Could you kick a caffeine habit?

iStockphoto/Thinkstock
iStockphoto/Thinkstock

Did you have a cup of coffee this morning? Just one? Maybe more? Was the "one cup" roughly the size of a lemonade pitcher? If you had your joe, you're far from alone, and that assertion doesn't even need statistical backup; just take a hearty, anecdotal look around you. We're all hopped up on caffeine! Well, most of us anyway.
Now comes a tougher question: Could you quit? Starting tomorrow morning, could you wake up and think, "Pfft, coffee: Who needs it? Do I have any orange juice?" For most habitual coffee drinkers, it would not be as simple a proposition as that. They've grown used to their morning wake-me-up. Now, caffeine isn't exactly heroin -- it can be kicked, with comparative ease -- but the "user" had better prepare ahead of time for some bumps in the road and aches in the head. Caffeine withdrawal symptoms usually include some combination of headache (which could be a doozy, for some serious coffee drinkers); irritability bordering on DEFCON 1 crankiness; fatigue; loss of concentration; and possibly even a bit of depression. The kind of person who singularly keeps the local coffee house franchise thriving can expect to feel that way for a few days before the fog clears.
Is caffeine withdrawal a serious condition? It's considered serious enough at least to warrant a potential "promotion" of sorts in the upcoming fifth edition of the American Psychiatric Association's Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (or "DSM," for short -- often called the "psychiatrist's bible"). The current DSM-IV only lists caffeine withdrawal as a proposed diagnosis, and it isn't even in the "main" part of the manual. But in the years since the DSM-IV was published in 1994, clinical research on caffeine withdrawal has convinced some that the DSM-V (due out in May of 2013) should include caffeine withdrawal as an official diagnosis. We'll have to wait and see if it makes the cut.
Those who decide to take the plunge and say goodbye to caffeine can take a few basic steps to ease the transition. Before you go cold turkey, try tapering off a bit, day by day, cutting back your overall intake. That could help decrease the severity of withdrawal symptoms. Meanwhile, stay hydrated. And, if at all possible, schedule your "detox" around a long weekend, or some other time when there will be fewer demands placed on your (diminished) mental acuity. And, though we've chosen to talk about coffee here, if your jolt of choice is another caffeinated beverage such as soda, similar ideas apply.

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