Caffeine Withdrawal Recognized as Mental Disorder

In the latest DSM

We've all probably had that one coffee drink (or carbonated beverage) too many, that point in a slog of a day where we've gone and imbibed a Red Bull or Grande Coffee against our better judgment.

According to a new edition of the American Psychiatric Association's Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders out last week (the DSM, or in this case, DSM-5), that sort of excessive caffeine intake can lead to a condition known as "caffeine intoxication," except it's nothing like the sort of blissful stupor we tend to associate with that other sort of intoxication.

If you've had more than 250 mg of caffeine (2-3 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).