Difficulty of How to End Caffeine Addiction

Dealing with Caffeine Addiction

Many people in our society suffer from some level of caffeine addiction. While most people will either be unaware of the problem or will choose to ignore it, some people will find that the problem is so bad that they must do something about it. Unfortunately the fact that caffeine addiction isn't taken seriously as a drug addiction leads to a high level of difficulty for those people who do have a serious problem with the issue and who do seek to get help. A lack of resources and a general sense that the rest of the world isn't taking your concern seriously can make it particularly difficult to get over an addiction which is already physically tough to bear.

What Is Caffeine Addiction

Like with any addiction, an addiction to caffeine refers to a problem in which you feel the emotional or physical need to have caffeine. Often, you know that you ultimately aren't going to feel good as a result of indulging in caffeine intake but you drink that soda or buy that cup of coffee anyway because you simply need to get your fix. It also involves becoming more and more tolerant of caffeine which means that you may need greater amounts than before to achieve the same effects. (For example, you need two cups of coffee to get going in the morning whereas you used to only need one.)

Withdrawal when Giving Up Caffeine

Like with any addiction, there are going to be effects that you experience when you try to give up caffeine. First of all, you will feel constant cravings for the caffeine and you will feel like you need to have it which is something that can tempt you to give up on trying to break away from the addiction. Secondly, you may feel a variety of physical symptoms that are caused by withdrawal from the drug. These physical symptoms include tiredness, headaches, anxiety and a general sense of not feeling well. You have to realize that these feelings are going to pass.

Difficulties of Giving up Caffeine

The withdrawal that you experience is going to make it difficult for you to give up caffeine. You will also find that there are other reasons that it is difficult to end this addiction. The main problem (besides the symptoms of withdrawal and the general difficulty of giving up an addiction) is that there is a lack of support from others when you are trying to give up caffeine. If you were trying to give up heroin, people in your life would support you and say that yes, you should never do any kind of heroin. But people don't realize that caffeine addiction can be serious and therefore they may downplay or belittle the fact that you are trying to give it up. This lack of understanding about the problems with caffeine addiction also means that there is a lack of resources for people who have this problem which adds to the difficulty of giving up caffeine.

So How Do You End A Caffeine Addiction?

The first thing that you need to do to end a caffeine addiction is to realize that it is going to be a difficult thing to do. No one will take you seriously, there will be temptation all around you and you are physically not going to feel good for awhile when you are giving up the caffeine. That's something that you're going to have to come to terms with if you are going to ultimately have the will power to give up caffeine. Once you have established that will power, you can give up the physical process of eliminating caffeine from your diet.

There are two approaches that you can take to ending your caffeine intake: cold turkey and easing up. Cold turkey means that you give up all caffeine immediately and don't give in to having it ever. You don't eat pieces of chocolate. You don't get soda with your lunch. This is the more difficult of the two options both to do and to maintain over time. However, for people with a serious caffeine addiction, it may be the only way to handle the problem.

The other method, and the one more commonly used, is to ease up on caffeine intake. Someone who drinks coffee all throughout the day may start only drinking coffee in the morning. Someone who drinks coffee in the morning may switch to drinking black tea or some other drink that has a lower amount of caffeine. These people sometimes choose to continue cutting back until they have no caffeine in their diet at all but some people also choose to just have a limited amount of caffeine in their diet for the rest of their lives.

The choice that you make regarding how to give up caffeine is going to depend on many factors. It depends on the extent of your problem and the goals that you have for reducing that problem (meaning that you may not want to actually cut out all caffeine but want to cut back because you notice it causing you physical harm). It also depends on the personality style that you have in regards to which method is likely to have more long-term standing with you.

Getting More Information

People who have a serious problem with caffeine addiction will find that it is really difficult to get resources for resolving this problem. There are some websites and books out there about this issue which is a good place to start. However, you should know that you can also learn a lot by reading about other types of addiction, such as alcohol addiction. Many of the problems that you have when trying to give up caffeine will be the same problems that people with other addictions have as they try to give up their vices. Learning what these are and learning how to combat them can be effective in assisting you in getting away from the drug of caffeine.

Try To Find Support

It can't be said enough that the main problem isn't the addiction itself or the lack of resources but the fact that most people around you won't take your caffeine addiction seriously. Try really hard to find some support from at least one friend or family member to assist you in getting through this difficult time.