I'd like to know how many people diagnosed with schizophrenia, bipolar
disorder, anxiety disorder and any other mental disorder are habitual
users of caffeine.

Has a study been done on the correlation between the two? The more
reputable the study the better. Thank you!

I have had some experience of working with such people and I believe
that they are all regular consumers of caffeine. Most are also heavy
smokers. I would not know whether or not this exacerbates their
problems but I believe it unlikely to be the cause.

Thanks for your comment!

I'm asking because I recently recovered from a pretty horrific case of
caffeine psychosis (as incredible as it sounds), and I'm starting a
web site to alert people to "caffeinism" (as incredible as THAT might
sound).

www.caffeineweb.com  (still very much under construction)

I have to wonder how many mental patients simply need to withdraw from
caffeine, instead of being handed prescriptions. It seems that if
they're on a drug that can induce psychosis, they should be told to
eliminate it before being diagnosed with an organic disorder (and put
on antipsychotics, antidepressants, and anti-anxiety meds).

My symptoms disappeared after I removed coffee from my diet--and they
were soome of the most awful symptoms imaginable.

Brian

Hi, Brian

Good luck with your investigations.

Mental Health problems have many causes, one of which is alcoholism.
But alcoholics are typically also heavy caffeine users.

I don't drink coffee or Coke but I do drink tea.

I found that coffee used to keep me awake, so I quit.

Bryan

You're right.

I'm also troubled by the fact that AA encourages caffeine use as a
replacement for alcohol. Dr. Joan Mathews-Larson has a lot to say
about this on her site at healthrecovery.com.  (Cheesy graphics,
terrific info.)

Brian

My two cents...

I had a very bad anxiety order.  I recently cut out all caffiene and
havent had anxiety nearly as bad as I used too.  coming from my own
experiances, i def. think that there is a relation.

Hi indierocklover,

That's great. It doesn't surprise me the slightest bit. I was lucky to
have learned I was "caffeinated" before taking the fistfuls of meds a
couple doctors had recommended. My health has returned 100%--though
I'm still in a little shock from what happened during my illness.

I'm not saying that simply withdrawing from caffeine is the solution
for everyone--just that it probably should be tried before meds are
prescribed. The following are statements from three of the most
respected toxicologists in the country:

"Caffeine-induced psychosis, whether it be delirium, manic depression,
schizophrenia, or merely an anxiety syndrome, in most cases will be
hard to differentiate from other organic or non-organic psychoses. The
differential diagnosis also is important in hyperkinetic children who
have been exposed to caffeine."

"Caffeine-induced psychoses ranged from increased agitation and
insomnia to frank psychosis."

"The treatment for caffeine-induced psychosis is to withhold further caffeine."

Clinical Management of Poisoning and Drug Overdose, 3rd Edition (1998) 
Michael W. Shannon, MD, MPH, The Children's Hospital Boston; Associate
Professor, Harvard Medical School; Lester M. Haddad, MD, Bon Secours
St. Francis Xavier Hospital; Medical University of South Carolina;
James F. Winchester, MD, Georgetown University Medical Center


Brian
http://www.CaffeineWeb.com

My anxiety disorder is easily controlled by staying away from coffee. 
This helps me to sleep better which means I an less tired leading to
me being less succeptable to anxiety.  No direct link, but then
everything has a cause and effect.

Studies have linked caffeine to psychiatric disorders. Here is the
abstract of one recent report:

"Caffeine is a widely used psychoactive substance that has the
potential to contribute to many psychiatric symptoms. This review
article aims to address the specific research studies and case reports
that relate caffeine to psychiatric symptoms. Caffeine can cause
anxiety symptoms in normal individuals, especially in vulnerable
patients, like those with pre-existing anxiety disorders. Caffeine use
is also associated with symptoms of depression due to either a
self-medication theory, or a theory that caffeine itself causes
changes in mood. Psychosis can be induced in normal individuals
ingesting caffeine at toxic doses, and psychotic symptoms can also be
worsened in schizophrenic patients using caffeine. Sleep and symptoms
of ADHD may be altered by caffeine as well. Prevention of
caffeine-induced psychiatric symptoms is possible by recognizing,
educating, and treating patients using a tapering approach."

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=Abstract&list_uids=15732884

Just a few of the many scientific studies which have been done on
caffeine and mental disorders:

Peter B. Lucas, David Pickar, John Kelsoe, Mark Rapaport, Carlos Pato
and Daniel Hommer, Effects of the acute administration of caffeine in
patients with schizophrenia, Biological Psychiatry, Volume 28, Issue
1, 1 July 1990, Pages 35-40.
(http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/B6T4S-484N6VF-C9/2/7f1097051d3f9955a45f6af3de92f3e6)


Debra Hovermale Simmons, Caffeine and its effect on persons with
mental disorders, Archives of Psychiatric Nursing, Volume 10, Issue 2,
April 1996, Pages 116-122.
(http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/B6WB7-4DTBDMJ-1T/2/0a76483b979b5504e521ae65818d6d0c)

It was very interesting to see this posting. My 21 year old son has
been experiencing anxiety attacks, insomnia and other emotional
issues.  He went to a clinical nurse who diagnosed him with bi-polar. 
She was TOLD that he drinks 3-4 2 liter bottles of diet coke every
day.  Even so, she prescribed him geodon which is a heavy duty anti
psychotic medicine with unproven results treating bi-polar and very
bad side effects. After I did some research into mental effects of
caffeine, I told my son to start with the basics rather than the
horrible med prescribed to him.  He has since started tapering off on
the coke and has switched to mostly decaf diet coke.  Within a couple
of days his sleep has already improved and he is much less anxious. 
He has a glass of regular caffeineated when his withdrawal headache
gets bad but he is on his way to giving it up all together.  What's
with these doctors?  Why DON'T they try the simplest solutions first? 
Do they get a kickback from the drug companies of something?

I "Googled" caffeine allergy symptoms and every web site that appeared
dealt specifically with mental illnesses as a result of caffeine
toxicity.  This blows my mind considering that I was raised on good
ol' southern style iced tea and coffee AND that many of my family
members are currently and have been medicated due to anxiety/panic/BPD
and OCD disorders!  The link I am providing was one of the most
insightful articles that I read and all sources are cited at the end
so that any person can do their own research as well!
Recover your vital health and wellness!  I know I am!

http://www.doctoryourself.com/caffeine_allergy.html