Hidden risks of caffeine

I recently started helping out doing bits of editing in the Wikipedia, and, in the Wikipedia article about caffeine stumbled across a link to information about the possible psychiatric effects of caffeine, which came as something of a shock. I knew about the possible physical side-effects of caffeine, such as breathlessness, palpitations, etc, having experienced them myself at times, but hadn't, until now, realised that there were documented psychiatric side-effects.

I've struggled with bouts of extreme anxiety and clinical depression for years, and have been on anti-depressant medication for much of the past 15 years, with varying success. But I'd never considered that my high intake of coffee might have been having an impact on this. But now I find that even moderate amounts of caffeine can trigger episodes of anxiety and clinical depression. And in many documented cases, simply stopping the intake of caffeine can result in a complete recovery from these conditions.

On the one hand, it's a shock, and extremely depressing in itself to think that I might have been spared years of misery if I'd only known about this. On the other hand, however, it's extremely positive to consider that, simply by cutting back on the amount of coffee I drink, or even (can I face the thought?!) cutting it out altogether, I might experience a significant reduction in the levels of anxiety I experience on a day to day basis - that would be blissful and would have such a positive impact on my life!