When I was younger I found out that coffee was not for me. Despite the bitter taste, it had a side effect that not many people would expect. I’ve dealt with anxiety all of my life, not only does coffee make the anxiety worse, but caffeine in general can spark it. I never understood this but I always just tried to stay away from anything that had caffeine because I knew that it just did not do anything good for me. A majority of people do not realize that caffeine is actually a drug and for people with anxiety, it really takes a toll.

According to the American Psychological Association, anxiety is defined as an emotion characterized by feeling of tension, worried thoughts and physical changes like increased blood pressure. “People with anxiety disorders usually have recurring intrusive thoughts or concerns. They may avoid certain situations out of worry. They may also have physical symptoms such as sweating, trembling, dizziness, or rapid heartbeat.” So what causes an anxiety disorder? That answer is unknown. There are many things that can contribute to making an anxiety disorder worse. Caffeine, for example, can trigger the panic attacks. When someone with an anxiety disorder consumes caffeine, common side effects are sweaty palms, a pounding heart, ringing in the ears, or can lead to a full-out panic attack.

So can we blame anxiety disorders on caffeine consumptions? No we cannot. There is a positive correlation between the two variables but correlation is not causation. Caffeine can even be seen as a soft end point in some instances. People may blame caffeine for the cause of a panic attack but it could be from many other things as well. Confounding variable play a huge role in this study. When I was first learning about my anxiety disorder, the doctors gave me a list of foods, what I should try to eat more of and what I should avoid. Caffeine was on this list but there were many other food items as well. Diet and exercise are supposed to help reduce anxiety, but from a scientific stand point these would be examples of confounding variables. We cannot necessarily control these variables in a study.

Correlation does not mean causation. That is the most important thing in this study. Caffeine may trigger anxiety attacks but caffeine is not the cause of an anxiety disorder. Many experiments have been conducted to show this positive correlation. Experiments such as giving a person with an anxiety disorder a cup of coffee and monitoring what happens to the person.

Some people claim that they need their coffee every morning. But coffee really just isn’t for everyone, especially people that suffer from anxiety the way I do.

References:

http://www.webmd.com/balance/features/brewing-trouble