Briar

I'm so frustrated with myself. I've quit drinking, but now I'm developing the exact same addictive behaviors around caffeine. I don't even like caffeine! But apparently I really like altering the way I feel, and once I find a thing that can do that, I'm hooked. I guess it doesn't matter what it is, and I'm afraid I'm always going to be struggling with something. Now I have to detox off the caffeine, which obviously isn't as extreme as alcohol, but still it sucks trying to get off something when I'm supposedly sober. Makes me feel not so sober after all. When I don't alter myself with anything, I seriously feel great. Why can't I be satisfied with that?

hypochondriac

I think it's a natural human response no? When something makes us feel good we want to repeat the experience. It's just some of us take things to excess. It isn't all bad though, some things that make us feel good are good for us, like exercise

doggonecarl

Could elaborate on what you mean by "same addictive behaviors"? In what way is caffeine the same as alcohol for you?

Briar

I used to have a cup of tea in the morning and the occasional cup of coffee if I needed a little boost. Now I am up to five big cups of coffee a day, don't sleep well, am constantly fighting to stay hydrated because it is a diuretic (like alcohol). I am always checking myself to see if I am getting a tiny bit tired so I can drink more, and I am devising ways to get it easier and to hide it because family and coworkers are starting to comment on it. I feel jittery all the time and can barely get my work done. This is pretty stupid, why am I doing this? I don't even like it.

Anna

I love coffee.

Briar

It just freaks me out. I watched my dad do this when he was sober. Coffee, then ice cream, then snickers bars, always something. Innocuous things but taken to extremes. He was a very serious alcoholic and ultimately died from it. Yeah it's just coffee, no big deal, but I'm seeing the disease process, and that's the scary thing.

Soberpotamus

I can relate. I did the same thing with coffee once getting sober. Was drinking gobs of it some days. And I think I did to alter my behavior as well. Yeah, you know I think it has to do with neurotransmitters in the brain. They are imbalanced in alcoholics and addicts, and we use chemicals to balance them.

I'm down to 1-2 cups per day and seem to be just fine with that smaller amount. I started drinking herbal tea when I wanted more coffee. It's a pretty decent non-chemical substitute I guess. Though I'm sure one could argue that chamomile and valerian act as chemicals too Oh well... at least I'm no longer jittery, irritable, moody and angry from the coffee!

Good luck.

doggonecarl

Well, if you use (or abuse) concerns you, take steps to nip it in the bud.

I'm sure my tea and coffee usage has elements that could be construed as "addictive" in nature. I take great pains to make sure I never run out. I have many boxes of tea in my cupboard and I am always picking up more coffee. I know I'll suffer withdrawals if I miss my morning cuppa and drink coffee and tea throughout the day.

But I usually stop drinking after three in the afternoon and have no complusion to drink in the evenings. More importantly, caffeine is not making my life unmanagable. So addicted??? Not so sure.

Soberpotamus

Good points there, Carl.

Dee74

If you're concerned about your caffeine intake, or you feel it's impactuing your life, then by all means do something about it

Try cutting back, try decaf, try substituting other drinks, try not to drink past a certain number of cups or hour of the day.

There's another thread around with members trying to cut out caffeine too.

You won't always be looking for something to alter the way you feel.

I found the more I worked on myself and my life the more comfortable with it all I got and the less I wanted to run away

D