Caffeine, alcohol & food addiction?!
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LastingChanges wrote: »I think its okay to call it an addiction. An addiction could be many things, and theres many things people could be addicted to that dont fall under drugs or alcohol but are still potentially a danger to them. I think anything that a person has hard time controlling or stopping classifies as addiction. Sometimes looking at these habits as an addiction is a good way to have it click in your head that it needs to stop.
OP congrats on your accomplishment.
Thankyou and yes I think what I've learnt today is we all have our different opinions on what classifies as an addiction! I'm just happy that I don't rely on those drinks anymore and feel healthier
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CasperNaegle wrote: »SergeantSausage wrote: »SergeantSausage wrote: »I quit smoking one day after 27+ years.
I just ... one random day 4 years ago ... stopped.
Don't make it out to be any more than it is.
You quit drinking energy drinks. I quit smoking. So what? No. Big. Deal. For either of us.
Life moves on. Go live it.
Amazing effort to have done that!!
Actually, no. It wasn't. That's my point and you missed it entirely.
I think you are fortunate and I too as I am very non addictive and find it easy to quit things.. not everyone is the same, so to just say do it like me isn't always realistic for everyone. It can be an extreme hurdle for people. My dad quit smoking and 15 years later he said he would eat a cig. sandwich he wanted one so badly.
Smoking is one addiction that many people normally have to go through many phases before they have fully beaten.. It's great your dad quit smoking I know for a few of my family members they have been smoking for so long that giving up in their heads is impossible! I think anybody can achieve and beat an addiction. For some people it's easy and for some people it takes many years, rehab and a close network of people to help out
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It doesn't matter if people have different opinions on what addiction means. It is a medical term with a set, accepted definition. Addiction, dependance, habits, lack of willpower and/or abuse are not the same thing.
Having said that, congratulations to anybody who has successfully dropped a counterproductive activity. I quit smoking 7 years ago and it was and still is a big deal to me.0 -
ValerieMartini2Olives wrote: »Did you have to go through an inpatient program to get rid of your "addiction"? Rehab? Take methadone to wean off? Then no... it wasn't an addiction. You got the shakes because you were upped on caffeine and then started to crash.
While I don't believe the OP had a true addiction to energy drinks by the medical definition, your definition is also pretty far from it.0 -
Need2Exerc1se wrote: »ValerieMartini2Olives wrote: »Did you have to go through an inpatient program to get rid of your "addiction"? Rehab? Take methadone to wean off? Then no... it wasn't an addiction. You got the shakes because you were upped on caffeine and then started to crash.
While I don't believe the OP had a true addiction to energy drinks by the medical definition, your definition is also pretty far from it.
Exactly if this were true how die Bill W. and DR. Bob (first two AA members) get sober? The poster seems to have forgotten that reports of addiction go back thousands of years.
Congratulations OP, I can relate to your issue with energy drinks. I get a similar reaction from candy, thick gooy ice creams...0 -
Congratulations on kicking your energy drink habit!0
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For the past two years I was addicted to sugary energy drinks and would drink two a day without fail.. I would get withdrawal like symptoms if I went without one and I couldn't believe just how many calories were in one drink (225).
I'm two weeks free of energy drinks and the reason I gave up this "addiction" was after having a massive panic attack which had all the heart attack symptoms, and this scared me to the point I went cold turkey.
Have any of you battled addictions of any kind and if so would you share your story? I know how hard it is to give up something and to make it work but I'm 110% behind anyone who has dealt with an addiction or is still dealing with one!
I've self-medicated with food, alcohol, and other things I'm not comfortable discussing here. I found Rational Recovery's Addictive Voice Recognition Technique useful for both food and alcohol.
I need to self-medicate much less frequently these days, and when I do, I use exercise.0 -
ValerieMartini2Olives wrote: »Did you have to go through an inpatient program to get rid of your "addiction"? Rehab? Take methadone to wean off? Then no... it wasn't an addiction. You got the shakes because you were upped on caffeine and then started to crash.
Actually, more people quit heroin, nicotine and alcohol on their own than via rehab or other interventions.
The Surprising Truth About Addiction
More people quit addictions than maintain them, and they do so on their own.
Read more: https://www.psychologytoday.com/articles/200407/the-surprising-truth-about-addiction0 -
I used to drink a lot of Red Bull and Diet Coke back in the day. I would go from coffee straight to those every day. I was never worried about the caffeine--it's a pretty safe substance. I got worried about all the other stuff that was in those drinks.
I definitely still have a caffeine addiction, and I will stop drinking coffee when you pry it out of my cold, dead hand. I sometimes get headaches and achy-ness when I don't have any before lunch time. I actually think a lot of American adults have the same problem. But the diet drinks and energy drinks had to go, and I'm glad they're out of my life. I mostly just drink black coffee and water now. I throw in a Diet Coke here and there if I want to get crazy.0 -
There is a lt of semantic nit pickiness on this board. I've learned they'll accept "addiction like" rather than "addiction" when referring to my experiences with sugary foods. Anyways...
