Our Stories

Jennie

Jennie

Hi. My name is Jennie and I am a caffeine addict. I would like to share what it was like before CAFAA, what happened, and what it is like now. Before CAFAA, I loved coffee and drank it almost all day long. When I wasn’t drinking coffee, I would drink diet...

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Meg

Meg

Before CAFAA, I could not get myself together enough to hold a job for any long period of time. The effects of the caffeine on my physical and mental health would always leave me strung out to the point where I had to quit the job just to get myself...

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Susan B.

Susan B.

I used caffeine (and any form of legal speed I could get my hands on) to motivate me, to override my depression, and to “leap tall buildings in a single bound.” Because most of my self-worth was based on what I achieved, it was important to me to get a lot...

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Mike

Mike

I had been a sometime iced-tea user in my early twenties, but I gave it up and never used caffeine again in any form until I was forty-three years old. I had been sober in another twelve-step program for a couple of years and one day I came up with an idea...

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Karen

Karen

My name is Karen and I’m a gratefully recovering caffeine addict. I cannot put into words how difficult it was for me to become abstinent. If I can do it, anyone can. I am so grateful that I endured the initial losses, which seemed many. Initially after...

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Edward

Edward

Caffeine has been around my whole life. Pepsi was one of my first words. I never got jittery or hyper when my parents let me have a drink. They still limited how often I got to have it, though. I loved the feeling it gave me; like I was calmer and more...

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Celia

Celia

Hi. I’m Celia and I became dependent on caffeine at the age of 39 while pregnant with my only daughter. I got blinding headaches and nausea and incapacity that only strong coffee would resolve. 20 years later after bouncing all around I couldn’t manage...

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Bari

Bari

Before my CAFAA recovery, I was using an organic large 70% cacao dark chocolate bar several days a week, slightly less chocolate on other days, and an almond milk chai several times a week to hide an enormous amount of fear. When high on caffeine, all...

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Capina

Capina

I kept trying to control my caffeine use by myself. I tried abstinence and giving in - letting myself drink or eat or swallow as much as I wanted. Nothing worked for long. I could control it for a while but never stay at that level. I could abstain but...

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A. Salvacion

A. Salvacion

I am not abstinent from caffeine. I attend meetings, I have a sponsor (who I call every day--for the most part), and she and I are about to begin stepwork together. But I haven't yet been able to maintain long-term abstinence. Fortunately, abstinence isn't...

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Patrick

Patrick

My name’s Patrick and I’m a caffeine addict from Ireland. I came into twelve-step recovery from alcoholism in 2001; lust/sex in 2008, compulsive eating and debting in 2010 and raging in 2015. I noticed a head problem with caffeine after I’d achieved...

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Help for Caffeine Addiction: Caffeine Addicts Anonymous

Photo Credits | Unsplash
Meg: Solaiman Hossen
Mike: Rod Sot
Edward: Lawrence Walter
Susan: Karsten Wurth

Jennie: Rowan Heuvel
A. Salvacion: Ben Neale
Karen: Glauber Sampaio
Bari: Emilio Garcia
Capina: Cameron Wilkins

Patrick: Carlos Dominguez
Light through trees: Greg Becker
Clouds: Clyde RS
Heart Open to Sun: Stephen Leonardi
Dock: Cameron Wilkins