"I was the mom who needed coffee. I could not start my day without an Iced Vanilla Latte with oat milk or a quick homemade cup. It was like I was a reverse gremlin; don’t give me coffee and I’m a little monster. My mood, productivity, and focus in both my mind and body were dependent on having a constant stream of caffeine intake—side effects be damned. I was willing to ignore the extreme anxiety from the large amounts of caffeine I was having, the stomach issues, and the 2 p.m. crash into despair and fatigue.
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It was getting to the point that after years of drinking coffee, it was no longer a love-need-hate relationship, it was a codependent sh*t show. If I drank coffee, I was a jiterry mess, thinking I was working at a high speed, and if I didn’t, I would get serious caffeine withdrawal symptoms: terrible headaches, irritability, and I felt like I was walking through quicksand.
So, I decided to quit drinking coffee all together. Here’s how it went:
The Initial Coffee Detox
At first it wasn’t easy, but it also wasn’t that hard. While my body had been so used to using caffeine as delusional fuel, the sluggish snappiness only lasted around three days and by the fourth or fifth I felt a huge difference in my energy level and mood. I was tired waking up at 7 a.m., but instead of feeling like I couldn’t get a move on without a latte and then instantly a jittery anxious mess from the caffeine overload, I was more energized and prepared to take on the day.
I wasn’t chasing energy in a coffee cup. My mood was better and I felt calmer. Now, I know that people love their coffee and I don’t think caffeine is the enemy, or that you should quit drinking it. But, for me, it was no longer doing its job. Rather, it was making me feel terrible and my body seemed dependent on it.
Source: @colorjoystock
What I Do Now Instead of Drinking Coffee
I do occasionally miss drinking coffee. Why? I couldn’t tell you. Maybe because it’s just the ritual, going to a coffee shop and getting a latte was a sort of self-care at times. So I started to look into coffee alternatives and other ways to get a boost of energy:
- By drinking smoothies, carrot juice or matcha in the morning, I can sit and enjoy a morning drink that doesn’t send me to the bathroom or make me anxious.
- I looked up foods that boost energy and started to add them to my morning and afternoon. Oatmeal, avocados, eggs, and cashews are all packed with vitamins that help with energy.
- Adding all-natural, vegan, and gluten-free gummies No. 8 Nootropics to my weekly regimen. They are said to help promote memory and concentration. I have the Focus, Energy, and Calm ones that have drastically improved my mood and productivity.
- We’re always so hard on ourselves, so I changed the way I spoke to myself and my perspective. I woke up telling myself positive affirmations, for instance, saying today was going to be a good day, giving myself grace, and being OK with accomplishing whatever tasks I had the bandwidth to accomplish.
- I also stopped waking up and saying, “I’m so tired.” I really believe what we say, we can create. I was making myself more tired than I was and attaching negativity to how I felt even before I got out the door.
‘Quitting coffee’ is something I’m really happy I did. Sometimes I do want a coffee and take an occasional sip of my husband’s cup. As weird as I feel it sounds, coffee became an addiction for me. If you have to do a pros and cons list for something, then there’s a good chance it’s bringing more bad than good. And coffee was no longer benefiting me.
