Severe Anxiety and Caffeine..

[cc199918]

lately i have been having pretty bad anxiety, i haven’t been able to leave the house and see people or go places, i have anxiety all the time but lately it’s just been worse.

i have also noticed when consuming caffeine, my anxiety symptoms worsen a lot! i feel very shaky and jittery throughout my whole body, i get random pains throughout my body also..

i had a V Energy Drink which is what led me to feel this way.. i usually drink coffee once a day but it doesn’t usually give me any symptoms like the energy drink did?

anyone know why this might be or what i should do..?

thanks.

[blondguy]

Hi cc199918

Good on you for posting especially about Caffeine

I used to have bad anxiety attacks on and off for 30 years....My first huge panic attack was awful.....I had 4 cups of coffee on that day prior to the mega anxiety attack

Caffeine is a stimulant and when we are already anxious it can bad news...The energy drinks...as you know are full of Caffeine and only make our existing anxiety symptoms worse....unfortunately

Can I ask how long you have been unable to leave the house? I used to have the same problem too

The good news!....These horrible anxiety attacks do decrease in severity once we start seeing our doc (GP)

my kind thoughts

Paul

[cc199918]

i only haven’t been able to leave the house in the last week or so, and if i do it’s at night, but still i don’t really leave at all.

i used to be really bad like this time last year, i didn’t leave the house for a whole 6 months, barely seen the sun and my sleeping schedule was so out of it that i only seen 3hrs of daylight. i started looking pale and my parents always said i looked sick and would make me take vitamin d supplements..

i eventually progressed and started getting up early and eating mead normally and felt good for awhile but now i seem to be spiraling down again 😕

[blondguy]

Thats not good to go through CC

just asking if your parents have helped you see a GP to you can get better?

[cc199918]

yeah i seen a gp a few months ago now, he took a blood and urine test which all came back fine and i go back to my local gp every month for a skype call where i talk to a psychologist about how i’m feeling and stuff like that. that did help for awhile and did lift some sort of weight off my shoulders for awhile, but i feel like i’m starting to feel my physical symptoms again slowly 😕

[blondguy]

Hi CC

you are proactive with your health and good on you 🙂 The anxiety symptoms at the end of the day are only feelings (as awful as they are of course!) which can be treated....with frequent ongoing visits to our GP/counsellor

I know that the earlier these awful feelings are treated the better our recovery will be

Can I ask if you have one or two friends that you can talk to about what you are going through? (a support network)

you are amazing for being so self aware CC! I also see my GP every few weeks for a 'tune up' when I start to feel my physical symptoms start to re surface

There are many super gentle people on the forums that can be here for you too 🙂

my kind thoughts

Paul

[cc199918]

yeah i have a girlfriend that a talk to now and then about how i feel and she helps me calm down and feel better again. i don’t really talk to my friends about it much, i have another family member that i’m close with and me and him kinda share the same experiences which is good, we kinda help eachother.

[blondguy]

You are doing really well CC by having a support person(s)

Its only my humble opinion if thats okay CC...I do hope you can dump the coffee and energy drinks as they can really make our life a pain when we have any type of stress or anxiety

I used to have a lot of coffee ....approx 4-6 cups a day.......not anymore as it only made my anxiety worse...a lot worse.. as we are over stimulated in the first place with anxiety feelings..I am on about 4 cups of coffee a week nowadays...:-)

Paul

[Zorn]

I have for many years been the same as Paul (at leas 4-6 cups per day). I have my first major attack this week (docs were worried it was a heart attack). This really shook me up and has made me hyperaware now, which in turns increases my anxiety which at the moment is 24/7. I have reduced to 1 cup per day (so far) and also reduced to eventually quit smoking. These as Paul mentioned are stimulants which for me anyway, is a major Trigger.

On the energy drink side, these have HUGE amounts of caffeine, if possible, can you reduce your intake or cut out completely? I know the caffeine hunt is a hard one to tame.

[Pablo61]

I'm in the same boat.
Caffeine and nicotine have to go.