How to get rid of coffee addiction — scientific facts, review of symptoms and consequences

Speaking about their addiction to coffee, lovers of the drink call themselves coffee drinkers, and sometimes jokingly even coffee addicts.

But is there really such a dependency? Doctors and scientists claim that such a problem exists, and it even happens to be comparable in strength to drug addiction, and a frivolous attitude towards it is fraught with negative health consequences. Moreover, getting rid of the painful habit of constantly drinking coffee is as difficult as any other, including sugar addiction .

Scientific research indicates indicates that caffeine causes behavioral and physiological effects identical to those observed with the use of other drugs.

Survey of 500 addiction specialists in the USA showed that most of them confirm the existence of withdrawal syndrome (in the common people &171;withdrawal &187;) and addiction to coffee, and also consider these symptoms clinically significant.

Therefore, it is necessary to fight caffeine, as American doctors called this disease, because it really exists and tends to progress.

What is the name of the disease and the ICD-10 code

Is coffee really addictive? Doctors have no doubt that such a disease exists and is a serious problem.

According to the International Classification of Diseases of the 10th revision (ICD-10), there is even a special name for the definition of this pathology: mental and behavioral disorders caused by the use of other stimulants (including caffeine) (F15).

The criteria for this disorder may surprise and confuse many:

1. A strong desire to consume and a weak ability to control this desire;
2. Abuse, despite the obvious harm to health;
3. Psychomotor disorders, for example, overexcitation.

Many coffee lovers, being honest with themselves, will find signs of this addiction.

General information

The human body, and especially the psyche, is a delicate matter. And habits that are formed over the years are not always directly related to painful addiction.

To eliminate serious pathologies, doctors involve specialists of different profiles, &8212; it is so difficult to overcome real addiction, for example, alcohol or narcotic.

Therefore, to eliminate the unhealthy habit of consuming a lot of caffeine is far away it is not necessary to seek medical treatment .

And although outwardly excessive attachment to coffee may look like drug addiction, you should not be afraid of it.

But when stating such a fact, the fight for health should begin immediately, especially since this is a feasible task for a competent and strong-willed person, unlike many cases of alcohol or drug addiction. It must be remembered that the consequences of abuse of even such a delicious drink as coffee can be irreversible.

And at the same time, for the sake of justice it is necessary to mention the undeniable health benefits from moderate coffee consumption:

1. Coffee relieves depression ;
2. Improves memory ;
3. Gives a feeling of cheerfulness and energy ;
4. Useful for mental activity ;
5. Useful for the cardiovascular system ;
6. Helps with hypotension .

You can learn more about each property by clicking on the corresponding link.

There is a huge amount of scientific research proving the positive effect of this drink on various body systems. Obviously, there is not the slightest reason for a healthy person to completely abandon moderate coffee consumption.

But the article is devoted specifically to the abuse of a drink with the subsequent development of addiction. This is what we will talk about further.

Reasons of occurrence

There can be quite a lot of reasons for coffee addiction: from the desire to conform to social norms to an objective lack of some substances in the body.

For example, a person does not want to stand out in a team if there is a tradition of endless coffee breaks in the office where he spends his working day.

Or because of ignorance that chronic hypotension can and should be treated by a doctor, someone is artificially cheering themselves up , trying to bring blood pressure up to the physiological norm.

But there are still several main reasons for the appearance of a painful addiction.

1. Chronic lack of sleep. If a night's sleep is constantly interrupted for some reason, or a person works in shifts and sometimes has to not sleep at all at night or sleeps less than 7-8 hours a day, then drowsiness is a natural consequence of such a daily routine. Moreover, it occurs, as a rule, at least three times a day: in the morning, when it is difficult to get out of bed, in the afternoon and in the early evening, after 16-17 hours, when it is too early to go to bed, but the body's resources have already run out. For this reason, the coffee lover turns to the drink as the last salvation throughout the daylight hours. For the same reason, it is difficult for him to fall asleep: he has to go to bed after midnight, which immediately significantly reduces the quality and productivity of a night's rest. There is less time to sleep again than it could have been&8230; And the whole cycle repeats again.
2. Artificial light. In recent decades, people have spent a lot of time surrounded by electronics and under artificial daylight. As a result, biochemical processes in the brain are disrupted. After artificial light, it requires artificial cheerfulness of caffeine.
3. Nicotine addiction. Nicotine poisons the body: it has been proven long ago and definitively. After smoking there is weakness, loss of strength , apathy. Hence the desire to drink coffee or other caffeinated drinks over and over again.

Symptoms and Signs

People do not always adequately assess their condition. And not all signs and symptoms of coffee addiction are generally noticed: they are more often considered to be the result of completely different problems. However, they are worth paying attention to.

