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Coffee addiction...?

olab7

olab7

Bluelighter
Joined
Jan 14, 2011
Messages
613
Location
U.S of .A
Hey everyone! Had a weird question here, probably nothing.
Substituting an addiction with another is never a good thing,right? Well, I was addicted to amphetamines a while back and quit almost a year ago. Ever since I quit I picked up a coffee habit. I know, I know everyones "addicted" to coffee. I feel like I'm using it as a substitute for amphetamines. Obviously it's not nearly as good, but its nice to feel alittle something, you know? Sometimes I drink 4 cups a day! I know there are way worse things, but is this something I should worry about? Has anyone else been in a similar situation?
 
The good thing about coffee is that it only starts being bad for you if you're drinking it literally all day.
If it's four cups a day you really have nothing to worry about. The idea that coffee is bad for you is a huge misconception - it's actually very good for your brain and doesn't damage your overall well-being. Just be careful not to start drinking more and more, cuz there is a point where it starts being unhealthy, and don't substitute water with coffee, and you'll be fine :)
 
I've read somewhere that you should limit yourself to 3 caffeinated beverages daily. 4 isn't bad at all imo though. I agree with Pagey that this isn't nothing to worry about, but just be aware of it. It seems like you know about switching out addictions and your concern does show that you're following the right path. :) Congrats on quitting the amps, that's something you should really be proud of as it's not an easy thing to do.
 
it's not really an addiction if it's not having negative effects on your life. Think of it that way. Amphetamines can wreak havoc on your mental health, physical health and social life if you abuse them, where as with coffee, not so much the case. Kind of hard to abuse coffee anyway, after a certain point it'll make you jittery and sick, kind of self limiting.
 
I consider it an addiction for me, but a pretty benign one. It has all the psychological hooks and a few physical ones as well, like not being able to fully "wake up" if I don't have coffee and getting a headache if I have to go a full day without. As I've gotten older I find that I have to drink less. I'm now down to one cup in the morning most days and maybe a second early afternoon cup if I'm really dragging. I think the whole ritual of making it is so psychologically comforting to me that I could probably just make it and not even drink it and get the same effect.

Do you feel it's a problem for you? If so, taper down and try to really enjoy and pay attention to the whole act of drinking it in a mindful way; maybe then it will be easier not to drink so much?
 
I sometimes will crave coffee late at night when I can't sleep; but I don't drink it then. I have cut back but sometimes I will have 3-4 cups a day. Buying decaf coffee to make at home also helps.
 
I don't know if it's just in my head but I get a much cleaner buzz from coffee/espresso than from energy drinks. Anyone else notice this?
 
well a better buzz perhaps, energy drinks usually have taurine and ginseng in them while coffee has MAOIs that add to the overall effects of coffee/espresso. I actually find ephedrine to be a more clean stimulant than coffee or caffeine. Energy drinks are terrible though, make me feel like shit 99% of the time. I wish we could just chew on coca leaves as it's an even more clean stimulant, or maybe chew some khat but it's not popular here. Coffee is a shitty stimulant though i do like the taste.
 
I have a couple of cups of coffee a day. I never go without but I'm not addicted because I could stop if I wanted to. I just choose to use it every day.

And anyway, up to about 3 or 4 cups of coffee a day it's actually good for you. You just have to try and avoid coffee with coffee fungus because that's not so good for you apparently.
 
Caffeine is dirty as hell, but I keep coming back to it. Partially because coffee and tea are just so damn delicious. So long as the use is reasonable, it's all good. Since it's such a mild stim, and gets really unpleasant at higher doses, it's not likely to run out of control. I mean, I need to take it to feel 'normal', which is my personal functional definition of addiction, but having done it regularly for about 15 years I've had no big problems with it.
 
I remember before I liked coffee I decided to buy a few little sample packs of different kinds of coffee to see if I'd like any of them. My roommates ended up drinking allllll of it on me. So in an act of revenge and on a night before a test I decided to stay awake I'd drink a bunch of their own coffee. I ended up drinking 2 whole pots to myself. I was a shaky mess. I made it to the test the next day, but ended up doing not so well on it cause I had such a difficult time studying the night before with all that caffeine and hadn't gotten any sleep. My roommates didn't even notice that any of their coffee was missing and that was the last time I ever sought out revenge.
 
I usually have 1 coffee a day, and maybe a half cup in the afternoon and once in a while I'll have one at night.

I'd say I average around 3 standard measuring cups a day, or roughly 1.5 mugs.
 
RobotRipping said:
it's not really an addiction if it's not having negative effects on your life. Think of it that way. Amphetamines can wreak havoc on your mental health, physical health and social life if you abuse them, where as with coffee, not so much the case. Kind of hard to abuse coffee anyway, after a certain point it'll make you jittery and sick, kind of self limiting.
Click to expand...

Yeah, I definitely feel the same way. Amphetamines kept me up for days without eating and feeling awful. I havn't noticed any negative effects from drinking coffee. Not yet anyway. Yeah, it is very self limiting which is probably why I don't feel like binging on it like I did with the amps.

herbavore said:
I consider it an addiction for me, but a pretty benign one. It has all the psychological hooks and a few physical ones as well, like not being able to fully "wake up" if I don't have coffee and getting a headache if I have to go a full day without. As I've gotten older I find that I have to drink less. I'm now down to one cup in the morning most days and maybe a second early afternoon cup if I'm really dragging. I think the whole ritual of making it is so psychologically comforting to me that I could probably just make it and not even drink it and get the same effect.


Do you feel it's a problem for you? If so, taper down and try to really enjoy and pay attention to the whole act of drinking it in a mindful way; maybe then it will be easier not to drink so much?
Click to expand...

I don't feel that its a problem that I notice, but I make myself think its a problem, lol. Like I just feel guilty about it. After I quit the amps I freaked out and was like, "Oh man now I've got nothing what am I going to do?? Oh! I'll try coffee!"

Yes! Coffee for me is probably about 60%-70% psychologically comforting to me. Making it and drinking it while watching some tv is a good time to me now a days whether i feel the effects of caffeine or not,lol. I find the ritual of having some after work or school is great. I look forward to it. Kind of like a way to unwind which is weird because most people use it to get through work or school, but I make my self wait that way It'll be better when I have nothing else to do for the day but relax.


Artificial Emotion said:
I have a couple of cups of coffee a day. I never go without but I'm not addicted because I could stop if I wanted to. I just choose to use it every day.

And anyway, up to about 3 or 4 cups of coffee a day it's actually good for you. You just have to try and avoid coffee with coffee fungus because that's not so good for you apparently.
Click to expand...

Yeah, all the research I've done says that it can actually be good for you. When I go a day or 2 without it I feel fine. I might crave it a little but I can still have a great day without it.
 
RobotRipping said:
well a better buzz perhaps, energy drinks usually have taurine and ginseng in them while coffee has MAOIs that add to the overall effects of coffee/espresso. I actually find ephedrine to be a more clean stimulant than coffee or caffeine. Energy drinks are terrible though, make me feel like shit 99% of the time. I wish we could just chew on coca leaves as it's an even more clean stimulant, or maybe chew some khat but it's not popular here. Coffee is a shitty stimulant though i do like the taste.
Click to expand...

That's interesting. I've always wondered about that because if I drink energy drinks or a bunch of soda that equals like 100mg of caffeine, it doesn't quite feel as strong as one cup of coffee.
 
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