Yes, it's true, I am an addict, a slave to the drug found in many forms - tea, colas, and coffee - which is my drug delivery device of choice. I need caffeine. If I don't have it, I suffer withdrawal symptoms: headache, fatigue, irritability.
Oh, it's nothing really chronic. I'm just a one, maybe two, cups of coffee in the morning only kind of guy. That's it. Any coffee (or caffeine in any source) after noon affects the quality of my sleep that night.
Yes, this is just coffee; we are not talking about heroin or tobacco or crystal meth. But still, it's an addictive drug, and its legality and popularity don't discount its addictiveness. I want to be in total control of my body. I like my freedom, and don't want to be anybody's slave, or any drug's slave. As long as I get my one-or-two-cuppa-joe-in-the-morning fix, I'm good. I get alert and the day really gets rolling. It does wear off, but I don't coast on more caffeine to get me through the day. I know it will mess up my sleep.
I never even tried coffee until college. It was just an occasional thing to drink if it was offered. (Like most kids, I drank Colas and iced tea while growing up, and I'm sure I did get a caffeine buzz but did not realize it at the time.)
The coffee addiction began in earnest in 1990 when I moved to Seattle and worked long hours at an advertising agency. I still remember my new employee orientation, when I was introduced to the goodies in the break room. "This pot has the decaf, this pot has the French Roast, and this pot has the good stuff called 'Starbucks,'" said the office guide, as she poured a sample of the Starbucks for me. It tasted like mud, but a yummy kind of mud. My coffee addiction began. The first one's always free.
For over 15 years, I've needed coffee daily. Never as much as some people (For a while I dated a woman who used her coffee maker as her alarm clock!), and it never got to more of a four-cup-a-day habit at the most. On the occasional days when coffee was not available, or even not available until later in the day, the headache and fatigue would come a-calling: My body would tell me "Give me caffeine, I'm suffering!"A 12-step program is not my kind of bag, so I am tapering off and eventually quitting coffee and all caffeine products. I want to test my resolve, and I want to regain total control of my body. I also want to save a little time and money and hassle every day. I want to wake up and smell an addiction-free life!
This won't be a total personal prohibition. I will still enjoy coffee, tea, and other caffeine products after I end my dependence. The goal is to not NEED a daily caffeine fix.
28 comments:
I don't like me without my daily caffeine fix. I do a 16-ounce half-caf in the morning, and one diet soda at noon. Anything after that, and my sleep gets disturbed.
The poison in the diet soda is a whole 'nother story.
I feel ya! I don't like coffee, but I have my caffeine through tea--and I drink that all day, any time of day, lol. Hmm..maybe that's why I have sleeping issues..
I used to drink soda, too, but I haven't done that since like the end of November 2005 (and, MAN do I want a Pibb Xtra!!).
coffee is definately a big part of my life. We're in a committed relationship, coffee and I. I don't want to be to presumptious but I perhaps wedding bells are in the future? Some say she's too strong and too taxing on their systems. But me,I like her just fine =)
by the way, I saw the link for the flying spaghetti monster on the right there....I'm a pastafarian too. Thanks for stoping by
Please keep us posted if you have managed to kick it. It's tough!
Thanks for your comment on my blog - I've left a reply to your question there.
Just reading your post has made me want to run 6 miles to my nearest Starbucks!
Thanks for your comment on my blog, too.
I love your writing on this coffee subject.
You must be a writer!
Pirk
Oh I whish you good luck!!!
Since we have Starbucks in Germany, I drink more and more coffee, althought I even don´t like it that much...
On my second coffee today. Only this time with two shots of espresso. Mmmmmm.....elevated heartrate, how I've missed thee.
Control is an illusion.
Besides, I would really miss my morning coffee. I just enjoy it.
Good luck though.
Angie's Pink Fuzzy - Why not turn to tea instead of soda? Way less poison ...
~Keely~ - I challenge you to join me in the "Just Say No to Caffeine" campaign!
Bix - Sounds like you are in a dysfunctional relationship! Let us seek guidance from our Noodly Master. Ramen.
