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Caffeine withdrawal is now a mental disorder
Philadelphia Inquirer ^ | June 4, 2013 | Kelly O'Shea

Posted on 06/04/2013 6:39:19 PM PDT by grundle

Ask anyone coming down from the high of one too many cups of coffee, and they'll tell you that the headaches from caffeine withdrawal can drive you crazy. So much so, that the latest version of psychiatry’s bible, DSM-5, is naming caffeine withdrawal as an actual mental disorder.

Matt Peckham of Times.com shares some of the symptoms a person who's drunk on coffee would typically experience:

If you’ve had more than 250 mg of caffeine (two to three cups of brewed coffee) and experienced five or more of the following symptoms, says the guide, you’ve probably been caffeine-buzzed: restlessness, nervousness, excitement, insomnia, flushed face, diuresis (having to pee a lot), gastrointestinal disturbance, muscle twitching, rambling flow of thought and speech, tachycardia or cardiac arrhythmia, periods of inexhaustibility or psychomotor agitation (unintentional motion, say, rapidly bouncing one leg).

But it's when you come off the coffee bean high that you start to show the worst side effects.

So what exactly qualifies caffeine withdrawal as a mental disorder? It’s more than just the splitting headaches and irritability — caffeine withdrawal becomes a mental illness when it gets to the point that it actually interferes with your daily life.

In December 2011 when caffeine withdrawal was announced as being “recommended for inclusion” in the DSM-5, work-group member Alan J. Budney attempted to address the controversy:

“We feel that there is enough data to support a caffeine-withdrawal syndrome. There are enough people who go into withdrawal — that if they don’t get caffeine, it becomes a real syndrome and can affect work, sleep, or whatever they need to do. So we’re suggesting that it ‘make the big leagues’ and become part of the DSM to make sure everyone is aware of it.”

With that said, in defense of that crazy person behind you in line at Starbucks, it’s not their fault — blame the caffeine!


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To: grundle
Caffine withdrawal is a mental disorder but f**king a fella up the a** is just “another kind of love”.
41 posted on 06/04/2013 8:05:22 PM PDT by Gay State Conservative (Leno Was Right,They *Are* Undocumented Democrats!)
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To: Retired Chemist
Ever hear of shift work disorder? A commercial is running on one of my local radio stations for a drug to treat it.

I worked in a large hospital for 20+ years.After having been there for a year or so I got a promotion that involved working nights (11PM-7AM).After a couple of months I found that I couldn't sleep to save my life and after six months I was *profoundly* depressed.I was then able to switch to the day shift and within a couple of weeks I felt much better in every way and after a couple of months I felt 100%...as if it never happened.Having a screwed up sleep schedule,particularly over a good period of time,can be really ugly.

42 posted on 06/04/2013 8:12:34 PM PDT by Gay State Conservative (Leno Was Right,They *Are* Undocumented Democrats!)
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To: bravo whiskey
The nurse will see you now...
43 posted on 06/04/2013 8:13:55 PM PDT by EEGator
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To: grundle

I’m proud to say I’ll never suffer caffeine withdrawal.

I’m never gonna stop drinking coffee.


44 posted on 06/04/2013 8:18:04 PM PDT by moovova
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To: Jake8898
May as well save your keystrokes. The ignorati are in full hue and cry. They will not be assuaged by mere appeals to reality.
45 posted on 06/04/2013 8:29:46 PM PDT by hinckley buzzard
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To: grundle

Why is this article only mentioning coffee?

Is caffeine withdrawal from drinking coffee not the same as it is from drinking soda and mountain dew?

There is only one way to drink soda: Straight out of the can with maybe a lemon twist. Coffee is served in various ways and strengths with or without sugar and cream. There’s also decaf. All that is lacking is diet coffee.

Next they’ll be attacking chocolate.


46 posted on 06/04/2013 8:30:02 PM PDT by 1_Rain_Drop
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To: cripplecreek

Drink coffee... lose your right to own firearms.


47 posted on 06/04/2013 8:40:53 PM PDT by Rodamala
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To: Jake8898

People are going by what they read in the article. Verbatim, it says the shrinks have decided, “caffeine withdrawal is an actual mental disorder.

I resolve things like this by disbelieving a great deal of what I read and most of what I hear.


48 posted on 06/04/2013 9:58:26 PM PDT by tumblindice (America's founding fathers: All armed conservatives.)
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To: cripplecreek

If you claim to have this ‘mental illness’ they could put you on a list that would ban you from buying guns.

Mentally ill people shouldn’t have guns, right?


49 posted on 06/04/2013 10:46:27 PM PDT by Chainsawj
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To: grundle
Geez! The "Silly $hit" machine just keeps on pouring out more $hit.

I've drank at least 6 to 8 cups of coffee a day over the last 40 years and have also quit drinking coffee during that period at least a dozen times. Once for as long as 6 months, then started again.

I had NO withdrawal effects, headaches, or any other symptoms.

WHO comes up with this $hit???

50 posted on 06/04/2013 11:23:21 PM PDT by VideoDoctor
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To: grundle
The end game is for normalcy to be defined as desiring to live a green lifestyle, living in small communities of rustic cabins and spending ones day tending organic fields looked over by the elite in their hilltop McMansions and hybrid SUVs.

All else will be culled from the herd.

51 posted on 06/05/2013 2:49:52 AM PDT by fso301
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To: grundle

Mental disorder- obamacare reason to remove guns from your possession?


52 posted on 06/05/2013 2:53:03 AM PDT by jughandle
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