumption amount that works well for you.

Watch your intake of other foods and drinks as well. Limit your alcohol consumption, and make sure you are drinking enough water. If all caffeine boosts your anxiety, you can also consider switching to decaf. That way, you can enjoy the flavor and morning ritual of coffee without the side effects.

How To Drink Coffee To Increase Focus Without Anxiety

The worlds most popular psychoactive substance is caffeine, and it is popular with good reason: it helps with concentration, elevates your mood and gets your body going. Yet, caffeine consumption can also lead to anxiety and sleep deprivation.

So how can you reap the benefits of caffeine consumption without being a jittery mess?

To approach this question it is best to turn to our preferred source of caffeine, which is coffee. Recent statistics have shown that Europe has the highest coffee consumption per capita in the world amounting to an estimate of 5 kg of coffee per inhabitant yearly . Countries such as Norway and Luxembourg are one of the worlds top 10 coffee consumers and also have the highest productivity per capita levels .

Could coffee consumption be the driving force behind productivity?

We can’t say for certain. However, we can turn to science, to gain some insights about the observed effects that caffeine has on humans.

How Does Caffeine Work In Your Brain?

Yet, what goes up must come down.

After you have drunk a cup of coffee your body’s excretion mechanism slowly starts to flush out the caffeine . In regular coffee drinkers, this excretion mechanism leads to feelings of lethargy and concentration loss which can be felt after a couple of hours or a day after your last intake of caffeine. Luckily, there is a way to stop these dreaded withdrawal symptoms in their tracks.

The Coffee Drinking Hack

Easy, right?

Well, not quiet.

On a final note

Find Out What Could Be Making Your Anxiety Worse

Everyone gets anxious, restless, and frazzled but if you constantly feel worried, tense, or on edge, you may have an anxiety disorder. Anxiety disorders involve more than temporary worry or fear. For a person with an anxiety disorder, the anxiety does not go away and can get worse over time.

Doctors make a diagnosis of generalized anxiety disorder when patients have anxiety symptoms for more than six months.

Examples of other anxiety disorders include:

• Specific phobias

According to the Mayo Clinic, you can have more than one anxiety disorder.

Research shows that a combination of environmental and genetic factors likely increase a persons risk for developing an anxiety disorder, notes the National Institute of Mental Health. Like so many health conditions, anxiety appears to run in families.

In addition to underlying disorders, anxiety may be caused by stress, whether from a major life event or the accumulated effect of small everyday stressors. Anxiety can also come with a medical condition such as heart disease, diabetes, asthma, or thyroid disorders that need treatment. Theres a clear link between caffeine and anxiety and alcohol and anxiety. And certain medications may cause anxiety. In this case, avoiding caffeine and alcohol or changing medications may reduce the anxiety. Its important to note that while all these things can cause anxious feelings, this type of anxiety is distinct from a psychiatric diagnosis of an anxiety disorder.

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Ways To Reduce Anxiety On Your Coffee Break

4 Ways To Change Your Thoughts & Relieve Anxiety

According to the Anxiety and Depression Association of America, anxiety disorders affect roughly 40 million people over the age of 18 in the United States. While anxiety disorders are highly treatable, sadly only 36.9% of those with anxiety seek therapy to reduce anxiety. Perhaps this is because of busy schedules or people struggling to find a therapist that causes so many people with anxiety to suffer in silence

But there are proven strategies to reduce anxiety that dont cost a penny and take little time. In fact, you could do any of the following strategies on your lunch or coffee break.

Weight Loss Supplements Can Have Anxiety

Many over-the-counter weight loss supplements come with anxiety-producing side effects. Use of St. John’s wort may lead to insomnia, and green tea extracts contain plenty of caffeine. Guarana, an ingredient in some OTC diet products, can contain up to four times as much caffeine as coffee beans. And beware of any product containing ephedra it can cause increased heart rate and anxiety. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration banned the sale of dietary supplements containing ephedra in 2004.

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What About Sugar In Coffee

So you dont take your coffee black and need a little sweetness in your life? Sugar and other artificial sweeteners are similar to caffeine in that it cant cause anxiety, but can worsen anxiety symptoms. It is best to stay away since they can cause effects such as fatigue , blurry vision, and upset stomach. These side effects can lower your mood which just contributes to anxiety.

Keep The Milk Drop The Sugar

If you arent going to eat with your coffee, milk can add enough calories to help slow or prevent the jitters. That little bit of fat has a similar impact to a small snack, even though you are drinking it instead of eating it.

Sugar also adds calories, so it should also help, right? It would if sugar wasnt also a source of jittery feelings. These can make your caffeine jitters even worse, so its best to just avoid the sweeteners or find a sugar-free sweetener option.

