How to Get Over a Caffeine Addiction

Are you the kind of person who has to have a cup of coffee in the morning or you just can't get going? If you've noticed that you've got a problem with caffeine and you want to try to break free of that problem then you might benefit from the steps that are offered below for getting yourself off of the caffeine and on to a path towards healthfulness.

Difficulty: Moderately Challenging

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Strong will power and desire to quit.
• Support system of friends and family.
• Water.

1. Admit that you have a problem. Like with any other addiction, you have to admit to yourself that your caffeine intake is causing you to have emotional or physical problems and decide that you are willing to treat this as a problem that needs to be resolved.

2. Learn about caffeine addiction. The better that you understand this problem, the more luck that you will have in successfully ending the addiction.

3. Make a plan for quitting. The main thing is to decide whether you are going to quit all caffeine cold turkey or whether you are just going to ease up on your caffeine intake. Either way can work but you have to decide in advance what your approach is and stick with it.

4. Commit to getting better. You need to make a commitment to yourself to follow through with ending this addiction. You may want to write up a contract and sign it or go through some sort of ritual that makes it more of a solid plan to you.

5. Get the caffeine out of your house. Even if you aren't going cold turkey, you need to get rid of all of the temptation to binge on caffeine so throw out the chocolates and the coffee that you've got stored up at home.

6. Start giving up the caffeine. If you are going cold turkey then you need to stop altogether; otherwise you need to cut back. Either way, you're going to need to replace the caffeine that you consume with something healthier. Many people opt for green tea to replace coffee and soda; juice and water are other alternatives. Mineral water with lemon in it is good for people who are used to drinking sodas.

7. Choose a better vice. You need to have something that you can do when you are tempted to have caffeine. Maybe you will listen to your favorite song or you'll chew gum or you'll call your best friend whenever you need a "fix". Pick something and do it every time that you want to consume caffeine.

8. Rest. The first week of giving up caffeine is going to be tough on you physically and emotionally. You are going to feel tired and cranky and may have headaches and muscle aches. Take time to just rest and treat yourself right.

9. Stick to the plan. Giving up caffeine is difficult but what's even more difficult is not slipping back into your old patterns. Whenever you feel yourself slipping, re-commit to living a caffeine-free life.

10. Pat yourself on the back. It's really hard giving up caffeine but if you can do it through the use of these steps then you should be really proud of yourself!

Tips & Warnings

• Be aware of the fact that you are going to find it difficult to give up caffeine because this is a drug.
• Consider getting help from a caffeine addiction support group or even an addiction counselor.
• Focus on the positive things about giving up caffeine whenever you feel like it's too hard.
• Know that people in your life may not take your concern with caffeine addiction seriously. It's not recognized as a serious problem by most of our society.
• If you start to feel really sick because of withdrawal symptoms, consult a medical professional.

Resources

• The Difficulty of Caffeine Addiction
• Caffeine as an Addiction

[quadjr4]

on 2/27/2009 nice article 5*