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Am I technically sober if the only thing I am addicted to is caffeine?

deadendgame

Bluelighter
Joined
Jul 23, 2014
Messages
356
I really don't know how to stop. I can get this anywhere and it is not like it is enforced. Like I can drive to 711 right now and get it. Nothing is stopping me. That is what makes it so hard to quit.
 
I really don't know how to stop. I can get this anywhere and it is not like it is enforced. Like I can drive to 711 right now and get it. Nothing is stopping me. That is what makes it so hard to quit.

Do you use alcohol or tobacco? If not, why? It's also at 7/11.

You have a propensity for liking caffeine (I'm presuming), and this explains the usage.

This is probably better suited for Philosophy & Spirituality but I can leave it here. %)
 
I apologize for the incoming rant-like post in advance.

No, you're technically not sober. A drug is a drug. This is why I don't like the usage of "strict" ways of defining sobriety based on whether you take something or not. Where's the line? Does coffee count? If not, why? Why is it excused? Why is nicotine excused? Following the same line of thought, you can never be completely sober! The bacteria in your gut produce ethanol in small quantities. So basically you're "drunk" the whole time if you want to speak "strict". So if you get really technical, then the whole term "sober" and especially "clean" loses its meaning. You can never be technically clean because of aforementioned gut ethanol, minimal (but we're speaking "strict"! where's the line?) quantities of all kinds of psychoactives in food. Hell, even food can be classed as a psychoactive if you want to go far. When you eat, it produces emotions and even bodily feelings that you wouldn't experience otherwise, and it does so with chemical reactions. Given, they're secondary at best as opposed to primary in the case of classical psychoactive drugs, but nonetheless! If you want to talk technical, then given enough knowledge and logic, you can prove that by just existing and living you're not clean and/or sober.

So what I'm trying to say is that people should stop focusing on being "technical" about their sobriety. Sobriety is a state of mind more than anything, not whether you take something or not. You can be sober while taking drugs and you can not be sober when not taking. Be more open-minded about it.

/rant
 
Belligerent drunk is technically correct (see what I did there, BD :) ) but lets face facts. Coffee and caffeine are more of a cultural thing and I wouldnt even classify them as drugs of abuse that one needs to stay clean from. Caffeine is a drug though by definition, but as long as you dont have a medical condition or intolerance aggravated by caffeine, I wouldnt ever give it a second thought.
 
That was the idea behind my post. Technically, you're not sober, but it's coffee, for fuck sake!

E: also, props on the elaborate pun! :-D
 
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I don't think caffeine counts when talking about addiction. Hell the AA book was pretty much written by a guy tweaked out on coffee and cigarettes. If you really think its a huge problem then you should taper off of it. Just start cutting back starting with energy drinks. Those things are horrible for you anyway.
 
I would say you are sober because caffeine, while psychoactive, is not psychoactive in the same way as an opiate, stimulant or alcohol.
 
I would say you are sober because caffeine, while psychoactive, is not psychoactive in the same way as an opiate, stimulant or alcohol.

I'm confused. Caffeine is a stimulant. It may be weak, but it's definitely psychoactive. I am quite sensitive to it actually, and even lower dosages produce euphoria and fairly pronounced stimulation. I wouldn't call myself completely sober after I've drunk a strong coffee; my thinking may not be as impaired as with alcohol, but it's no less impaired than with weak opioids. Coffee also sometimes gives me a stoned high, which I've been wondering about - why? This is why I don't drink it that often.

It's kind of funny actually, because my ex is sensitive to it as well. She's a very active and energetic person in general, but on caffeine she just goes completely nuts bouncing off walls. She decided she had to abstain from coffee for that reason, and I'm not even joking. Of course, this is just a few people, everyone's different. Just saying that it may not be prevalent, but it's definitely possible.

My point is, again, that you just have to keep an open mind about it and decide on a case by case basis. There's no one-size-fits-all way to define it. My ex is definitely not sober on caffeine, but it doesn't mean anyone who takes it isn't. Most are. You probably are. It's just not as black and white as we sometimes make it out to be.
 
Clean is what it is to you. Not what I or anyone else thinks. If it's bothering you & you don't think you're clean then ditch it. If it's not a big problem & helps keep you away from your DOC then to me that's as good as clean. It's all up to you. I know ppl won't say I'm "clean" cuz I smoke cigs weed & take my subs . But I'm not "clean" for those ppl. I'm clean for myself. & my problem drug was dope. So I consider myself clean as the vices I have now don't spiral out of control & put my life in jeopardy. Due to this mindset I don't really feel guilty about my vices. If I did however, maybe I would think about changing them up. Which is why I'm trying to get off my subs they're the only vice I have I question. & that's only because I feel they're doing me more harm than good now.
 
I'm confused. Caffeine is a stimulant. It may be weak, but it's definitely psychoactive. I am quite sensitive to it actually, and even lower dosages produce euphoria and fairly pronounced stimulation. I wouldn't call myself completely sober after I've drunk a strong coffee; my thinking may not be as impaired as with alcohol, but it's no less impaired than with weak opioids. Coffee also sometimes gives me a stoned high, which I've been wondering about - why? This is why I don't drink it that often.