Brian - I am determined, and I have a strong resolve. It's gonna happen!
Velma - Oops, I mean Precisiongirl - Now we Americans know what "knob" means, although it still depends on context!
Pirk - Writer, blogger, chicken-scratcher ... call me what you wish, just keep reading!
Eyes - If German Starbucks coffee is as potent as German beer, you, my dear, may already be hooked!
Radio - Two espresso shots? No wonder your finger was shaking on the M key ...
Abyss - Ah, but tobacco smokers just enjoy their tobacco ... who/what's in control here?
Hey! Haven't visited in a while, as I was on reading week @ school. Loved this blog! I respect your goal to not NEED a daily caffeine fix and to have control of your body, I think that's awesome! it's one thing to WANT something but it's another thing to want it desparately. (I'm speaking of non-essentials of course). I have just recently started a diet. It's kind of like Atkins, but not as strict. I have noticed a huge difference ... I'm actually surprised. This is the first diet I've ever been on. Apparantly the first two weeks are supposed to break any addiction to carbohydrates. Interesting.
Anywho, that's all I guess.
Good luck!
Ciao.
PS
ACK! you got rid of the beard!!!!!!!
Haha, kidding. It looks great :)
I enjoy my 2 or 3 cups of coffee in the AM too much to worry about the dreaded 'A' word. Life is too short.
When I was younger I could drink coffee all day and still get a goodnight sleep....now at 40 something 2 or more cups of coffee as early as 6:00 a.m can still have me zooming at bedtime. I switch up between my kicks with coffee and then my kicks with green tea.
Caffeine isn't that hard to break I've done it before, some advil and a couple days of headaches and you're pretty much done.
But good luck with it.
Thanks for your comment on my blog. i am really glad you find my blog's design beautiful.
photos on your blog are really cool. i like them so much..
I can't say you've inspired me to quit my drug... **HEADED OFF TO ONE of DENVER's MANY MUD SLINGING COFFEE JOINTS.
"This won't be a total personal prohibition. I will still enjoy coffee, tea, and other caffeine products after I end my dependence."
That works for me with non-physically addictive things like alcohol. But with caffiene, I've found that when I give it an inch, it takes a mile. I've quit coffee too many times. I always get hooked back on it again the same way. I rationalize that, "the one cup I want to have after breakfast won't be so bad, after all, it been like three weeks since I had a cup, and I'm not physically addicted anymore, what harm could it do?" Then three days later I think to myself, "I know I shouldn't have this cup of coffee, but I stayed up too late last night watching crappy TV on the Tivo, and I really have to finish writing this tedious report for the VP, it won't be a big deal"
The next thing you know, I'm right back to drinking at least a cup a day.
I'm not a big fan of the 12 steps thing either, but I'm skeptical about how sucessful a "casual coffee drinker" one can be. I'm hoping I've quit coffee for good this time. We'll see.
Lol, not today..I could never "just say no to caffeine"..do you know how cranky I'd be??
My name is Rose and I am a caffeine-aholic. They say the first step to over coming any addiction is admitting that you have a problem. But there are just some addictions that you rather not give up.
Coffee...I can take it or leave it.
It was tobacco that had me enslaved.
BUT!
I'm officially 1 year and 7 months QUIT!!
(I know, I'm merely using this comment as a 'cheers to me' post. That's okay, right?)
I know that I can't have 'just one cigarette', I'd be right back to a pack a day.
Is it the same for coffee?
i've been cutting back on caffeine too. tea does contain less than coffee, but it still has quite a bit - almost as much as coffee in fact.
God help me, I've become a triple addict...
Besides the coffee & cigarettes, I have found myself addicted to CHAI in the evening before bed.
Argh....
Peace &
Good Luck,
=RD=
I would have to agree with the sentiment that “control is an illusion”… but in a more Calvinistic sort of way. Anyway enjoy your new found freedom from coffee.
I would have to be dragged kicking and screaming to leave my morning cup of coffee..just one cup that's all i need..but i don't want to do without it!! :) (PS I commented below in response to your pic question!)
