Everyone experiences anxiety from time to time. Many individuals may even experience an anxiety disorder. These disorders may range from social anxiety to general anxiety, but the biological reactions among them generally remain consistent.
For many like me who have generalized anxiety disorder, our anxiety can be triggered by nearly anything despite its relevance to the actual feelings of anxiety.
These triggers can ultimately cause a chain reaction in our bodies, typically as a biological overkill that only puts us in more distress. This response is called the stress response, and it can be broken down into different reactions throughout the body.
In general, the sympathetic nervous system triggers a response in our bodies, causing cortisol levels to increase, pupils to dilate, digestion to cease, the bronchi to relax, and our heart rate to quicken. All of these responses are triggered by neurotransmitters such as epinephrine (adrenaline), cortisol, and norepinephrine released from the synaptic firing in the neurons of our brain.
While these responses are typically formed as a reaction to an external stimulus, the substances in our body can increase the chances of these reactions occurring. Stimulants are substances that increase the release of certain neurotransmitters. This can therefore lead to an increase in more dramatic reactions which is why stimulants are commonly used to get high.
In general, stimulants cause more cell signaling which therefore increases the physiological reactions from that particular signaling.
Caffeine, the ‘drug’ in the coffee that allows us college students to stay awake and alert during our 8 am’s, is a stimulant. It specifically affects the activity of norepinephrine neurons and the release of dopamine. However, caffeine doesn't just affect the release of these neurotransmitters, it increases them. With this increase, the stress reaction is more readily available to occur.
In other words, drinking coffee every morning may increase the severity of my anxiety.
The impact of caffeine on anxiety as a whole can differ from individual to individual. Each person has their own sensitivities and brain functioning, so it’s important to note that this is a generalization. There are also much more biological components at work in the effects of caffeine on the brain.
As I’m sure we’ve all experienced, the caffeine in coffee increases heart rate and blood pressure which only circulates the increased amounts of stress hormones around our body faster. Caffeine is also know to block the neurotransmitter adenosine which influences our body to sleep.
The neurotransmitter called "GABA" is also blocked. GABA is essential in keeping our body at an equilibrium, and is already disrupted in those with anxiety. It works to inhibit the exiditory responses seen in the stress response, so when caffeine inhibits it from binding to our neurons, no signal is sent to our body to slow it down. This can be detrimental for those with anxiety.
Out of all of this, what I find astounding is how little I had been warned about drinking caffeinated coffee on a daily basis as someone with severe anxiety and panic disorder. Coffee is the magical liquid that millions of people around the world enjoy. Many of these people start their days off with a few cups of coffee, like I do.
How many of them are unknowingly increasing the severity of their anxiety in doing so?
Depending on my own sensitivity, this could mean that I have been starting my day off with an anxiety-booster for the past five years of my life.
For me, my next steps include learning more about the effects of caffeine on my brain and how that relates to my own experiences with anxiety. Perhaps there’s nothing for me to really be worried about, but this could also be a major oversight me and thousands of others may be missing.
Maybe it’s actually an oversight that makes the difference between living a life in constant anxiety or living a life of less distress and more focus (the irony).
My only hope now is that more people become aware of the possibility that their distress could come from their cup of joe in the morning.
*Disclaimer: note that this was not meant to be an in depth look at the impact of stimulants on the brain. This was meant to be a general introduction to the relationship between caffeine intake and anxiety.
