Caffeine can induce symptoms of mental illness

Nearly 80% of the world's population uses caffeine, and 25% of the population is diagnosed with a mental disorder. Clinical studies indicate that there may be significant overlap between those figures, and that many people diagnosed as mentally ill are in fact merely suffering from caffeine poisoning. Caffeine also exacerbates the symptoms of patients suffering from organic, non-caffeine-induced mental illness.

As a small, lipid-soluble molecule (like alcohol, nicotine, and certain antidepressants), caffeine is one of the few substances capable of penetrating the blood-brain barrier, which is critical to maintaining cerebral homeostasis. Once it has penetrated this barrier, it is capable of affecting its victims' thoughts and behavior, sometimes to an alarming degree.

Because self-awareness is one of the first casualties of a toxic brain, caffeinism victims may not even suspect they are ill or (if they do) that caffeine is at the root of their symptoms.

It is important to alert the public to the dangers of caffeine intake, and to urge the medical community to eliminate caffeine from patients’ diets before diagnosing them with psychiatric disorders including anxiety, ADD/ADHD, mania, depression, personality disorder and schizophrenia.

Withdraw from caffeine gradually. Coffee drinkers should mix decaf with regular, and slowly reduce their intake over a period of weeks to avoid such symptoms as headache and nausea.

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