1. Sleep disorders. It can be insomnia, sudden gratuitous interruption of a night's sleep. Drowsiness, accompanied by headaches, can also be a consequence of drinking too much coffee.
2. Signs of &171;withdrawal&187;. If a caffeine addict does not receive the usual drink within 12-24 hours, migraines may begin, muscle pain may appear.
3. Problems with the gastrointestinal tract. It seems to many that indigestion begins without coffee. Sometimes there is nausea. Coffee really helps the digestion of food by activating the digestive system. But his absence should not be affected in this way.
4. Irritability and depression. Such symptoms of &171;withdrawal &187; may occur if you abruptly refuse &171; the next dose of &187; caffeine.

Consequences

If you do not pay attention to the signs of such a disorder, painful conditions may gradually develop, which will take much more effort and time to eliminate. The appearance of serious ailments is also possible.

1. Neurotic manifestations. Except increased nervous excitability , these are pathologies such as anxiety, trembling in the hands and feet, constant sweating.
2. Hypertension. In small doses, coffee even has a beneficial effect on blood vessels. But against the background of abuse, high blood pressure can become chronic.
3. Cardiovascular diseases. Caffeine activates activity of the heart muscle . But tachycardia, arrhythmia will definitely not add to your well-being.

But this drink also has an undeniable benefit. For more information, see the infographic:

 

 

How to get rid of — 3 methods

If a person really experiences a real, and not a psychological dependence, then it is not advisable to abruptly stop drinking the drink. This can lead to painful consequences. But gradually it is worth introducing some restrictions, using different techniques. So how do you get rid of the addiction and be able to overcome coffee addiction? Here are the 3 main methods.

1. Go for tea

First of all, caffeine is not only in coffee, but also in tea, especially in green.

Therefore, if you use gentle methods of withdrawal, then you can start by replacing at least one cup a day, for example, in the afternoon, with Invigorating green tea .

Other than that, green tea Improves memory and it helps Fight stress .

Secondly, the habit of drinking coffee may be primarily related not even to caffeine, but to the process itself. It is not worth fighting with it: taking breaks from work, especially if you have to work at a computer, is extremely useful.

2. Use other invigorating drinks

There is a large number of Invigorating drinks , which do not contain caffeine in their composition, but its other unique components are involved in creating an invigorating effect.

1. Argentine mate. There is a substance in the infusion of the mate plant that is identical in its chemical formula to caffeine. Conventionally, he was called matein. And it is interesting that in case of violation of the technology of collecting and harvesting raw materials, mate will perform the function of an energizer, but it can greatly harm the cardiovascular system. Therefore, and also because of the similarity in chemical composition, it is often called caffeine. But that in the case of proper collection, drying and brewing, matein provides an incredible boost of strength, but without side effects. You can even drink it at night without fear of causing insomnia or a sharp jump in blood pressure.
2. Chicory or barley drinks. An infusion of chicory root or a drink made from barley does not taste very close to coffee. But they contain a lot of useful minerals, vitamins, aromatic substances that tone up well, but do not cause the effect of overexcitation.
3. A mixture of ginger and lemon. It is enough to grind ginger root with lemon in a meat grinder, without peeling off either ingredient (but removing the bags from the citrus), and brew the mass with boiling water.
4. Indian masala tea. Different provinces of India have their own recipe for this drink. Therefore, it can be prepared to taste from milk, water, black tea and a mixture of spices: ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, fennel, black and green cardamom, black and allspice and other spices. Masala is drunk both in the morning and in the evening: having invigorating properties, the drink does not disrupt biological rhythms.

3. Additional ways to fight

There are quite a lot of techniques to help overcome addiction. You need to try several to choose the most suitable ones in each specific case.

1. Always drinking a glass of clean water 20-25 minutes after drinking a cup of coffee. If this is not done, then just after this period of time, a diuretic effect and an attack of drowsiness begin, which requires a new portion of energy drink.
2. Choose a decaf drink. Most often these are soluble forms. But it must be remembered that they can also cause harm to different body systems in case of overdose.
3. Replace it with something useful. In some cases, it is more useful to gradually replace coffee not only with an energy drink, but also with a simply delicious herbal decoction or even with ordinary drinking water, which almost everyone drinks too little of.
4. Add milk. If the habit of drinking coffee is associated not only or not so much with its properties as with its taste qualities, then you can try to start by reducing the amount of caffeine consumed by adding milk.
5. Go to bed earlier. The problem of the need to constantly tone the body can be solved if you simply eliminate chronic sleep deprivation.

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Conclusion

Coffee is an unusual, very tasty and even useful drink for many body systems.

But if there is a predilection to use it in too large doses, then this will block all the useful properties. Therefore, it is possible and necessary to deal with such a disorder.