I too felt pretty poorly when I had to go without my sugar fixes. I could not have just a little bit, so I treated it like an addiction and cut added sugars to almost zero and limited my carbs, especially starchy carb and those with sugars. I felt pretty poorly for a few days but I feel great now. I am free of those addiction-like feelings now.
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Guilty. Day #6 ETOH free. I decided at the age of 56 it is time to stop fooling myself. I was a weekend drinker. I would drink about 8-10 beers at a sitting. I drank until I got buzzed or drunk. No, I can't just have 1 or 2. I needed the buzz. Then of course this would lead to an cigarette or two or three or four. STOP!!!!!! Here's looking at you kid.
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SergeantSausage wrote: »SergeantSausage wrote: »I quit smoking one day after 27+ years.
I just ... one random day 4 years ago ... stopped.
Don't make it out to be any more than it is.
You quit drinking energy drinks. I quit smoking. So what? No. Big. Deal. For either of us.
Life moves on. Go live it.
Amazing effort to have done that!!
Actually, no. It wasn't. That's my point and you missed it entirely.
Okay first of all, don't comment if you are just going to be an arsehole! Sorry for "complimenting" what you achieved.. Oh, am I missing the point again well I don't care and don't comment again on here thanks
Well aren't you a peach
The only person I know that I would agree has a problem with food as strong as an addiction is a friends Son who has a condition called Prader willi syndrome.
He will steal, fight and beg to get food. May be have a read up about it then answer if you would do the same to get an energy drink?0 -
There's a lot of unnecessary butthurt in this thread...jeez...
My mom in her life has kicked alcoholism, a meth addiction, and most recently cigarettes. All without any programs. And she will be the first to tell you that, yes, she is a caffeine addict. My dad calls her a caf-fiend. (Lame dad joke, haha)
Good job OP in kicking a habit that you realized was hurting you. I'm trying to quit nicotine and it isn't easy. I ditched the ciggies, but I got a vapor pen and I'm currently trying to wean myself off of it. Kudos!0 -
knelson095 wrote: »My dad calls her a caf-fiend. (Lame dad joke, haha)
Oh no. I thought that was funny, and filed it away for later use. When did I fall so far?
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Nobody was pushing programs. Lol. That assertion is what's BS.0
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For the past two years I was addicted to sugary energy drinks and would drink two a day without fail.. I would get withdrawal like symptoms if I went without one and I couldn't believe just how many calories were in one drink (225).
I'm two weeks free of energy drinks and the reason I gave up this "addiction" was after having a massive panic attack which had all the heart attack symptoms, and this scared me to the point I went cold turkey.
Have any of you battled addictions of any kind and if so would you share your story? I know how hard it is to give up something and to make it work but I'm 110% behind anyone who has dealt with an addiction or is still dealing with one!
I have dealt plenty with addiction in my life, and food and non-alcoholic beverages have no addictive properties except that which I give them. The only power food/non-alcoholic drinks have over me is the power I give them.
Yet, being a past binge eater, and a bulimic in remission for many years (since my early 20's), I understand compulsion all too well. It can take over your life if you allow it.
If you are compulsed to have two energy drinks, you can automatically choose to cut back or eliminate them, which an addict cannot do.
If you have an ED, you can still stop the behavior for awhile, but you need treatment to find the root cause for your disorder so that you can work on yourself and move toward abstinence from the ED behavior and hopefully lifetime remission.
With all due respect, 2 energy drinks a day is not addiction. Excellent that you conquered this behavior, but remember there is moderation too.0 -
The only one of these remotely an addiction is alcohol and actually, that's considered a medical condition.0
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RuNaRoUnDaFiEld wrote: »SergeantSausage wrote: »SergeantSausage wrote: »I quit smoking one day after 27+ years.
I just ... one random day 4 years ago ... stopped.
Don't make it out to be any more than it is.
You quit drinking energy drinks. I quit smoking. So what? No. Big. Deal. For either of us.
Life moves on. Go live it.
Amazing effort to have done that!!
Actually, no. It wasn't. That's my point and you missed it entirely.
Okay first of all, don't comment if you are just going to be an arsehole! Sorry for "complimenting" what you achieved.. Oh, am I missing the point again well I don't care and don't comment again on here thanks
Well aren't you a peach
The only person I know that I would agree has a problem with food as strong as an addiction is a friends Son who has a condition called Prader willi syndrome.
He will steal, fight and beg to get food. May be have a read up about it then answer if you would do the same to get an energy drink?
I've read up a lot on caffeine addiction specifically coffee and energy drinks. And you'll see in most cases these studies show that they are an addiction when you possess most of the withdrawal symptoms people do with drugs and alcoholism! Is caffeine addictions as bad; No way, but people have their own opinions on how to define the word addiction
Thanks for the comment0
This discussion has been closed.
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