# Depression and Caffeine?



## Conjurus (Oct 25, 2008)

I was feeling depressed, then drank 2 cans of mountain dew. Now I'm feeling manic with a lot of the depression going away.

What do you all think or know about caffeine related to depression?


----------



## egodeath (Oct 27, 2008)

Stimulants generally make us feel good. They wouldn't be effective as a treatment for depression because you quickly build a tolerance to them. If it takes more dopamine (in the case of speed, for example) to make you feel good, you get more depressed and have to keep increasing the dose, meanwhile your neural receptors adapt to increased stimulation and become harder to stimulate, and, in a depressed brain, that is particularly bad. Caffeine also builds a tolerance and therefore wouldn't be good long-term. The reason SSRI's are so effective is because they don't work the same way stimulants do.


----------



## voidvoid (Sep 5, 2008)

I know coffee produces the stresshormone Kortisol which is really bad news for dp/anxiety. That being said I?ve been drinking coffee everyday for about 8 years and its all about balancing. For me one or two mugs is generally ok and almost necessary for me to function, anymore and it makes me feel bad.


----------



## Liza (Jun 14, 2009)

I don't know about depression, but apparently if you're prone to anxiety, don't have caffeine. It only made my anxiety worse.


----------



## ZachT (Sep 8, 2008)

Caffeine is the worst this for my DP/anxiety/Depression. Last time i had a rockstar i felt completely outside my body and i felt like my brain was upside down. I freaked lol
Yea caffeine is something that would not be a good choice.


----------

