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Caffeine Withdrawal a Mental Disorder?

Started by stromboli, June 03, 2013, 09:05:05 AM

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stromboli

http://newsfeed.time.com/2013/05/31/caf ... -disorder/
QuoteWe've all probably had that one coffee drink (or carbonated beverage) too many, at that point in a slog of a day where we've gone and imbibed a Red Bull or Grande coffee against our better judgment.

According to a new edition of the American Psychiatric Association's Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders out last week (DSM, or in this case, DSM-5), that sort of excessive caffeine intake can lead to a condition known as "caffeine intoxication," except it's nothing like the sort of blissful stupor we tend to associate with that other sort of intoxication.

If you've had more than 250 mg of caffeine (two to three cups of brewed coffee) and experienced five or more of the following symptoms, says the guide, you've probably been caffeine-buzzed: restlessness, nervousness, excitement, insomnia, flushed face, diuresis (having to pee a lot), gastrointestinal disturbance, muscle twitching, rambling flow of thought and speech, tachycardia or cardiac arrhythmia, periods of inexhaustibility or psychomotor agitation (unintentional motion, say, rapidly bouncing one leg).

This disorder, as it's described in both the older DSM-IV and new DSM-5, falls under the heading "Caffeine-Related Disorders," but in DSM-5, that section includes a new entry: caffeine withdrawal. According to DSM-5, symptoms of caffeine withdrawal include fatigue, headache and difficulty focusing.

"Caffeine is a drug, a mild stimulant, which is used by almost everybody on a daily basis," said Dr. Charles O'Brien, who chairs the Substance-Related Disorder Work Group for DSM-5 (via New York Post). "But it does have a letdown afterwards. If you drink a lot of coffee, at least two or three [236 ml] cups at a time, there will be a rebound or withdrawal effect."

Oh great. I can buy into fundie religion as a mental disorder, but now they are digging on my turf. I've imbibed enough caffeine in my lifetime to float a good sized ship. If there is a lethal dosage of coffee, I've nearly reached it on numerous occasions. Six cups a day? Piss off, lightweight.

WitchSabrina

Quote from: "stromboli"http://newsfeed.time.com/2013/05/31/caffeine-withdrawal-is-now-a-mental-disorder/
QuoteWe've all probably had that one coffee drink (or carbonated beverage) too many, at that point in a slog of a day where we've gone and imbibed a Red Bull or Grande coffee against our better judgment.

According to a new edition of the American Psychiatric Association's Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders out last week (DSM, or in this case, DSM-5), that sort of excessive caffeine intake can lead to a condition known as "caffeine intoxication," except it's nothing like the sort of blissful stupor we tend to associate with that other sort of intoxication.

If you've had more than 250 mg of caffeine (two to three cups of brewed coffee) and experienced five or more of the following symptoms, says the guide, you've probably been caffeine-buzzed: restlessness, nervousness, excitement, insomnia, flushed face, diuresis (having to pee a lot), gastrointestinal disturbance, muscle twitching, rambling flow of thought and speech, tachycardia or cardiac arrhythmia, periods of inexhaustibility or psychomotor agitation (unintentional motion, say, rapidly bouncing one leg).

This disorder, as it's described in both the older DSM-IV and new DSM-5, falls under the heading "Caffeine-Related Disorders," but in DSM-5, that section includes a new entry: caffeine withdrawal. According to DSM-5, symptoms of caffeine withdrawal include fatigue, headache and difficulty focusing.

"Caffeine is a drug, a mild stimulant, which is used by almost everybody on a daily basis," said Dr. Charles O'Brien, who chairs the Substance-Related Disorder Work Group for DSM-5 (via New York Post). "But it does have a letdown afterwards. If you drink a lot of coffee, at least two or three [236 ml] cups at a time, there will be a rebound or withdrawal effect."

Oh great. I can buy into fundie religion as a mental disorder, but now they are digging on my turf. I've imbibed enough caffeine in my lifetime to float a good sized ship. If there is a lethal dosage of coffee, I've nearly reached it on numerous occasions. Six cups a day? Piss off, lightweight.

