Hooked by Design

About this episode

A young woman's journey from casual coffee consumption to caffeine addiction and its consequences.

She used to read about addicts in magazines while sipping her fifth cup of coffee — thinking how lucky she was to be so grounded. She had no idea the trap had already closed around her. This is the confession of a young woman who walked into her first classroom full of hope, a teaching degree, and zero caffeine in her system. Within weeks, a kind mentor handed her a cup of coffee on the worst day of her first week — and everything changed. One cup became the morning ritual. The morning ritual became a dependency. The dependency became three pots a day, a part-time job at a bookstore just to fund the habit, cigarettes, mood swings, weight gain, and a dream she watched quietly slip away. Nobody forced it on her. Nobody had to. The teachers' lounge had coffee. The school secretary passed it around. Starbucks was on every corner. Society handed it to her at every turn and called it normal. Until her doctor placed her hand on the lumps in her breast and said words she will never forget: "These are the result of the drug caffeine." That was the first time she ever heard caffeine called a drug. What You'll Hear in This Episode How one cup of coffee offered as comfort became the starting…

People in this episode

Host: Al Kushner

Guest: young woman

Topics covered

• caffeine addiction
• dependency
• mental health
• social norms
• personal story

Keywords

• caffeine
• addiction
• dependency
• mental health
• personal story
• societal norms
• doctor's advice

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Starbucks, teachers' lounge, school secretary

More episodes of Live Unwired : Life After Caffeine

• Her Family Called It Hospitality. Her Body Called It Poison. · June 9, 2026 · 16 min
• From Cold Winters to Two Open Hearts · June 2, 2026 · 13 min
• The Boat, the Vomit, and the Wake-Up Call · May 26, 2026 · 15 min
• 28 Years of Caffeine — Ended by an Accident · May 19, 2026 · 17 min
• When Your Drug Feels Like a Soulmate · May 12, 2026 · 17 min
• The Medicine Was Making It Worse · May 5, 2026 · 17 min