Dr LeCrone
05-31-2006, 11:19 AM
Many individuals fail to recognize the relationship between too much caffeine and certain psychological distress symptoms such as the following:
• Nervousness
• Insomnia
• Headaches
• Irritability
• Muscle tension
• Panic attacks
Many individuals fail to recognize that caffeine is contained in many of the foods, beverages, and medications that we consume every day. Take the following scenario.
Mary wakes up and has three cups of coffee before going to work. During her mid-morning break she has another cup of coffee and then at lunch consumes two glasses of ice tea. During the afternoon she has several more soft drinks followed by a large chocolate sundae for dessert after her evening meal. At bedtime she has a headache and takes a popular over-the-counter medication. Without realizing it, she has consumed many milligrams of caffeine during the day and evening. The insomnia she experiences leaves her feeling fatigued the next day and she increases her caffeine during the day to stay awake, compounding her problem. Her job is stressful and she has a very busy home life. One day on her way home from work, she has a massive panic attack, experiencing rapid breathing, feeling faint, shaking uncontrollably, and convinced that she is either having a heart attack or going crazy. The excessive amount of caffeine and high stress leave her at risk for having just such an acute anxiety reaction.
During a similar set of circumstances, Jeff has been trying to lose weight and is taking over-the-counter weight control aids. Thinking that he will avoid the caffeine in dark colored cola's, he switches to other soft drinks but fails to see from their label that they also contain caffeine. He suffers from allergies and takes an over-the-counter medication for a runny nose which contains caffeine and then drinks several glasses of ice tea with his evening meal. The next morning, he feels sleepy as he suffered from insomnia the night before and takes an over-the-counter remedy to promote alertness which contained a large amount of caffeine. By mid-morning, he feels "wired" and becomes even more anxious as the day progresses and he continues his pattern of caffeine/stimulant intake.
Harold H. LeCrone, Jr., Ph.D. Copyright 1995
• Nervousness
• Insomnia
• Headaches
• Irritability
• Muscle tension
• Panic attacks
Many individuals fail to recognize that caffeine is contained in many of the foods, beverages, and medications that we consume every day. Take the following scenario.
Mary wakes up and has three cups of coffee before going to work. During her mid-morning break she has another cup of coffee and then at lunch consumes two glasses of ice tea. During the afternoon she has several more soft drinks followed by a large chocolate sundae for dessert after her evening meal. At bedtime she has a headache and takes a popular over-the-counter medication. Without realizing it, she has consumed many milligrams of caffeine during the day and evening. The insomnia she experiences leaves her feeling fatigued the next day and she increases her caffeine during the day to stay awake, compounding her problem. Her job is stressful and she has a very busy home life. One day on her way home from work, she has a massive panic attack, experiencing rapid breathing, feeling faint, shaking uncontrollably, and convinced that she is either having a heart attack or going crazy. The excessive amount of caffeine and high stress leave her at risk for having just such an acute anxiety reaction.
During a similar set of circumstances, Jeff has been trying to lose weight and is taking over-the-counter weight control aids. Thinking that he will avoid the caffeine in dark colored cola's, he switches to other soft drinks but fails to see from their label that they also contain caffeine. He suffers from allergies and takes an over-the-counter medication for a runny nose which contains caffeine and then drinks several glasses of ice tea with his evening meal. The next morning, he feels sleepy as he suffered from insomnia the night before and takes an over-the-counter remedy to promote alertness which contained a large amount of caffeine. By mid-morning, he feels "wired" and becomes even more anxious as the day progresses and he continues his pattern of caffeine/stimulant intake.
Harold H. LeCrone, Jr., Ph.D. Copyright 1995