Self Control

Here's a question:  What requires more self control, going without something completely, or having it in moderation?  Let's assume it is something pleasant and pleasurable for you.  We can use Alcohol as an example.  Excessive drinking leads to alcoholism and those who drink excessive amounts are often have an addiction to it.  Does it require more self control to have alcohol in moderation or to abstain entirely?

Personally my view on this is that moderation is harder to maintain than abstinence.  My reasoning for this is that having a stimulus given and removed periodically, causes periodic withdrawal.  During withdrawal you crave that which has been taken away.  After abstaining for a prolonged period of time, long enough for the withdrawal to pass, these cravings stop.  In this scenario the only things that require avoidance or ignorance are the things we tend to associate with our stimulus.  In the case of alcohol, this would be like certain foods we would eat or places we would go where we would ordinarily drink, as these would possibly trigger cravings.  It is worth noting here that there is a psychological component and some people are a lot better at avoiding certain thoughts.

There isn't really an analogy I can think of that would apply to this specifically, however the comparison of moderation versus abstention can be compared to a slippery slope, or an ice covered hill, if you manage to reach the top and not move at all the likelihood of sliding to the bottom is a lot slimmer than trying to stay half way up the hill trying not to slide to the bottom.  In that analogy finding your footing in the middle of the hill is a lot harder than standing still at the top.  The temptation will remain for those at the top to step down and slide, at first that can be quite safe in small steps as you don't stray far from abstention, the top of the hill is always within reach so backing out is easy.  The further you venture from it however the harder it becomes to reach it once again.

I've gone without caffeine since the start of the year.  It wasn't really a New Year's resolution, I don't like making those as I usually break them.  This was more of an experiment to see how long I could go without it, January 1st just happened to be an easy start date to measure it from.  It's now 2 and a half months later and living without caffeine has proved interesting.  There have been a few benefits, mainly the lack of headaches which were an almost daily occurrence at one point; I have also lost weight, which I was not expecting, in all honesty I was expecting the opposite to happen.  However there have been a few downsides, the main downside that I have experienced is drowsiness.  I don't mean to the point where I could pass out at any moment, but I do not feel entirely awake and I haven't for a while now.  After the withdrawal symptoms passed I felt awake for a while but that soon passed.

Caffeine consumption causes physiological changes over time.  It inhibits the receptors in your brain that cause you to feel tired or sleepy.  As more of these receptors are inhibited the brain counteracts this by making more - which leads to caffeine tolerance, and leads a regular consumer to need higher doses to get the effect.  The problem with this, is that when you stop taking caffeine, the number of receptors does not decrease.  The increased number no longer being inhibited causes the feeling of tiredness.  You can call this a caffeine dependency in a way, although that is a bit misleading it is still the best way to explain it for now.

My caffeine intake was quite high.  Part of the reason for that was because I had sources of caffeine I did not realise contained it, and when the side affects such as the headaches occurred I was taking headache tablets [Andain Extra] which actually contained Caffeine - which I did not realise.  The problem of feeling tired all the time now needs to be confronted and I am not sure how to do that.  I am reluctant to reintroduce caffeine into my diet - I would much rather be at the top of the hill than trying to stay in the middle; make of that what you will re my self control.  I am trying to find an alternative for now, what that well end up being I have no idea.  If I have no other choice I will consider reintroducing caffeine.