Caffeine?
 

Since starting my recovery I’ve had past week withdrawal
Anxiety/Panic has been colossal
Well, just figured out I’ve been drinking at least twice as much coffee
This morning I was fine
Then I was sleepy so I made more coffee and boom! Instant nerves
I think that’s what’s doing this
I have had anxiety since I quit drinking a bit over a week ago but this coffee intake may be really enhancing it

Yes i can totally relate! Drinking large amounts of caffeine has always been a problem for me and often gives me an immense amount of anxiety. I have to monitor that on a daily basis. I often mix in seltzer water and non-caffeinated drinks so i don't over do it.

Yep, caffeine is a pretty powerful drug actually. And adding more of it than normal to your body during early sobriety can really throw things out of whack. Alcohol is a Central Nervous System depressant, so when you quit drinking your mind "speeds up" as a result of not being continually sedated. Add extra caffeine on top of that and you see the results.

I found that my anxiety is much more sensitive to even small amounts of caffeine, especially early on. I drink half-caff coffee now and limit my consumption because it can really give me the jitters if I have too much.

This. In nerdy scientific terms, your brain makes neurotransmitters that control your mood. The primary ones are GABA, dopamine, serotonin, and glutamine. The main ones that are relevant for alcoholics are GABA and glutamine.

Alcohol acts the same way as GABA. GABA is a calming, relaxing neurotransmitter. Alcohol latches onto the brain's GABA receptors giving you the initial high, but eventual sleepiness. Over a prolonged period of heavy alcohol use the brain stops making GABA on its own. In the meantime, alcohol is a depressant, so your brain trying to "balance things out" steps up production of glutamine, which helps your brain "speed up", and greatly affects our "fight" or "flight" response.

So when an alcoholic stops drinking, the brain and central nervous system go into a state of shock, and is in a state of profound imbalance. The brain is producing massive amounts of glutamine, and very little GABA. The brain is in overdrive -- hence, initially withdrawals, and prolonged bouts of anxiety. The best analogy is that our brains are like cars going down a freeway at 100 mph with no brakes.

So caffeine in recovery only exacerbates the alcoholics situation. I love coffee, and limit myself to one small cup each before and after I workout.

I'll also add that the brain eventually heals itself, but it is a bumpy ride, as the brain swigs back and forth in the healing process -- hence, unexplained mood swings in recovering alcoholics. If, however, the person already had some sort of anxiety or other mood disorder, that will still be there after sobriety.

I can relate, coffee in the morning and diet mt dew throughout the day and evening did me no good. Strangely, I was drinking mt dew almost like I drank alcohol! Now I don’t touch that either.

I find now that anything with caffeine makes my heart palpitate. I hate that feeling. So now I have started buying decaf everything. I also stay away from pop. This has helped with anxiety and palpitations.