Over the past couple of months, I’ve been noticing some odd things going on… an accelerated heart rate, general nervousness and irritability (more so than usual, that is), and a lot of anxiety (to the point where I have trouble breathing). I was putting a lot of this down to general work-related stress (and I’m sure some of it is… combined with lack of exercise), but then I did a little monitoring of my behavior and habits and realized something startling: with the exception of morning orange juice, I was drinking only caffeinated beverages. Basically, I’ve been saturating my bloodstream with caffeine; and while it’s really neat to be able to see into the future and be the kwisatch haderach and all, I doubt it’s worth the medical side-effects.
So, starting about a week ago, I cut all the caffeine out of my diet. No sodas. No coffee. No tea (the hardest thing to give up). I do allow myself a bit of chocolate now and then, but I’m only human! Anyway, after about a week of this, I have some observations.
- First off, the physical withdrawal was not nearly as bad as I was expecting. I figured I was going to be incapacitated by headaches and all. True, I had some minor headaches, but nothing worse than a phone meeting at work provides on a daily basis (hint for cubicle workers, if you’re not talking, try hitting the mute button).
- On the other hand, psychological withdrawal (if that’s a term) is much worse than I expected. My morning ritual at work consists of booting my machine and then going to get a cup of tea while Windows blazes its way to life. I’ve tried to substitute herbal tea for real tea in my routine, but that swill is just not the same. What’s worse is that, in the afternoon, when I’d usually have a coke or a coffee, I can’t do anything. I just sit there in my meetings thinking about how wonderful a mocha would taste. Very frustrating!
- Fortunately, there is a positive side to the whole thing. I suddenly feel a lot better than I used to feel. My heart is not slamming into my ribcage, I’m not nearly so on-edge as I once was, and certain other complaints I am too delicate to mention in detail on a blog seem to be clearing up. Suffice it to say that while the cost of giving this stuff up is high, I’m getting something back for it.
So, in summary, what I have to say is this: caffeine = bad! With luck, I can free myself from it forever.
