Meredith S

Meredith S. is a 19-year-old college honors student. During her senior year in high school, she discovered that an early morning coffee helped her “start the day.” Like many high school students, getting up early was a difficult chore. A cup of “java” jump started her energy and provided an easy way to socialize with friends. It also helped her “focus” her attention. As a college student, Meredith enjoys her coffee every day, several times a day.

If she doesn’t get her coffee regularly, Meredith gets headaches – a sign of caffeine withdrawal. Without coffee, she also gets tired. With a café on almost every corner of her campus—in the student union, on street corners, and in most of her off campus social settings—Meredith is having difficulty moderating her coffee consumption. Her coffee drinking is expensive, contributes more calories than she would like to consume, and places demands on her time. Coffee drinking interferes with her sleep.

Meredith readily recognizes that she is addicted to coffee drinking.

If you look closely, you can see her bloodshot eyes, revealing that she is in withdrawal. She “needs” coffee because of its capacity to constrict veins and arteries and stop her headache.