It's kind of funny actually, because my ex is sensitive to it as well. She's a very active and energetic person in general, but on caffeine she just goes completely nuts bouncing off walls. She decided she had to abstain from coffee for that reason, and I'm not even joking. Of course, this is just a few people, everyone's different. Just saying that it may not be prevalent, but it's definitely possible.

My point is, again, that you just have to keep an open mind about it and decide on a case by case basis. There's no one-size-fits-all way to define it. My ex is definitely not sober on caffeine, but it doesn't mean anyone who takes it isn't. Most are. You probably are. It's just not as black and white as we sometimes make it out to be.

Ok, poor choice of words on my part. When I said stimulant, I had in mind drugs like cocaine and meth. I've never done meth, but I have been high on cocaine and there's no comparison between that and the strongest double espresso.

Like CH said, sober is being free of problem drugs. While one can go through caffeine withdrawal, they are still nothing compared to withdrawals from say opiates or alcohol. And while it does have a mild stimulant effect, it doesn't impair motor skills or cognitive ability like the stimulants I mentioned above, or opiates or alcohol.
 
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I really don't know how to stop. I can get this anywhere and it is not like it is enforced. Like I can drive to 711 right now and get it. Nothing is stopping me. That is what makes it so hard to quit.

Do you want to quit? Is it fucking up your life that bad? Anyway, it depends on your definition of "sober", but the label really doesn't matter. If caffeine isn't causing you problems, don't worry about it. If it is, it's something you should work on. Every person in the world is under the influence of neurochemicals, so I guess you could say no one is ever "sober".
 
The way I look at it is you are clean if you consider yourself clean, you are clean to society if an average person who does not use illicit drugs would consider you clean. So coffee and cigarettes are not considered "drugs" by society in a lot of respects and thus it would be ok to consider yourself clean from a social stand point. As others have alluded to it is very much a personal thing.

I wont consider myself fully clean from substances until i can pull 1 day with nothing other then natural foods, no processed sugars or carbs, and more importantly no compounds that would be considered drugs that have any impact on my body, caffeine and tobacco included. It is a personal goal to want to get a solid day of 0 substances or refined food items, it is not something society would consider part of being clean, but i do. In fact a lot of people would probably consider that hard to do as people enjoy sugary drinks and bread.
 
Even if you are free of all drug use, your brain and mind have a lot of healing left to do.
 
Even if you are free of all drug use, your brain and mind have a lot of healing left to do.

This is true but sobriety isnt measured in "brain health" its more of a "mental health" thing. I consider myself sober if the drugs i am doing are too weak and cant be felt, so clearly we have different views on sobriety ;)
 
Keep drinking in moderation. When it affects your sleep it's time to cut back. Coffee saved me when coming off an extended mdma comedown
 
Caffeine addiction is indeed real. I've experienced it. Although I doubt to anyone that's had anything stronger then a cigarette or beer in there life it could become a life wrecking substance. Unless I suppose your snorting pure caffine powder lol. But anyway the worst thing energy drinks can do is give you a rollercoaster of feeling awake then a crash then repeat. This is why there addictive. If you like a stimulant like cocaine like me this can become a habbit at work or when your about your daily chores.

Try and cut back if you can. But to answer your initial question. Yes! I would consider you sober
 
Can you pass a drug test while "on coffee"?
If you were caught drinking coffee at work would you be fired?
Would you get a DUI for driving with a cup of coffee?
Can you picture or have you seen the sweetest old lady you know drink coffee?
Think about your answers to those questions and the rest should be pretty easy.
 
Can you pass a drug test while "on coffee"?
If you were caught drinking coffee at work would you be fired?
Would you get a DUI for driving with a cup of coffee?
Can you picture or have you seen the sweetest old lady you know drink coffee?
Think about your answers to those questions and the rest should be pretty easy.

But those questions are irrelevant because they dont address the fact caffeine is a drug and you are asking more of societal based questions. The same thing can be said about cigarettes, quiet literally. You can not judge whether you consider yourself clean based on what others in society tell you to think about yourself. I would say you are "sober" while on a small dose of caffeine as it does not impact your thought processes however, you are not "clean" as you still have an active substance in you. That does not mean it is bad or not socially acceptable it just means if you were to run a blood screen you would have an active substance in your blood and are thus not "free of all active substances" Again its all about personal desires if you desire a life without any active compounds then no you are not clean, if you choose to be clean in societies eyes then sure chain smoke and drink coffee to your hearts content (or explode)

Personally I like caffeine as a functional stimulant and although i desire a day free of all active compounds and processed sugars i do not consider caffeine detrimental or bad for me. If anything its ability to stimulate my "bathroom time" in the morning makes it easy to be ready for work without ahem, poorly timed interruptions. The motivation and energy boost is also quite beneficial for me. I still want to prove i dont need it at some point but until then meh i think im clean to me
 
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