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What Did The Data Say

My average Mood score improved by 20% and I was more likely to report feeling good or relaxed. Although I was also more likely to report being grumpy.

My average Symptom score this is the score from across all the symptoms I track, not just anxiety dropped by 55%.

My Sleep Quality remained the same as before the experiment which was a surprise to me but my Sleep Quantity improved by more than 10%.

How To Get Rid Of Your Coffee Jitters

Discover what causes coffee jitters, how to get rid of caffeine anxiety and how to stop caffeine jitters.

Many coffee drinkers are aware of the jitters. You might be experiencing a racing heart, sweaty palms, and are struggling to focus. These are common side effects of drinking too much coffee, and the good news is that they can be prevented. You dont even have to give up your daily habit of drinking coffee to prevent or get rid of coffee jitters. Understanding what causes coffee jitters is important to understand how to get rid of caffeine anxiety and how to stop caffeine jitters or even better, prevent them from happening in the first place.

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Other Issues That Could Link Caffeine And Anxiety

It is possible that one of the reasons that a link is considered present is because anxiety is a subjective experience. Most people can feel caffeine when it gets into their system. Those that feel it and are asked about their anxiety levels may simply be attributing their extra energy to anxiety retroactively. Anxiety is a subjective experience, and generally subjective experiences make for inconsistent anecdotal evidence.

Furthermore, it’s possible that studies about the effects of caffeine do not take into account tolerance. It’s possible that those that have not had caffeine in the past react strongly to the drug moreso than those that are tolerant. This could also create a feeling of energy that is attributed to anxiety, but is generally nothing more than caffeine related energy.

Finally, we mentioned earlier that what you add to your caffeinated beverages could affect anxiety as well. Refined sugars can be harmful to the body, so sodas and heavily sugared caffeinated drinks may not be ideal.

All of these could potentially link caffeine and anxiety, as well as coffee and anxiety, but none of them are evidence that coffee causes generalized anxiety only that there are reasons that others may subjectively report anxiety while on caffeine.

What Are Some Tips For Quitting Caffeine

Cut down slowly on the amount of caffeine in your diet. Dont make the mistake of stopping totally. Youll likely experience withdrawal symptoms and go back to drinking coffee or soda or taking a headache medication with caffeine in it to make the symptoms disappear. This starts the dependency cycle all over again. Avoiding the withdrawal symptoms is one of the most common reasons why people continue their caffeine habit.

To successfully reduce your caffeine intake, gradually reduce the amount of coffee, tea, soda and energy drinks you have each day. Begin to substitute cold caffeinated beverages with water. Water is a healthy choice and satisfies the need for drinking a liquid. Water also naturally flushes caffeine from your body and keeps you hydrated.

If you are a coffee drinker, gradually switch from regular coffee to decaf. First alternate between decaf and regular, then slowly change to more decaf and taper off regular coffee. Gradually reducing your caffeine consumption over a period of two to three weeks will help you successfully change your habit without causing withdrawal symptoms.

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What Are The Symptoms Of Caffeine Withdrawal

If you have developed a dependence on caffeine, an abrupt cutback can cause withdrawal symptoms that may include:

• Headaches.
• Muscle pain.
• Irritability.

In general, the more caffeine you are used to consuming, the more severe the withdrawal symptoms are likely to be. Symptoms of withdrawal begin 12 to 24 hours after the last caffeine intake and can last two to nine days.

Caffeine can be a useful tool for an adult who needs help waking up and concentrating. But, it can also cause problems if youre not careful with it. Dont use caffeine too much or you could become dependent or have insomnia or headaches. Otherwise, enjoy that coffee or chocolate!

Last reviewed by a Cleveland Clinic medical professional on 12/23/2020.

References

Dont Consume Coffee On An Empty Stomach

Weve all done it. Just this morning, I started making my morning coffee before I had given any thought to breakfast. Caffeine is absorbed faster on an empty stomach, which is the reason that a liquid breakfast often leaves you with a stronger case of the jitters. It doesnt take much even a snack is better than just letting the coffee run free in your body.

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How To Get Rid Of Jitters

Caffeine jitters anxiety is never a nice experience, but the good news is that if you want to know how to get rid of jitters, there are several simple things that you can try to get you feeling back to normal again if youve had too much coffee or are experiencing coffee jitters from drinking a strong coffee on an empty stomach.

Why Wont My Fear Go Away And Leave Me Feeling Normal Again

Fear may be a one-off feeling when you are faced with something unfamiliar.

