I have come to believe that caffeine in any form effects panic attacks and worsens anxiety in me. I suspect it is because my CNS is already so sensitive due to benzo use.
I think caffeine also affects my memory. At first it makes me feel alive, sharp, almost mentally invincible; but then I crash a bit and I can’t think straight. Sometimes I later realize that I hadn't been thinking as clearly as I thought I was to begin with. It also seems to make it take longer for me to fall asleep, and even after I do, I don’t sleep as well. Too bad it smells and tastes so good (kind of like the way rock cocaine used to smell and taste).
As you read in my thread, I have just quit it again. It strikes me as amazing that if I quit caffeine and make a fairly large cut in benzos simultaneously, withdrawal from both is considerably lessened.
I am not alone in most of this. There have been studies done by the likes of Johns Hopkins that link caffeine with all kinds of mental illnesses, especially anxiety and panic attack. One study even suggested that benzos and caffeine compete for the same GABA receptors. I can post links if you like.
Perhaps you are not drinking caffeine at all and none of this matters. Just my three cents. I also know from past experience that time heals most, if not all, wounds.