Caffeine Buzz Crosses into Mental Disorder says APA

Arlington, Va.--Excessive levels of caffeine intake could lead to the diagnosis of a new mental disorder called "caffeine intoxication" or "caffeine withdrawal" according to a new edition of the American Psychiatric Association's (APA)  Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5). The manual added several new disorders to its retinue of possible maladies, including two food-related diagnoses including caffeine intoxication and binge eating disorder. Both were included in the appendix of the previous version of the manual, DSM-4, as conditions requiring further study.

Caffeine is a drug, a mild stimulant, which is used by almost everybody on a daily basis," said Dr. Charles OBrien, who chairs the Substance-Related Disorder Work Group for the DSM-5, as quoted in the New York Post. "But it does have a letdown afterwards. If you drink a lot of coffee, at least two or three [eight ounce] cups at a time, there will be a rebound or withdrawal effect."

Another new listing in the manual  is Binge Eating Disorder, with this comment from psychiatrists, "This change is intended to increase awareness of the substantial differences between binge eating disorder and the common phenomenon of overeating," according to an APA fact sheet.

Telltale signs of caffeine intoxication might be personified by restlessness, nervousness, excitement, red face, gastrointestinal upset, muscle twitching, rambling speech, sleeplessness, rapid and irregular heartbeat and other symptoms.

Specifically, a coffee drinker who experiences five or more of these symptoms during or shortly after consuming caffeine could be diagnosed with this disorder. It also must cause distress or impair the consumer's ability to function. 

The DSM groups this disorder with others associated with substances ranging from alcohol and nicotine to cannabis and hallucinogens. These can alter behavior, mental processes and cause physical symptoms.