Caffeine Chaos: How energy drinks made my anxiety worse  

Energy drinks are one of the coveted items included in any ‘university/college student starter pack.’ From Red Bull to Monster, energy drinks are the go-to for tired students. In my case, my energy drink of choice was Alani Nu.  

Credit: Isabella Disley (designed on Canva)  

I never tried energy drinks until last year, when I was constantly exhausted because of school and needed a solution. I tried a sip of a peach-flavoured Celsius and Red Bull, but I did not like the taste of either of them. I ended up sticking with variations of tea-based drinks up until the first semester of my final year, which was around the same time Alani Nu became available in Canada.  

Credit: Isabella Disley  

I decided to give energy drinks another try. I went to Shoppers Drug Mart and picked out their peach drink, the only flavour available on the refrigerated shelf. I got home, took a sip to try it thinking I would save it for class the next day, and it tasted great.  

It was a refreshing feeling. It was easier to work and complete assignments, and I had energy the entire day. I even stopped on the way home to get more, and the store had the cherry flavour. It became a routine. I had an energy drink every time I had class, which was at least three days a week.  

For the next few months, everything went smoothly — until December hit. I had an energy drink before my night class, and instead of feeling energized, I started to feel weird. It was as if I were nervous about something. I had to skip eating before class due to a sudden wave of nausea. During the commute to campus, I could not pinpoint what was happening to my body, but everything started to feel off as my nerves continued to heighten.  

I figured it was a stomach bug, so I took an anti-nausea pill from my small emergency kit, prepared for all possible contingencies. I thought it would help. However, at that point, I was having a full-fledged, internal panic attack. I did not know what was happening. It was a mix of nerves and confusion. I felt out of control of my body, and my fight-or-flight instincts said I needed to go home. I took a cab home and fell asleep due to the side effects of the medicine.  

I woke up feeling a bit better, but still confused as to why whatever had happened had happened. I tried to find an answer, but I couldn’t. My dad brought up energy drinks as a possible culprit, but I thought it couldn’t be the reason since they hadn’t caused any issues before.  

But then I began to wonder if energy drinks were the cause. I had class the next day and decided not to drink one. Everything was fine, so I decided to stop drinking them for the next week. On one of my days off, I decided to conduct a test by drinking an energy drink to see what would happen. The same thing happened: heightened nerves, feeling off and out of control.  

That’s when it hit me: I couldn’t have energy drinks anymore. It induced anxiety and panic attacks.  

Amber Sommer, a registered dietitian nutritionist and licensed dietitian, mentioned the dangers of energy drinks in a Cleveland Clinic article.  

“On their own, these ingredients may have some health benefits — like supporting brain and heart health, improved energy and focus and antioxidant and anti-inflammatory benefits — but when you combine them with the additional caffeine and added sugars in an energy drink, it can be a recipe for disaster,” Sommer told the organization.  

“Occasional consumption of energy drinks by healthy people is not likely to be harmful. But drinking them regularly can increase your risk of adverse health effects, especially if you have an existing medical condition,” said Sommer.  

Additionally, the Cleveland Clinic provided a list of potential risks of consuming energy drinks:  

• Anxiety 

• Depression 

• Diarrhea 

• Hallucinations 

• Headaches 

• Mood swings 

• Nausea 

• Rapid heart rate (tachycardia) 

• Stroke 

• Tooth decay 

• Weight gain  

After coming to that conclusion last year, I stopped drinking energy drinks for good. As I continued to research energy drinks and their effects, it became clear that what happened to me was a direct result of them. Since then, I have opted for other forms of caffeine, such as green and chai teas.