Absolutely correct.  They should discuss it like alcohol if they're going talk about it.  What about tolerance level? Being a mildly operational caffeine addict? - A functioning caffeine junkie?  Some of us are just Not operational without it.
Yep.........I'm pretty sure my caffeine addiction goes all the way back to college - (that was the 70s my friends) lol
I am currently experiencing life at several WTFs per hour.

stromboli

I can start mine in the Navy and run a looooong history after. Born a Mormon, I never actually drank coffee until the Navy. And then I never stopped. If I had back all the money spent on coffee, I could've retired 5 years earlier.

WitchSabrina

Quote from: "stromboli"I can start mine in the Navy and run a looooong history after. Born a Mormon, I never actually drank coffee until the Navy. And then I never stopped. If I had back all the money spent on coffee, I could've retired 5 years earlier.

Please don't make me think about what I could have done with the money I've spent on coffee.   My fav? That expensive-as-shit coffee drink at Sonic (yes with the added sonic blast - espresso shot).
Buuut............   I can do - whatever --- for HOURS if I drink one.   Soooooooooooo.............. yanno
I am currently experiencing life at several WTFs per hour.

stromboli

I read someplace once that caffeine fueled the Industrial Revolution. And for a time, Cocaine in Coca Cola. We humans just love being all hyped up, don't we?

Aroura33

Quote from: "stromboli"I read someplace once that caffeine fueled the Industrial Revolution. And for a time, Cocaine in Coca Cola. We humans just love being all hyped up, don't we?
There is a great book called "A History of the World in 6 Glasses".

The drinks discussed are Beer, Spirits, Wine, Coffee, Tea, and Soda, and how each help shape the cultures who drank them.  Caffeine absolutely made an impact on human behavior and cultural revolutions.

As for withdrawals, or overdosing for that matter, being a mental disorder, I don't know about that, but if my husband doesn't get his caffeine in the morning, he's totally unbearable.  The mood difference is HUGE!  Personally, I don't like what caffeine does to me.  I can take small doses (a little chocolate or weak tea), but even half a cup of coffee is like to set me off all jittery and nervous with my heart racing for hours.  I really hate it!  It turns me into a nervous spaz, basically.  

It is a drug, that is for sure, and it affects different people differently.  My grandmother would drink a pot of coffee every day, very dark, totally black.  Never seemed to make her jittery at all.  She joked (maybe not entirely joking, don't know), that her parents used to warm her baby bottle up in the morning by adding a little warm coffee to it.  This would have been in 1912 or so.

I  have known other people who drink tons of coffee or tea all day long without any noticable negative side effects, and others like me who have a low tolerance to it, and only drink it now and then.  I prefer tea, if I need caffeine to stay awake or something.  It has another agent in it (I forget what it is) that is calming, that coffee lacks.  Plus it just tastes better to me.
"A life is like a garden. Perfect moments can be had, but not preserved, except in memory.  LLAP"
Leonard Nimoy

Wheatthins

Quote from: "stromboli"I can start mine in the Navy and run a looooong history after. Born a Mormon, I never actually drank coffee until the Navy. And then I never stopped. If I had back all the money spent on coffee, I could've retired 5 years earlier.
Heavenly father is pissed at you for ruining the holy temple that is you body with the devils black brew stromboli.
REPENT!!
I don\'t see alot of good or evil in the world, mostly just confused people.

Hydra009

Quote from: "Aroura33"As for withdrawals, or overdosing for that matter, being a mental disorder, I don't know about that, but if my husband doesn't get his caffeine in the morning, he's totally unbearable.  The mood difference is HUGE!  Personally, I don't like what caffeine does to me.  I can take small doses (a little chocolate or weak tea), but even half a cup of coffee is like to set me off all jittery and nervous with my heart racing for hours.  I really hate it!  It turns me into a nervous spaz, basically.
Same.  Gave me some lovely heart palpitations, too.  I drink very small doses in the form of soda or hot chocolate occasionally, but that's about it.

When I have to wake up early, I simply wake up early, grab a glass of OJ and put on some metal or something to wake up fully, and endure any lingering zombieism.

stromboli

Damnit Hydra, you had to mention hot chocolate. Now I want some. I don't drink soda in any form. Shit's bad for you. No sport drinks either. Just water, coffee and fruit drinks like unsweetened apple or orange juice.

SilentFutility

Quote from: "stromboli"Six cups a day? Piss off, lightweight.
Ingesting more than 6 cups of coffee a day's worth of caffiene really isn't very good for you.

I don't find it difficult to imagine that if someone was a heavy consumer caffiene that stopping completely would lead to withdrawal symptoms.