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Blog: OCD
I assert that perhaps most of us have some kind of OCD, obsessive compulsive disorder.
We may have been born with it or may have acquired some degree of it. Double checking if the car’s door is locked? Is the garage door closed?
I have many forms of OCD: I keep my wallet in the left back pocket of my pants. I check that the wallet is in the pocket several times a day, by a brisk movement of the left hand over the back pocket.
When I get gas for my car, I put the credit card back in my wallet after I finish the transaction on the pump, and then put the wallet back in the back pocket. Once I finish filling gas and putting the nozzle back on the pump, and then close the car’s gas outlet, I will never get back in the car before taking the wallet out and checking that I returned the credit card back in the wallet.
Perhaps these are the mildest forms of OCD?
While I am not a psychiatrist, or psychologist, I wish to make another assertion: Perhaps mild degrees of OCD do not necessarily represent a psychiatric disorder.
Though, sadly, some forms of OCD may become pathological, as we all know.
But, that is not the OCD I am talking about. I am talking another type.
A few years ago, I was teaching a group of our second-year medical students in the problem-based learning class. These were small group sessions where we discussed theoretical cases, and the students would dissect each case starting with history and proceeding with physical exam, labs and imaging studies, assessment and plan.
We were discussing behavioral and psychological sciences. We discussed OCD, along with the CAGE questionnaire, a widely used screening test for problem drinking and potential alcohol problems. I joked with the students that at our specialty clinic we have another syndrome of OCD: Obsessive Coffee Drinking (see photo).
Perhaps many people, myself included, are heavy coffee drinkers.
In the past, I’ve felt guilty about my coffee addiction. I have always feared that one day I may get a stroke if I developed atrial fibrillation due to too much coffee.
But then, I noticed that my heart rate and blood pressure were never affected by coffee. And, I drink a lot of coffee, at least three big mugs per day.
However, in view of the numerous studies published about the benefits of heavy coffee drinking, I no longer feel the guilt.
One day, the fellows were joking with me as we were rounding in the hospital. I was carrying my coffee cup and would sip on it in between patients. We talked about the coffee addiction and the fellows began asking me the CAGE questions. I tested “positive” for coffee addiction.
I am a coffee lover and I admit coffee-addiction!
But I am not seeking therapy or rehab. I also have not sought to attend Coffee-Drinkers Anonymous groups.
Sadly, though, I think coffee may have contributed to my severe osteoporosis. But because of other osteoporosis co-factors I know I had, I am not going to blame it all on the coffee.
Some words of caution: Drinking coffee is your own responsibility. If you have any health problems where caffeine intake is contraindicated (especially anxiety, insomnia, heart disease, arrhythmia, bone loss, etc), then be careful with coffee. Honestly, regarding heart arrhythmias in particular, I am not sure, scientifically speaking, about the nature of the cause-effect relationship. I am not sure if caffeine is a direct cause of arrhythmia, or if arrhythmia occurs de novo but is exacerbated by coffee in people who have preexisting heart problems. In either case, caution is warranted.
However, in terms of scientific evidence, I did come across this headline: That Extra Cup of Coffee Might Not Harm Your Heart Rhythms, posted on Health Line Newsletter in April, 2018: https://www.healthline.com/health-news/that-extra-cup-of-coffee-might-not-harm-heart-rhythms#1.
The news piece cited a recent Australian study published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology. Because this blog is not a strict scientific blog, I will leave the final word about the innocence of coffee (or lack thereof) to the readers of the blog.