Dallas Bragg quit meth using massive amounts of caffeine as a stand-in high, then noticed his clients' meth cravings spike with too much coffee and energy drinks. He screens for caffeine as a relapse trigger by asking about sleep, ejaculation, and intake in the past 24 to 48 hours.
Well, I hate to break this to y'all, but caffeine is also a mind-altering addictive drug. In fact, according to the World Health Organization, caffeine use disorder is recognized as an actual addiction. And if you didn't know, caffeine is also a stimulant. So if you have methamphetamine use disorder, you most likely have developed a dependence, or at least choose a stimulant as your drug of choice. What are the implications here? Well, I know when I quit cold turkey, I turned to drinking multiple Red Bulls a day, sodas and lots of coffee every day so I could feel that buzz, at least something that came as close as possible to the meth high. I used it as harm reduction as I transitioned into my recovery. Nothing wrong with that. What I'm beginning to see, however, is for many of my clients finding themselves triggered to use meth and they can't put their finger on what caused it. Many times it is too much caffeine in their system. So now I have a 3-question response when my guys say, I'm triggered to use meth. First, I ask, have you ejaculated? Then I'll ask about their recent sleep patterns. And finally, I'm going to ask, how much caffeine have you consumed in the past 24 to 48 hours? Because many guys are charged up, horny, and having uncontrollable thoughts and urges because of their overuse of caffeine. Think about how much you are taking in, and especially how late in the day. You guys claim insomnia and scroll the apps late at night. And you forget about having that late day Celsius.
