Caffeine is a bitter, white crystalline xanthine alkaloid. It causes central nervous system stimulation and temporarily may ward of drowsiness and increase alertness. Hence, the reason the majority of us start off our day with a good old fashion “Cup of Joe”. It is the world’s most widely used psychoactive substance but unlike other psychoactive substances it is both legal and unregulated.
However, with a Starbuck’s on every corner researcher’s are becoming increasingly concerned with caffeine’s roll in increasing anxiety and panic in those who already suffer from anxiety disorders. Caffeine acts in the brain by interfering with the absorption of adenosine. Adenosine is a substance in the brain that attaches to adenosine receptors which then cause your nerve cells to slow down thereby, causing drowsiness. However, when you drink caffeine it attaches to all the adenosine receptors in your brain but it does not cause the same neural slow down, instead it causes those same nerve cells to speed up. This throws your body into “fight or flight” mode. When your pituitary gland sees all this neural activity occurring it releases hormones to stimulate your adrenal glands signaling them to produce epinephrine. This release of epinephrine then causes a sympathetic reaction to take place in your nervous system which is marked by dilated pupils and airways, increased heart beat, increased blood pressure, and an increased blood flow to your muscles. In people with panic disorder the physiological symptoms associated with caffeine consumption can start to feel like a panic attack. This can then cause them to have a full-blown panic attack just due to the anxiety created by the symptoms associated with consuming caffeine.
So, what does all this mean to anxiety sufferers? Even though caffeine is not regulated by the FDA and not considered a dangerous or illegal substance it should probably be avoided in ALL forms by people with anxiety or panic disorders due to its tendency to exacerbate the symptoms associated with such disorders.
Article by Dahlia T.
Sources:
http://health.howstuffworks.com/caffeine3.htm
http://www.anxietypanic.com/signs.html
Great article, Dahlia!
Thanks for reading it Paige!!!