$WHACKD

(this is a repost, the original post was deleted, it was from r/decaf. below is copy paste from google cache,)

I am a drug/alcohol addict who has been sober for a few months. The whole time I was using drugs & alcohol (age 13 to 27), I rarely went a day without 1-3 cups of coffee. In fact, even on days when I didn't crave any other drugs, I always craved coffee. I tried to quit coffee at least 10 times within these years but relapsed on coffee, even though I was able to get off benzos, amphetamines and opiates.

I'm fairly certain what "addiction" feels like and I can see no difference between my drug/alcohol addiction and caffeine addiction. This is why it bugs me that places like AA actually serve coffee at the meetings. It's a drug. It's addictive. My sponsor drinks a 20 oz coffee every time I see him and he's been sober for 20 years.

I find that if I have one coffee, I'm thrown back into the addictive cycle and completely lose my ability to stay off the stuff.

When I switch from coffee to tea, the brain fog begins after a week or so. When I quit all caffeine, I get serious depression for months and I eventually give in and go back to liquid sunshine. This addiction is impossibly hard for me to quit, especially because I cant get support from my AA group for it.

Is there a conspiracy about caffeine? We fight big tobacco. We have recovery programs for alcohol and pills. But I live across the street from a coffee shop and we all walk like zombies to get our drug every single morning.

Also, can we talk about why the truth about caffeine withdrawal is being covered up?

"Onset of these symptoms typically occurs within 12 to 24 hours of stopping caffeine and peaks one to two days after stopping," Griffiths tells WebMD. "The duration is between two and nine days." <-- No mention of PAWS at all in this article.

The duration of caffeine withdrawal is several months for me. Just like the duration of PAWS for drugs and alcohol.

Oh, and it's not just me. Neither of my parents or friends have been able (or even considered) quitting coffee. The fact that nobody considers it makes me once again regard it as a conspiracy.

It seems that everyone is brainwashed and underplays just how addictive, destructive and pervasive this drug is.

Thoughts?