If Coffee Helps You, Keep It. If It Doesn’t, This Is Your Permission t

If Coffee Helps You, Keep It. If It Doesn’t, This Is Your Permission to Stop

Coffee is one of the most normalised substances in modern life.
It’s social. It’s ritual. It’s productivity. It’s comfort.

For many people, coffee genuinely feels good. It helps them focus, lifts their mood, and forms part of a daily rhythm they enjoy. And if that’s you — this isn’t an anti-coffee article.

But for some people, coffee doesn’t land the same way.
And because “everyone drinks coffee,” we often ignore what our own body is trying to tell us.

This is your permission to listen.

Coffee Isn’t the Problem — Mismatch Is

Caffeine is a central nervous system stimulant. That’s not controversial — it’s exactly why people drink it. It increases alertness, raises heart rate, and stimulates the release of adrenaline and cortisol, the body’s stress hormones (Juliano & Griffiths, 2004).

For many people, that stimulation feels energising and helpful.

For others — especially those who are naturally anxious, sensitive, hormonally vulnerable, or managing autoimmune or thyroid conditions — that stimulation can feel very different.

Instead of clarity, it feels like:

Racing thoughts
Tight chest
Jittery energy
Restlessness
Increased worry
Or even panic

The issue isn’t coffee itself.
The issue is whether your nervous system tolerates stimulation well.

Anxiety Isn’t Just “In Your Head”

We often talk about anxiety as if it’s purely psychological — something we think ourselves into.

But anxiety is also physiological.

It lives in the nervous system.
It shows up in heart rate, breathing patterns, muscle tension, digestion, and hormone release.

Caffeine activates the sympathetic nervous system — the “fight or flight” response (Lovallo et al., 2005). In people who already sit closer to that stress threshold, caffeine can push the system from alert into overwhelmed.

This is why two people can drink the same coffee and have completely different experiences.

One feels focused.
The other feels like they’re about to crawl out of their skin.

Neither is weak. Neither is broken. They’re just different.

When “Just a Few Coffees” Add Up

One of the trickiest things about coffee is how easily intake creeps up.

A morning coffee becomes:

One at home
One on the way to work
One mid-morning
Maybe another early afternoon

Individually, they don’t feel excessive. Collectively, they can keep your nervous system in a near-constant state of stimulation.

Research shows that caffeine can increase anxiety symptoms even at moderate doses in susceptible individuals (Smith, 2002). And because caffeine has a half-life of around 5–7 hours, many people are still feeling its physiological effects well into the evening (Nehlig, 2010).

This matters — because a nervous system that never fully settles doesn’t get the chance to reset.

Why Some People Feel Panic — Not Just Anxiety

For some people, caffeine doesn’t just heighten anxiety — it can trigger panic attacks.

Studies have shown that caffeine can induce panic attacks in individuals with panic disorder and increase panic-like symptoms even in people without a diagnosis (Charney et al., 1985).

This doesn’t mean caffeine is dangerous.
It means that for certain nervous systems, caffeine acts as a trigger.

And here’s the important part: many people don’t realise this connection until they remove it.

Removing Coffee Isn’t About Deprivation

Choosing to stop or reduce coffee isn’t about punishment, restriction, or “being good.”

It’s about support.

For some people, removing caffeine allows:

Anxiety to stay at a manageable level
Thoughts to slow instead of spiral
The body to feel calmer without effort
Panic attacks to reduce or disappear

This doesn’t happen because anxiety vanishes — but because the nervous system isn’t constantly being pushed closer to the edge.

That distinction matters.

You Don’t Owe Coffee Loyalty

There’s a strange guilt that can come with giving up coffee.

People say things like:

“Life’s too short.”
“I could never.”
“I need it to function.”
“That sounds miserable.”

But you don’t owe coffee anything.

If it supports you — enjoy it.
If it doesn’t — you’re allowed to stop.

You don’t need a diagnosis.
You don’t need a dramatic reason.
You don’t need to justify it to anyone.

Listening to your body is enough.

A Gentler Question to Ask Yourself

Instead of asking:
“Should I quit coffee?”

Try asking:
“How do I feel in my body after I drink it?”

Do you feel:

Calm and steady?
Focused without tension?
Or wired, edgy, and unsettled?

The answer isn’t universal.
It’s personal.

Permission, Not Prescription

This isn’t a call for everyone to give up coffee.

It’s an invitation to notice.

To acknowledge that what works beautifully for one body may not work for another — and that this doesn’t make you difficult, broken, or overly sensitive.

If coffee helps you, keep it.
If it doesn’t, this is your permission to stop.

Sometimes the most powerful health shift isn’t adding more —
it’s gently removing what no longer supports you.

References

Charney, D. S., Heninger, G. R., & Jatlow, P. I. (1985). Increased anxiogenic effects of caffeine in panic disorders. Archives of General Psychiatry, 42(3), 233–243.
Juliano, L. M., & Griffiths, R. R. (2004). A critical review of caffeine withdrawal: empirical validation of symptoms and signs, incidence, severity, and associated features. Psychopharmacology, 176(1), 1–29.
Lovallo, W. R., et al. (2005). Caffeine stimulates cortisol secretion in young men: relevance to stress responses. Psychosomatic Medicine, 67(5), 784–789.
Nehlig, A. (2010). Is caffeine a cognitive enhancer? Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease, 20(s1), S85–S94.
Smith, A. (2002). Effects of caffeine on human behavior. Food and Chemical Toxicology, 40(9), 1243–1255.