Possible Psychiatric Significance of Excessive Coffee Consumption

Abstract

We have seen several well-marked cases of coffee excess. … The sufferer is tremulous and loses his self-command; he is subject to fits of agitation and depression; he loses color and has a haggard appearance. The appetite falls off, and symptoms of gastric catarrh may be manifested. The heart also suffers; it palpitates or it intermits. As with other such agents, a renewed dose of the poison gives temporary relief, but at the cost of future misery. A System of Medicine [ 1909] (1)