But it can also be an everyday, long-lasting problem even if you cant put your finger on why. Some people feel a constant sense of anxiety all the time, without any particular trigger.

There are plenty of triggers for fear in everyday life, and you cant always work out exactly why you are frightened or how likely you are to be harmed. Even if you can see how out of proportion a fear is, the emotional part of your brain keeps sending danger signals to your body.

Sometimes you need mental and physical ways of tackling fear.

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Ii Top 38 Ways On How To Stop Feeling Anxious Naturally

There are a few awesome tips & tricks on how to stop feeling anxious that you should consider applying, especially when you are during an anxiety attack. They include:

1. Accept That You Are Anxious

This is the first one of the best ways on how to stop feeling anxious naturally that we want to reveal in this article and want all of our readers who have an anxiety disorder to accept that they are anxious. Keep in mind that anxiety is just an emotional reaction and then start to accept it. This is very important because trying to eliminate anxiety can worsen your condition. However, accepting your anxiety does not mean that you like it. It just means that you accept reality as it is.

Read 23 Natural Home Remedies for Anxiety Attacks to discover all of the amazing facts and remedies for anxiety and stress that you should know.

Fewer Trips To The Bathroom

Caffeinated beverages cause us to urinate more often and in some people can even cause incontinence.

Caffeine also stimulates the smooth muscle tissue of the colon, which causes it to contract.

This can be challenging during meetings, road trips, or when bathrooms arent convenient.

Quitting can reduce the need to use the bathroom as often, especially in the mornings.

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What Is A Panic Attack

A panic attack is when you feel overwhelmed by the physical and mental feelings of fear the signs listed under What do fear and anxiety feel like? People who have panic attacks say that they find it hard to breathe, and they may worry that theyre having a heart attack or are going to lose control of their body. See the Support and information section at the end of this booklet if you want help with panic attacks.

How To Manage The Most Common Caffeine Withdrawal Symptoms

There are some instances when reducing or eliminating the consumption of caffeine can trigger symptoms of caffeine withdrawal. Even consuming caffeine for three consecutive days can result in caffeine withdrawal symptoms when you stop using caffeine.

Studies show that approximately 50 percent of individuals experience caffeine withdrawal symptoms when they eliminate or cut back on caffeine consumption, while around 13 percent experience withdrawal symptoms so severe that they cannot go to work.

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Does Coffee Cause Anxiety

Caffeine is a psychoactive drug that, according to research, can cause or enhance anxiety and other stress-related signs and symptoms in several ways. While the aroma, the taste, the routine, the warmth of the mug in your hands and the feeling you get when you take your first sip in the morning may be cause for celebrationsometimes too much of a good thing can cause problems.

Even those with a high tolerance for caffeine can experience these things if they’re not careful about their consumption. We all know how tempting reaching for another mug isbut remember moderation is key.

According to Harvard Medical School, excessive caffeine consumption can mimic symptoms of anxiety. The caffeine-induced symptoms that can mirror anxiety include:

• Nervousness
• Fast heart rate
• Gastrointestinal problems

So is the caffeine to blame for the anxiety? The overuse of caffeine can cause anxiousness, and on the flip side, caffeine may worsen symptoms of anxiety. The bottom line: Caffeine is not the enemy. Just like anything in lifeyouve got to know your limits.

How To Get Rid Of Coffee Jitters And Anxiety

Do you find that you get a little irritable, with your morning coffee lately? Have you enjoyed it for a while but now find that it sets you off? Are you having trouble sleeping lately? If this sounds like you, this article may help.

Its no news that coffee has caffeine. This is what gives us that jolt we seek each morning. But theres more to coffee than just caffeine.

Try taking a caffeine pill and you will be able to tell the difference.

Coffee is a stimulant but it is also acidic and a diuretic.

This means that while coffee gives you energy, it will also deplete some of your bodys essential resources.

The nervousness you might be feeling with your coffee will probably have more to do with the deficiencies caused by prolonged coffee intake than the coffee itself.

Heres a way to combat the deficiencies so that you can enjoy your coffee stress-free.

The first and obvious choice, drink less coffee! In fact, if you eat well and get great sleep, you wont need coffee for energy. However, if you enjoy the drink, there are some great ways to help reduce the downsides of drinking regularly.

Coffee Quality

To ensure a good cup of coffee thats fresh, buy it from a shop that roasts its own coffee or begin buying fresh coffee beans and roasting them yourself. Its surprisingly easy, and if you love your coffee, totally worth it.

Mineral Deficiencies

Sleep

Stress Management

This ties right in with sleep. Physical and psychological stress also tax your adrenals.

Hydrate

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