Jan 15 2009
Crack Cappuccino
At this very moment I have a cup of coffee on my desk. My second. Maybe third — who’s counting. Yet I’m not hallucinating (would I know it if I were?). Maybe my mug is too small.
Can drinking coffee cause you to hallucinate? Well, maybe not. But it can make it more likely you will. At least according to this article: High Caffeine Intake Linked To Hallucination Proneness.
While scanning the article I read — or thought I read — that one of the variables, high caffeine intake, had been defined as consuming more than seven cups of instant coffee a day. One part of my mind immediately and sarcastically interjected into my percolating consciousness: “I bet they also discovered that those who drink more than one cup of instant coffee a day, an emergency measure at best, are four times more likely to be lacking taste buds.”
But no. The definition also included these crucial words: the equivalent of. Oh. That’s better.
On a tangential note, I was glad to read this sentence in the text -
With ninety per cent of North Americans consuming some of form caffeine every day, it is the world’s most widely used drug.
Yes, it is a drug. And although I enthusiastically (if not elevated blood-pressure-ly) agree that it should not be illegal to drink it, perhaps anyone possessing more than a pound of it should be arrested. And if it is that meth-lab-like instant stuff, yellow police tape should be strung across their kitchen doorway.
And maybe we should send rifle-toting DEA agents into every Starbucks!
Okay, I’m joking. But as a card-carrying liberal (who seems to have misplaced his card), I also think that marijuana, another drug, should not be illegal. And I don’t even use it.
Anyway, back to the science. It seems that caffeine may boost cortisol levels which can increase the likelihood of hallucinating.
Did I just hear the doorbell ring? Must be a DEA agent coming to confiscate my bottle of Myer’s Rum.
This research finding made me remember an experience I had a couple decades ago. I was working for a mental health agency, helping mentally ill individuals get back into the workforce. I had one client, we’ll call him “Marvin,” whose job assignment was maintenance at a ski area. I lived in Vermont at the time.
Marvin was a schizophrenic. If you have never been to a ski area, that would explain why you have yet to say, “oy vey.” The place bustles with activity. Indoors it is shoulder to shoulder with people toting ski equipment, noisily clomping around in ski boots. Near chaos.
Every morning Marvin would start the day off fine: doing his work, blending well. His delusions and hallucinations were virtually non-existent, as far as anyone could tell, even me. But by my return visit in the afternoon, I could see Marvin’s stress level rising and him struggling to keep a cap on the “inappropriate” ideation. At first I blamed his work environment. Heck, if I had to spend all day there . . . .
But as I got to better know Marvin and his habits I learned that during every single one of his many breaks during the day he smoked a cigarette and drank a large coffee.
While Marvin was free to indulge in those over-the-counter drugs, it did present a problem for him.
What is the meaning of all of this? I don’t know. Give me time to pour another cup of coffee and maybe something will come to me. Or maybe I’ve had too much. Your threshold may differ.
