My Breakup with Caffeine

I have always loved caffeine, as a kid I loved Coke and Diet Coke ( I was a kid of the 90's) and I started my coffee habit in High School and it continued into adulthood.

I knew that caffeine wasn't the healthiest or best option and it was not helping my anxiety but I enjoyed my daily pick me up. When I didn't get my morning coffee I would end up with a bad headache, so every time I thought about giving it up I didn't want to set myself up for a week of headaches, fatigue and all the other fun surprises that come with the break up. Through some planned and unplanned turn of events I am close to a year caffeine free and don't plan to re-engage in the relationship. </p>

The Afternoon Coffee

A few years ago I was up to a coffee every morning and a coffee every afternoon around 2:00 pm. I realized that afternoon coffee was not helping my cause and was probably not helping my waist line either. So I was ready to give it up. I would have the coffee to fight the mid afternoon crash but what I didn't realize at the time, it was making me more anxious, resulting in an even more dramatic crash and burn by the time I got home leaving me very cranky when I finally had time to sit down and relax.

I decided I would start simple when eliminating the afternoon caffeinated treat. I went from a small coffee to a small half decaf half regular. It did the trick no crash and burn and the afternoon jitters were almost a thing of the past. After a few weeks of half and half I went to all decaf and the results were surprisingly positive! The crash was gone and I was not cranky when I got home. Finally, I was able to eliminate the afternoon coffee all together and it felt good.

Once in a while I still splurge on an decaf afternoon pick me up but I have found that it isn't what I need or is not as rewarding as it once was.

The Morning Coffee

Last winter I came down with a terrible stomach bug ( at the time I also didn't realize that my body was trying to fight Lyme at the same time). Distracted by everyday life I was ignoring the signs of the bug and getting on with my morning routine including my boost of morning energy. Let's just say I didn't make it past the couch that morning and the coffee, well it didn't stay down for very long. I was too sick that day to worry about withdrawals from caffeine or missing my morning Cup of Joe.

The next morning while slowly recovering and my appetite reappearing just a little bit I still could not bring myself to have coffee or anything but dry cereal for that matter. I did notice that I didn't have any headaches from missing my usual morning shot of energy. The next day I was able to have coffee but, it occurred to me that I had no signs of caffeine withdrawals. So I thought to myself lets try decaf in the morning, no headache no nothing I was pleasantly surprised and never looked back.

Positive Changes

Since I was battling Lyme it was hard for me to start seeing the changes right away but looking back there is a huge difference. Every morning around 10:00 or 10:30 I would get the jitters and anxiety ( before and during the Lyme Disease) that has all been eliminated. The afternoon crash has become a memory of the past and I feel like my energy is for the most part the same throughout the day. I've notice that I am more tired before bed and my quality of sleep has improved as well

I have been caffeine free for almost a year now and I have almost forgotten about my prior love for caffeine, someone reminded me the other day that I should be proud of how far I have come and when I looked confused they reminded me of my once love for caffeine. I smiled and laughed.

I still make my daily stop for a coffee each morning but they now know my order as a decaf and if I don't have time or have something going on I'm okay with skipping it because I know that there will be no headache or other fun side effects.

My long love affair with caffeine is over and I don't see a reason to rekindle that relationship and the breakup was not as dramatic or difficult as I thought it would be.