Caffeine Addiction
You run to your favorite Coffee Shop, you order your usual large cup of Brazilian coffee with a shot of espresso and run on to work like you do everyday. The baristas at your particular coffee shop know your name and your drink and have it ready for you by the time you walk in the door. Without your Macchiato, you can’t make it through the day and your head starts to ache and your mood is greatly affected. You, my friend, are addicted to caffeine.
Caffeine is a psychoactive stimulant drug. Unlike many other psychoactive stimulants, Caffeine is legal and unregulated in almost all jurisdictions of North America and most countries in the world. It can be found in the beans, leaves, and fruits of over 60 plants found worldwide and is most commonly found in coffee, tea, soft drinks, and energy drinks. It can also be obtained in the form of a pill, powder, or in candy. The cocoa in chocolate (especially dark chocolate) contains between 30 and 60 milligrams of caffeine per serving. Caffeine is also used medically to restore mental alertness and reduce physical fatigue. It does this by stimulating the central nervous system and giving you a quick and easy “jolt” of energy. Caffeine makes pain relievers 40% more effective in relieving headaches and helps the body absorb headache medications more quickly, bringing faster relief. It does this by stimulating the central nervous system and giving you a quick and easy “jolt” of energy.
Those who overuse this means of energy are prone to nasty side effects and addiction symptoms. These include:
- Nervousness
- Irritability
- Anxiety
- Muscle twitching
- Insomnia
- Increased headaches
- Heart palpitations
- Disorientation
- Irritability
- Mania depression
- Panic attacks
- Sleep disorders
- Hallucinations
- Delusions
There have been cases of people who have overused caffeine for longer periods of time and this overuse has resulted in obsessive-compulsive symptoms, panic disorder, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, and caffeine-induced psychosis. Treatment for those who have had a history of long-term heavy usage is available sometimes through peritoneal dialysis, hemodialysis, or hemofiltration which calls for the blood to be extracted, filtered, and returned to the body. Withdrawal symptoms include inability to concentrate and chronic headaches and/or stomach-aches.
In an acute overdose of caffeine, one can develop even worse mental and physical side effects and it can even result in death. Caffeine also raises a potential risk to pregnant mothers. A study showed that mothers who drank 1-2 cups of coffee a day were more likely to give birth to children with mental and physical disorders. An even higher intake resulted in a miscarriage.
People who are addicted to caffeine may not know of their addiction. That quick cup of coffee or tea may just be their start-of-the-day routine. If you see anyone displaying any kind of erratic or unusual behavior, you can suspect that this person is abusing caffeine, possibly without knowing it. Warning signs may be chronic headaches when the substance is not obtained or grouchiness and/or irritability.
So the next time you run to Starbucks or reach for the hot cup of all-natural herbal tea, keep in mind the risk that you’re taking. As wonderful as a $0.55 shot of Espresso sounds on a cold, early morning in your strong brewed coffee, you could be subjecting yourself to a habit that could lead to a price much higher.