Caffeine
A substance that blocks the tiredness signal — it doesn't add energy, it only masks its absence.
What we know
For most people the half-life is around five to six hours, which means half of an afternoon coffee is still in the body at midnight. Sensitivity varies widely and is partly inherited.
What this means
With insomnia and anxiety it is worth checking the time of the last coffee, not only the amount. The tiredness it masks isn’t lost — only postponed.
See also
Repression
Pushing unpleasant material out of awareness — it doesn't disappear, it only moves out of view.
Midlife crisis
The period in which you ask whether the life you have built is really yours.
Violence in a relationship
A pattern of behaviour by which one person establishes power and control over another — physically, psychologically, sexually or economically.
