Signs you may becoming dependent on caffeine
Caffeine stimulates the brain and nervous system. It can make you feel more alert and better able to concentrate, and it also increases acid production in the stomach, which helps digestion. If you regularly have large quantities of caffeine - say, five or more cups of coffee a day - you may find your tolerance has increased and you need to drink even more to get the same stimulant effect.
The disadvantages of caffeine are that it raises your heart rate and blood pressure and makes you pass more urine - so you may end up losing calcium if you have too much. Sensitivity to caffeine varies from person to person, but too much can make you anxious, restless, irritable, jittery and sleepless. It can also give you headaches, stomach pain, nausea, muscle twitching or palpitations.
Tips to help you cut down on caffeine
Cutting out caffeine in one go can be difficult because you may experience withdrawal symptoms, including severe headaches as well as nausea, anxiety, fatigue and depression. One way to avoid this is to gradually decrease the amount of caffeine you consume, either by drinking less cups of coffee each day or by gradually switching to decaffeinated coffee. Its important to remember not to switch to other substances, such as cola or chocolate, which also have high levels of caffeine.
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Medicinal drugs, such as tranquillisers and sleeping tablets, are initially prescribed for very good reasons, but they can also cause health problems if used for long periods. Experts believe tranquillisers only really help anxiety for about a month and that sleeping tablets are only effective for a couple of weeks. After that time you may find you need a higher dose to get the same effect and even then your anxiety may increase or your sleeplessness return.
Street drugs, such as cannabis or ecstasy, are usually taken for recreational purposes. How they affect you will depend on the type of drug, the amount you use, your mood and surroundings. For some people, the first hit can cause problems, especially if the drug contains impurities. For other people, the problems may start as their bodies get used to the repeated presence of the drug, and they need higher and higher doses to maintain the same effect.
Types of drugs
All drugs can be divided up according to the main effect they have on users.
These include caffeine and tobacco as well as amphetamines, anabolic steroids, 'poppers', hallucinogenic amphetamines (ecstasy), cocaine and crack. They act on the central nervous system and increase brain activity. Users generally feel more confident and alert, are able to stay awake for longer or perform physical tasks for a long period of time. With all except tobacco, high doses can cause nervousness and anxiety. Apart from tobacco and caffeine, stimulants can cause temporary feelings of paranoia.
These include minor tranquillisers such as Valium, Librium, Mogadon and temazepam, solvents, glues, aerosols and gases. Depressants act on the central nervous system and slow down brain activity. They relax users, making them feel less tense and anxious, but at the same time impair mental and physical activity and decrease self-control.
Analgesics are painkillers and include heroin, opium, pethidine and codeine. They make users less sensitive to emotion and physical pain and produce feelings of warmth and contentment.
These include cannabis, LSD and 'magic' mushrooms. Hallucinogens act on the mind, heightening sensations and distorting the way users see and hear things.
Signs you may be becoming dependent on drugs
If you rely on drugs to help you feel less anxious or depressed or to improve your mood, you may be becoming psychologically dependent. If you rely on drugs to achieve certain physical effects or you can't face the unpleasant physical effects of not taking the drugs, you may be becoming physically addicted. In fact most drug-related problems generally involve physical and psychological symptoms and sometimes it is difficult to separate the two.
Other signs that you could be becoming dependent on drugs:
- If obtaining and taking drugs are more important than anything else in your life
- If you use drugs to block out both physical and emotional pain
- If you use drugs to distance yourself from problems such as loneliness, family or relationship problems, low self esteem, poverty or housing difficulties, unemployment or lack of opportunities.
If you need help with drugs
If you are worried about the drugs you are taking or want to change your drug use you may find it helpful to contact any of the organisations listed. The best course of action for you will depend on your own particular symptoms and your level of dependence.
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You may be diagnosed with an eating disorder if your eating habits threaten your health and happiness or threaten the health and happiness of the people who care for you.
Bulimia nervosa
People with Bulimia Nervosa can’t stick to a healthy eating pattern. They tend to binge, that is, eat a lot at once. This makes them feel guilty and out of control so they then panic and punish themselves by starving, making themselves sick, taking laxatives or over-exercising. This can lead to a number of physical problems including tooth decay, constipation and intestinal damage, as well as heart and kidney disease. Telltale signs of Bulimia Nervosa include making excuses to avoid eating in company or rushing to the lavatory after a meal.
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You may smoke tobacco to help you relax or you may feel that smoking is justified because it helps you cope with stress, but the health effects of smoking are very serious. Long-term smoking causes cancer and heart and lung disease and also damages the health of other people who are exposed to cigarette smoke.
Signs you may be addicted to nicotine
Nicotine is one of the fastest-acting addictive drugs. But the concentration in the bloodstream falls just as quickly after finishing a cigarette - making you crave for another one. The withdrawal pangs from nicotine are so subtle that most smokers do not even realise they are addicted. There is no physical pain - just an empty, restless feeling or the feeling that you are missing something. The longer you wait for another cigarette the more nervous, insecure, agitated, and irritable you become. But within seconds of lighting up, nicotine makes you feel relaxed and confident again. And as soon as this cigarette is put out, the cycle starts again.
Tips to help you give up
The most important step in giving up is deciding that you really do want to do it. Recognise that you are addicted to nicotine, but remember that withdrawal doesn't last forever - it takes only three weeks or so to get rid of 99 per cent of the nicotine in your body.
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Look forward to being free of cigarettes - focus on what you'll gain from giving up rather that what you are missing out on
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Stop smoking completely - nicotine addiction means there is no such thing as just one cigarette
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Watch out for smokers - they may feel threatened by the fact you have given up and may try to tempt you back
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If you need extra help, it may be worth considering some form of nicotine replacement such as nicotine gum or nicotine patches. Both work by allowing your body to adjust gradually to lower amounts of nicotine.
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Solvent abuse (or volatile substance abuse) means deliberately inhaling the fumes from ordinary household products to get high. Products which may be sniffed include cigarette lighter refills (butane gas); aerosols(where it is the propellant, often butane, that is inhaled); solvent based adhesives (glue sniffing), and petrol'.
Most volatile chemicals act as depressants, slowing down brain activity and making users relaxed, less tense and anxious. They also impair mental and physical activity and decrease self-control. Prolonged misuse of solvents and volatile substances can result in brain, liver and kidney damage.
Signs you may becoming dependent on solvents
Users may start out experimenting with solvents out of boredom and then move on to using them casually or recreationally. A very small number of users come to rely on them as a way of coping with life - not just of having some fun.
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Written in 2001
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