Coffee addiction name, symptoms, consequences and how to eliminate it

Our life rhythm can sometimes feel tired, fatigued or lacking in energy. Many people turn to coffee for their energetic effects to deal with their day to day.

Taking coffee also has a social component. Surely at some point you have stayed with someone to drink coffee and talk or have coffee after a meal with friends.

For all this, it is not strange to listen to people to say "until I have coffee I am not a person" or "I need coffee to face the day". ¿Did you know that coffee can cause addiction? AND ¿You know the negative consequences you have on health? Keep reading this Psychology-online article in which we tell you What is the name of coffee addiction, its symptoms, consequences and how to eliminate it.

1. Why can coffee cause addiction?
2. Symptoms of coffee addiction
3. Effects caused by caffeine consumption
4. Consequences of coffee addiction
5. How to overcome coffee addiction

Why can coffee cause addiction?

Coffee is a seed that contains a high amount of caffeine, a substance responsible for provoking addiction. Continued caffeine consumption can cause dependence in a few days and become addictive. ¿What's the name of coffee addiction? This addiction is called "Cafeinomania".

The caffeine would be present, although in smaller quantity, in the decaffeinated coffee. In addition, we can find it in other products such as some soft drinks, energy drinks, chocolate or tea.

Next, we tell you what symptoms should appear to consider coffee as an addiction, its consequences and how to eliminate it.

Symptoms of coffee addiction

Substance-related disorders that appear in the classification of Mental DSM-5 disorders, classification of the American Psychiatry Association, include ten substances, including caffeine.

This classification does not contemplate coffee addiction as a disorder, although the poisoning caused by caffeine and withdrawal syndrome by reducing or eliminating its consumption.

The classification of the World Health Organization (CIE-11) does not speak of addiction but identifies a disorder called “Coffee consumption pattern”, whose symptoms would be:

• Daily caffeine consumption or almost daily.
• Physical or mental damage to health caused by consumption.
• Consumption is continued and evident for at least a month.
• Health damage would be caused either by the route of administration (which may be harmful) or for the toxic effects of caffeine.

Effects caused by caffeine consumption

Caffeine is a substance whose consumption has effects on our body such as:

• Central nervous system activation. It is a psychestimulatory substance that causes an increase in the level of alert and a reduction in the feeling of tiredness.
• Negatively influence sleep cycles and can cause insomnia.
• As an addictive substance, it acts on the cerebral reward system, a system that is fundamental in the development of addictions.
• Its prolonged consumption can cause tolerance, That is, the same dose no longer causes you the same effect and you need higher doses.
• May cause Depressive, anxious symptoms and irritability.
• At the vascular level, increase blood pressure and heart rate.
• Slightly improve Respiratory function.
• Decrease fatigue and fatigue and causes vasodilation at the muscle level.
• May cause gastrointestinal discomfort and even ulcers.
• It is a Risk factor in infertility both women and men.

In this article we talk about what an addiction and the types of addictions are.

Consequences of coffee addiction

Consume high doses of caffeine It can cause poisoning, whose symptoms would be, according to the World Health Organization (CIE-11):

• Cognitive, perceptual and consciousness alterations.
• Behavioral, affective and coordination alterations.
• Concern
• Anxiety
• Excitement
• Insomnia
• Diursesis
• Facial redness
• Gastrointestinal discomfort
• Muscle spasms
• Psychomotor agitation
• Sweat or chill
• Nausea or vomiting.

As in any addiction, The cessation of its consumption causes withdrawal syndrome whose symptoms, collected in CIE-11 can be:

• Headache
• Fatigue or drowsiness
• Anxiety
• Dysphoric mood (experimentation of unpleasant emotions)
• Nausea or vomiting
• Concentration difficulties

How to overcome coffee addiction

Next, we offer the main guidelines to leave coffee addiction.

1. Make the decision

First, you must make the decision to reduce coffee consumption. If you do not have it very clear you can read about the harmful effects that its continued consumption has on the health and benefits of its abandonment.

2. Take awareness of addiction

Second, once you have decided to want to reduce and/or eliminate consumption, you must be aware and analyze what your addiction is and what magnitude it has. To do this, it would be interesting be completing a self -registration of the amount of coffee you drink. This should include:

• Each coffee you drink per day and what kind is (if it is decaffeinated, cut, etc.)
• How much you take in each of them.
• In what place or situation you consume it.
• What time do you take each.
• Finally, you can make an assessment of 0 to 10 of the need and/or the degree of pleasure that each of the coffees you take for you has.

3. Pose realistic goals

If the goal you have set is too expensive, such as abandoning consumption, you can divide it into smaller objectives (for example, start reducing a single coffee drink). Throughout the process, do not neglect the registration. Look at goals that are realistic and try to meet them.

4. Plan rewards

Of course, you must reward yourself once achieved, for example, performing some activity that you like or cooking some food that you like especially.

5. Reduce the consumption

Knowing how your addiction works and being clear about your goal, you can start working in your addiction by applying any of these tips to reduce it gradually:

• Begins by eliminating those coffees that you have valued as less necessary or less pleasant.
• If you can't eliminate it, at least reduce the amount of caffeine replacing them with decaffeinated cafes.
• If any of your shots occur in a social environment, that is, you consume because you go to coffee with another or other people, replace coffee with other coffee free drinks such as chamomile or certain teas such as Rooibos.
• Continue eliminating or replacing coffees until you reach your goal.

6. Eliminate associated stimuli

In more serious cases, you can intervene on the stimuli associated with coffee. For example, Do not have the coffee maker Or, in case of total abandonment, stop buying coffee in the last phases.

7. Prepare alternatives

Another key guideline to overcome coffee addiction is to anticipate the situations that most predispose to consumption. You already know what situations you want to have a coffee, so you can try to avoid or prepare them. For example, think what are you going to ask instead of coffee.

8. Distraction and relaxation

To combat this abstinence and overcome coffee addiction, perform pleasant and pleasant tasks and use relaxation techniques such as diaphragmatic breathing or yoga. At the end of this article you will find a guided relaxation to start practicing.

9. Take into account relapses

Finally, keep in mind that any addiction entails relapses. Do not blame yourself, analyze what their causes have been and try to prevent them in future occasions.

This article is merely informative, in psychology-online we have no power to make a diagnosis or recommend a treatment. We invite you to go to a psychologist to treat your particular case.

If you want to read more articles similar to Coffee addiction: name, symptoms, consequences and how to eliminate it, We recommend that you enter our category of addictions.