Panic attacks are sudden, intense feelings of fear accompanied by an accelerated heart rate, sweating and difficulty breathing. They may occur in response to a known phobia, such as fear of speaking in public or being in a crowded elevator. Panic attacks can also be triggered by physical changes. The ingestion of caffeine, for example, can lead to anxiety or a full blown panic attack.
Stimulant
Caffeine is a stimulant drug. Stimulant drugs trigger your nervous system. Specifically, they temporarily speed up your physical and mental functions. Stimulants cause many of the symptoms of panic, such as increases in breathing and heart rate. If you have experienced a panic attack, the fear of having another one may cause your brain to misinterpret these symptoms as the beginning of another panic attack. Caffeine may trigger or even worsen panic attacks.
Intoxication
Caffeine intoxication occurs when an excessive amount of caffeine is ingested, according to the revised version of the fourth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual, or DSM-IV-TR. More than 250 mg, or two to three cups, of brewed coffee, needs to be consumed for this to occur. Symptoms of caffeine intoxication may happen during or right after caffeine intake. They include nervousness, muscle twitching, restlessness and rambling speech. Caffeine intoxication can even cause panic attacks in individuals without anxiety disorders.
Hypersensitivity
Hypersensitivity refers to an increased vulnerability. One biological theory regarding the relationship between the consumption of caffeine and the resulting panic is based on a hypersensitive nervous system. The theory suggests that a hypersensitive nervous system would overact when aroused or as a result of a chemical imbalance, thereby triggering panic attacks, according to the National Alliance for Mental Illness.
Panic Disorder
The diagnostic criteria for panic disorder in the DSM-IV-TR, includes "recurrent, unexpected panic attacks" followed by fear of having another attack, worry about the consequences of the attack or change in behavior related to the attacks for at least one month. Patients with panic disorder and patients with major depression accompanied by panic attacks were found to be more sensitive to caffeine in a 2007 study published in "Comprehensive Psychiatry." Caffeine consumption resulted in significantly more panic attacks than in patients with depression alone or in healthy volunteers.
References
- Medline Plus: Panic Disorder
- National Alliance on Mental Illness: Panic Disorder
- Comprehensive Psychiatry; Caffeine challenge test in panic disorder and depression with panic attacks; A.E. Nardi, et al; May-June 2007
- "Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition, Text Revision"; American Psychiatric Association: 2000
- MentalHelp.net: Treatment of Generalized Anxiety Disorder and Trauma; Mark Dombeck; 2001
