We all have our reasons for drinking the life giver known as coffee. Personally, I drink coffee for all of you, not for me. My three cups a day are what make me my peppy, bubbly self! They are also what keep me from becoming a ravenous wildebeest bent on human destruction (bit of an exaggeration but you get the idea). Plenty of evidence is out there to suggest that coffee isn’t bad for you at all. In fact, it can help with moodiness, headaches, enhanced physical performance and even lower your risk of heart disease. However, I had a chat with my doctor the last time I was in, and she convinced me that it would be in my best interest to limit (if not completely cut out) my coffee intake due to my 1. Anxiety, and 2. Irregular heartbeat issues. But hey, it’s not just me! Pregnant women, people post-surgery, and those with any other sort of mental illness may have health care professionals suggest they stop drinking coffee too.
The following are my half-crazed thoughts and feelings throughout a week where I cut out coffee cold turkey.
The Tenth Circle of Hell
My first day without coffee was a Sunday, I figured I’d start myself off easy since I knew I could sleep in as late as I wanted. I went to the gym and, due to fatigue, only went about half the time I usually do. Around 1 in the afternoon I was is desperate need of a nap but resisted since I’m not a 65-year-old woman. While I sat in the kitchen doing homework that afternoon, I swore I could hear my K-Cups calling to me: “Remember that cute fox mug you got for your birthday? What are you going to do with it now?” I was drowsy the rest of the day and couldn’t concentrate on any of the work I had to do. The need was so real that at the end of the day I watched Gilmore Girls knowing full well that they drink at least three cups an episode. I just needed to see it…
*Under Eye Bags Intensify*
On the second, third, and fourth days, the symptoms got worse. Since caffeine is a stimulant is can be chemically addictive for some, meaning I was basically going through withdrawals. I was cranky and moody with random headaches (which definitely didn’t do anything to help my mood). A little research told me know that I had it lucky, some people experience symptoms that mimic the flu, along with muscle aches. I decided to give into the naps in the middle of the day and moved workouts to the mornings so that I would get that little burst of energy to start the day… but I just ended up feeling like my arms and legs were dragging on the ground. Walking by Caribou every day on my way to campus or the gym was hard. It would have been so easy to just stop in for a caramel crafted press and talk to the baristas who know me by name. Or to pop by Starbucks for a cold brew and almond croissant while I was at work. I still felt like a walking zombie half the time and oh goodness the irritability. My resting bitch face intensified 10x and I was about ready to attack the people in front of me who I thought were walking too slow.
Eh, Could Be Worse.
The sixth and seventh days were better. The irritability was gone but the fatigue was still there for most of the day. I was able to go about my daily routine with my normal concentration back, and no headaches to interfere.
After the week from hell I decided to go back to drinking coffee, but lower it to two cups a day. I realize now that I had a problem. If it were socially acceptable, I would have totally rolled around an IV drip with coffee in it. I would have sold my soul to Starbucks and lived a happy soulless life as an energetic zombie if it meant free coffee. It was an eye-opening experience to completely cut out such a big part of my life, and I think my body will thank me in the long haul. Michelle Konstantinovsky from One Medical wrote an article that made me realize I had it easy. Cutting out caffeine cold turkey, with its addictive properties, can actually lead to severe side effects.
“Quitting caffeine abruptly, especially if you’ve been consuming two or more cups of coffee a day, can cause physical, psychological, and emotional symptoms. In fact, caffeine intoxication and caffeine withdrawal are classified as mental disorders in the American Psychiatric Association’s Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) when either one interferes with daily life.”
So, if anyone out there decides to cut out caffeine from their daily life, definitely do it gradually. I’m sure that had I stuck with having no coffee my body would have adjusted eventually. But, I enjoy going out and getting coffee with my roommates, going to get a coffee and do homework or meeting that cutie I’ve been talking to for a no stress coffee date at a coffee shop. I’m pretty sure coffee will always be a part of my life, but now I know what it will be like if I ever decided to cut it out. Hopefully you do too dear reader, and hopefully, you learn from this over-dramatic rendering of my experience.