Stefani ~ That's right, there is a difference between WANTING and NEEDING. Caffeine addicts may WANT coffee, but they also NEED it because it's addictive; it produces physical withdrawal symptoms.
Sounds like your new diet is successful so far. Congratulations! Healthy eating is so important ... after reading Fast Food Nation and spending time in Europe a couple years ago, I cut WAY back on processed foods, and I feel better than ever!
(And without that winter beard, I look better too!)
Cube ~ Yes, life is too short, and this is the only life. There are far more harmful addictions than caffeine. It's not that big a deal, really, I just wanted to prove something to myself. If the benefits of caffeine addiction outweigh its prohibition, I'm going back to the java!
Kimberleigh ~ Things change as we get older, don't they! However, we get wiser, and we listen when our bodies talk to us!
Tank ~ You're right, some Advil and a couple days of headaches and you're pretty much done! But it sounds like you've fallen off the wagon. Although we are talking about caffeine, this reminds me of the great quote from fellow freethinker Mark Twain: "Quitting smoking is easy. I've done it hundreds of times!"
Indis Lúinwë ~ Sometimes beauty is in the eye of the blogger!
DCB ~ You may enjoy the many mudslinging coffee joints in Seattle, too! (That's where I got hooked!)
Casey ~ Here's to your success! I think you can confidently say you have overcome the addiction if you can go a couple days without caffeine and not experience withdrawal symptoms. So an occasional latte is fine! Especially if it's for pleasure, not dependence.
~Keely~ ~ Give it a try! Just say no! But avoid human contact for a few days ...
Rose ~ We have both admitted we have a problem. But is it worth giving up? Let's give it a try and see. We can always go back!
Tai ~ A big hearty congratulations from all of us to you! Quitting caffeine is tough, but I understand quitting nicotine is very tough... as tough as kicking heroin. And you did it ... for almost two years now! Way to go! Have you been told that your kisses are sweeter now?
Hel Fire ~ Yes, tea -- green tea and black tea, not the herbal teas -- has caffeine too. But it typically does not have all the cream and sugar that coffee does, so it's a better choice!
RainbowDemon ~ There's no such thing as a god to help you, so you gotta help yourself! I did it, without any supernatural help. Did a god help me quit caffeine, or did I do it all by myself? Methinks the latter. Caffeine was controlling me, now I am controlling caffeine. I'm the master of my domain!
Aaron ~ To me, on first impression, Abyss' sentiment that "control is an illusion" may be true in an absolute sense, but not in a relative sense. Thinking about it with a relativistic Humanistic sense versus an absolutist Calvinistic sense is a good mental workout. But this is a whole other topic ... way deeper than any cup of coffee!
Misty ~ "Just one cup" ... is that cup getting refills? Is that cup becoming a 12-ouncer, or a 16-ouncer??? Mmmm???
Good for you!
I'm a chocoholic and sugar is my drug. Doing my best to stop my addiction - the first three days are always the worst!
Caffeine Addiction - Caffeine Effects and Withdrawal part II
Caffeine addiction shows up when a person cannot stop consuming caffeine in high amounts, causing his/her body to demand the substance and react negatively if that no caffeine is intake. Caffeine may not be addictive in the traditional sense, but the body builds up a tolerance over time; some people find it very hard to function well without at least one cup of strong coffee or tea in the morning. The stimulating effects of caffeine are caused by a central nervous reaction, the heart rate increases, blood vessels expand and the brain receives more oxygen. These caffeine effects can last for up to 8 hours, and once they go off then the body feels extremely lazy and slow as a side effect.
Caffeine addiction can even cause death, mainly because the abuse of any stimulant can cause high blood pressure or and heart problems, so if you abuse of it chances are you put yourself at the highest risk of a heart attack.
You need to be careful with caffeine withdrawal because it affects your overall health and therefore, you need to control your consumption of caffeinated products to prevent your body reactions to caffeine withdrawals. If you need more information about caffeine effects and caffeine addiction symptoms or prevention, please investigate a little further on this topics.
You can find more info at: http://yourcaffeineaddiction.com/
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