The Psychological Addiction To Caffeine

[Rilles]

Heres how the conversation in my mind plays out after quitting coffee for months and still having cravings.

 

Lower Self - "Dude you should drink a cup of coffee today, just today, and make it a big cup! Youre not addicted anymore so its fiiiine, we can do it as an experiment, for fun!"

Higher Self - "No I dont need it! I need to stay focused and present"

Lower Self - "But it makes you more productive, all your creative breakthroughs have come from coffee!"

Higher Self - "The breakthroughs came when they came, I just happened to be on coffee, and I've had breakthroughs without it many times"

Lower Self - "BUUUUT HIGHER SELF!"

*lower self goes silent and starts plotting next move*

 

This is just to show you how severly underestimated caffeine is as a drug, its been 3 months and I still have cravings for something so "innocent" BE(A)WARE!  

 

Edited February 14, 2018 by Rilles
missed a word

[RawJudah]

@Rilles I’m the same, I go from addicted to non addicted with caffeine. It’s such a sly addiction. 

I hate how it’s almost like a clutch for everyone to eat through their terrible days at work? And I’m exactly the same.

whenever I do have periods without it I feel clear headed and can sleep better at night and no jittery irritable moods all day.

hate the stuff, wish it was never considered a normal thing to drink!

[Rilles]

I went off it once and then got back on and then off again, the main reason was actually because I was so bored and sleepy at a terrible job, which ive quit now. Yes, its so underestimated, I almost get criticized for even mentioning that I dont drink it (Its a big darling in Sweden).

[Extreme Z7]

Have you tried uninstalling coffee.exe?

Yeah, it's tough getting rid of a physiological addiction that's also an emotional crutch. I have the same problem with video games.

The trick is to be as aware as you can when you are 'enjoying' your addiction. Because your 'enjoyment' is only causing suffering and it's just about becoming more and more conscious of it.

 

[Rilles]

Luckily I realized the downsides to too much caffeine and that helped me stay away easier

 

Downsides personally

*Shaky hands

*Always hungry (dont know why)

*Monkey mind

*Energy levels always up and down

*Anxiety

 

Hope this isnt too preachy, I have nothing against anyone who likes coffee, just sharing

Edited February 14, 2018 by Rilles
Added more information

[RawJudah]

@Rilles what made me quit time after time is that it’s a stimulant/drug, and I don’t want to be addicted to any kind of drug. Also, there are no calories in coffee/tea. So the ‘energy’ I was getting wasn’t actual energy from calories, so then came the crash about an hour later, feeling lethargic and irritable. It literally made my skin crawl - I’m probably ultra sensitive to it!

I wish there wasn’t 10 coffee shops down each high street but because there’s money to be made on our sly addictions, they aren’t gonna go away.

 

[Joseph Maynor]

One time I detoxed off caffeine and I felt like I was detoxing off a serious drug addiction.  I recall excruciating headaches and fatigue.

Edited February 14, 2018 by Joseph Maynor

[Rilles]

@Joseph Maynor The first time I detoxed from coffee after a 7 year habit/addiction I had a headache for a week and brainfog, I know where you're coming from.

[Joseph Maynor]

39 minutes ago, Rilles said:

@Joseph Maynor The first time I detoxed from coffee after a 7 year habit/addiction I had a headache for a week and brainfog, I know where you're coming from.

Yeah.  Caffeine is a tool like all drugs are.  It’s US that misuse these tools, not a problem with the drugs themselves.  What makes it scary is our culture treats it like an acceptable drug — like doing a few lines of coke throughout the day were perfectly culturally normal.  But coke is so bad right?  Wags finger.  But Caffeine is a stimulant very much like Coke.  It’s not as euphoric as Coke, but it’s a powerful drug nonetheless.  Caffeine is kinda like nicotine in a way.  Nicotene gives a similar kind of craving and then shitty withdrawals when you detox from it.  So, what’s worse, a caffeine addiction or a booze addiction, or any other kind of substance abuse problem?  Caffeine is just good for business, so it gets a pass.  But that doesn’t change the reality that it’s a powerful drug and addictive as hell.

Edited February 14, 2018 by Joseph Maynor

[Rilles]

Its not just the US my friend! Its Europe and even China's smaller cities are building Starbucks and other types of coffeehouses (I lived there). Coffee is pretty euphoric for me, but not at all on the same level as coke.

[Charlotte]

I decided to keep drinking it because I read a cup or 2 a day is good for you ? 

That's my lower self excuse for having one in the morning anyway. But I am going to go 2 week's caffeine free and see how I react, if I crave or have any addiction like behaviours, I'm coming off it. 

[Rilles]

According to my research its actually difficult to find anything negative written about caffeine, there are many good things written on it. However I only quit because of the direct negative effects I felt, I don't doubt that there are certain benefits but for me they aren't worth it.

[Charlotte]

37 minutes ago, Rilles said:

According to my research its actually difficult to find anything negative written about caffeine, there are many good things written on it. However I only quit because of the direct negative effects I felt, I don't doubt that there are certain benefits but for me they aren't worth it.

That's fair enough ?

[SOUL]

Try not thinking about 'enlightenment' or self actualizing for a few days and see how that works.

Can you just 'be' without trying to 'do' it? Haha...... you addicts.

[Joseph Maynor]

1 minute ago, SOUL said:

Try not thinking about 'enlightenment' or self actualizing for a few days and see how that works.

Can you just 'be' without trying to 'do' it? Haha...... you addicts.

So true.  This is what makes vacations great.

[Rilles]

I need my daily dose of Leo, thats the true subtle addiction

[Dan Arnautu]

@Rilles Look up the coffee Tim Ferris is drinking. It's a coffee made from mushrooms that has less than half the caffeine, double the positive effects and none of the negative effects you mentioned. It was something like "chaga" from what I can remember. Real good substitute.

I don't think you really crave caffeine honestly. I think you crave something that tastes like coffee or maybe you associate the drink with a particular activity or time of day, and the activity or time of day is not as pleasant without a drink in your hand.

The same with Tom Frank's (youtuber) energy drink addiction. He didn't really crave energy drinks. He just wanted to have a fizzy drink on the table while he was studying --> he switched successfully to vitamin sparkling water or something like that.

 

[Rilles]

Well I substituted morning coffee for a morning meditation habit . Yeah association was a big part of it but I also liked the motivation and energy it gave me, but I want to find that intrinsically instead.

[Elisabeth]

10 hours ago, Rilles said:

*Always hungry (dont know why)

1

That's interesting! I may have to find out if that's true for me. 

My downsides to caffeine (as far as I can tell): definitely addicted (withdrawal fatigue any day I don't drink it), a sour taste in my mouth and probably not good for my stomach. 

The upside: being able to get a hit of energy at the time I need it (at work), thus a distribution of concentration throughout the day that's more useful to me

Another personal upside is I can socialize at tearooms and drink black tea in the afternoon if I drink coffee regularly ... the one time I tried to get off of it I got really sensitive to caffeine and couldn't sleep after tea. I really missed it. 

[Monkey-man]

u c when u drink u make ur mind used to be active only with dose of caffe

once u stop, it will take a while, but eventually ur mind will learn how to be active without caffe

drop it now! seriously. it doesn't worth it. only maybe once a month max when u sit in a very good coffee shop

but other than that noo

i used to be addicted to it until i received half year of insomnia and heart pounding like sprinter's