Caffeine Addiction

Caffeine culture is global in its reach because people socialize at coffee shops. Caffeine addiction is all about drinking coffee with somebody. I’d go out when I didn’t want to be alone back when I was an addict from 1992-2010. Yes, I started the slippery slope of caffeine addiction back when I was in 6th or 7th grade. Children have trouble recognizing addictions but if treated, they can. Caffeine gives most people an energy boost, particularly when they feel they cannot function because they didn’t get enough sleep. In this world, many do not sleep the whole night.

Not everybody sleeps the whole night, even if working full-time. Caffeine helps people get through their day. Hypothyroidism made me feel exhausted. I would be menstruating constantly without end until I got stable with my symptoms. By the time I managed to get myself to the doctor, my hypothyroidism was finally diagnosed and treated properly. It was a long road to get appropriate treatment because I feel my symptoms started in my junior and senior year of high school. Mentally ill people get addicted to caffeine as well as cigarettes. Cigarettes are dangerous but that’s another article for another time.

Caffeine addiction is so common that nobody notices it. If you pound three or more cups of coffee a day, you are addicted. One cup of coffee has 95 mg. of caffeine in it. (Google, USDA.) Four cups of coffee a day is 300 mg. This would make me manic and high as a kite. Coffee sometimes causes mania in normal people. Coffee comes from coffee beans or the coffee plant. Decaf has only 2-5 mg of caffeine in it, but even that makes me manic (Mayo Clinic). Decaf espresso apparently has no caffeine in it though, which makes me almost crave it as I write this. Instant coffee in a one-cup format has 63 grams of caffeine in it. Decaf coffee in the instant category has 2 mg of caffeine.

Lattes or mochas, which used to be my favorite, have 63 mg-126 mg of caffeine in it. Caffeine is a brutal chemical. Coffee is a common addiction. Nobody knows they are addicted. Caffeine withdrawals can make you feel as if you have the flu. Physical addictions mean the addict is trapped by their body chemistry. The addict needs to have their addiction fulfilled. They shake when the substance is not in their body. The flu-like symptoms can cause seizures. Quitting caffeine is very hard. Not as hard as quitting alcohol, but similar to this as alcohol is also a physical addiction. Caffeine cravings are pretty vicious. The cravings make people desperate to get a hold of coffee in whatever format they find it. Caffeine is a huge drug though because it is common in our fast-paced society to use it. People socialize around the coffee pot at work, for example. The object of the socialization is the coffee, often revolving around how much caffeine can somebody have before they cause themselves illness. Teenagers living a fast-paced lifestyle are often the first at fending off caffeine addiction.

I was an espresso addict. I view caffeine as an addiction, a real addiction, not just a dependency, unlike what this website says. Dopamine helps control movement, motivation, and emotion. As a substance that can be abused, this article is right in that caffeine is a stimulant. For me, caffeine interacts with my body in much the same way as meth does. I get high. Like a methhead would. It is why I have worked on total caffeine abstinence, and use my Shakeology as only minimal amounts are needed.

https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/nutrition-and-healthy-eating/in-depth/caffeine/art-20049372

https://teens.drugabuse.gov/blog/post/caffeine-really-addictive