I consider myself to be lucky that I’ve managed to only acquire one real addiction: caffeine. I’ve given it up several times over the years, but always slid back into its clutches. Given that, I have complete sympathy with those caught in the clutches of much more serious addictions, like nicotine, alcohol, prescription painkillers, or any of the illegal drugs.
This video gives a quick summary of the addiction experience. It’s worth watching, and remembering the next time you find something that is intensely pleasurable.
via IO9
SelfAwarePatterns 
Wow, I don’t even count caffeine. Sounds like you’re doing very well for yourself!
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It might be worth mentioning that my caffeine intake once peaked at around 10 cups of strong coffee (~2000 milligrams of caffeine). I don’t take in nearly as much these days, and most of it comes in from diet sodas now, but it’s tough to keep it under 400 milligrams a day.
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I was once like that, but sometime in my late 20’s I found I couldn’t sleep if I had coffee after 3pm. Before then I could drink a whole pot at 9pm with no consequences. (In high school I did this every night!)
The odd thing is, diet soda has no consequences for me. I can (and often do) drink it at night. It feels like it has no caffeine at all. Maybe when I hit 50 I’ll start to feel it.
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If you’re used to coffee, soda has a much lighter jolt. I’ve always been lucky with being able to drink whatever caffeine I customarily drank right up until bed time, without much issue. What finally got me off of the ten cups a day was acid reflux.
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The seductive thing is that some drugs, like caffeine, really do confer a benefit if you can handle the cost/benefit trade-offs.
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When I was younger the cost was nonexistent. As I’ve gotten older, things like acid reflux limited my caffeine intake. I’ve also found that caffeine compromises emotional intelligence, at least for me.
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[nods] I almost never drink more than a couple of beers anymore — the hangovers have gotten ugly and just aren’t worth it.
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