I gave up caffeine* a little over two weeks ago. And while I'm luckier than I deserve to be (no headaches, no sleepiness), I'm mourning the loss of my daily cups of tea and occasional coffees.
I know I could switch to decaf, but I'm stubborn. So I'm mourning. Drinking even more water than usual to make up for it (I'm up to well over a gallon per day, which shocked me when I added it up as I was writing this).
I'm still deciding whether I can allow myself the occasional coffee if I go out somewhere (I was really sad that I couldn't order coffee to go with our monkey bread on that rainy Sunday) and I think I probably will, at some point. And I'll go back to tea eventually. This is just a break, not a break up.
* I've always had trouble with anxiety, and I'm (mostly) okay with that because it's part of who I am and I've learned to deal with it. Periodically, I get hit with more anxiety than usual and caffeine apparently exacerbates it. So this is an experiment to see if less caffeine = fewer panic attacks. So far, I think it's helping. Even if it is a bummer.
{saturday afternoon tea}
I know I could switch to decaf, but I'm stubborn. So I'm mourning. Drinking even more water than usual to make up for it (I'm up to well over a gallon per day, which shocked me when I added it up as I was writing this).
I'm still deciding whether I can allow myself the occasional coffee if I go out somewhere (I was really sad that I couldn't order coffee to go with our monkey bread on that rainy Sunday) and I think I probably will, at some point. And I'll go back to tea eventually. This is just a break, not a break up.
* I've always had trouble with anxiety, and I'm (mostly) okay with that because it's part of who I am and I've learned to deal with it. Periodically, I get hit with more anxiety than usual and caffeine apparently exacerbates it. So this is an experiment to see if less caffeine = fewer panic attacks. So far, I think it's helping. Even if it is a bummer.
I gave it up for the month of March and I was lucky too - no headaches or fatigue. I've reintroduced it but I'm hoping to stay away from the slavish dependency on it to give me a jolt and to simply enjoy the taste of it, especially on weekends!
ReplyDeleteAnd yes, I agree caffeine and panic attacks are comrades in arms. Especially if I've just and a coffee and something at work slams me.
You know what, I've had to do the exact same thing in the past month due to panic attacks/anxiety. Finally made the connection. I've just been having the occasional cup as a treat, but really miss it.
ReplyDeleteyou're very brave, rachel; i've always been too afraid of the side effects to give up on caffeine, though i've had pretty serious anxiety issues since college. i hope the experiment pays off! also, fuck panic attacks. they are the worst.
ReplyDeletejust came over your blog (through artessen... ).. what helped for me is a combination of lots of yoga and meditation, which still allows me to enjoy in one cup of coffee or tea a day.. if I increase the coffeine intake and reduce the other things at the same time, you can immediately tell, that things get more worse ....
ReplyDeleteDid you give it up completely or just for lent?
ReplyDeleteAnd you are lucky. My other is a tea-aholic. If she doesn't get her tea spot on in the morning or afternoon she gets a migraine. I told her it was withdrawals. :)
i gave up having sugar in my coffee for lent and it's not even Easter and I don't think I could ever go back! I just couldn't - emotionally or physically - give up coffee for good. Maybe allow yourself one cup a week just for fun :)
ReplyDeletehttp://justliveintoit.blogspot.com
you are so lucky you didn't get a headache! The time I gave it up I felt like someone was drilling into my head for a couple of days. It was awful. I gave up chocolate for lent and now I'm thinking maybe I'll just extend it and give it up all together. It is a gateway food for me.
ReplyDeletewhen i was in my last year of school i was drinking four or more cups a day, and i realized it made me super anxious and talk at hyper speeds! i was able to cut down, but i still love coffee & tea for the ritual, so i'll have it in the morning and occasionally during the day, but i'm much more controlled about how many of my cups have caffeine in them :) good for you for stopping cold turkey!
ReplyDeleteI gave up caffine over two years ago, because of anxiety issues too. For a fortnight I had the worst pulsating headaches ever, so count yourself lucky! I was missing my morning and afternoon cups of tea, so I started drinking rooibos tea. Mostly black, but sometimes without milk. So delicious, refreshing, good for you and caffeine free! It tastes different to tea - and not as bland or drying as decaff tea (i get such a dry mouth drinking decaff tea). I also discovered it comes in different flavours - earl grey, vanilla, English breakfast, etc. X
ReplyDeleteAvoiding caffeine helps me keep my anxiety in check, for sure. It's very nearly worth it.
ReplyDeleteI was dealing with bad anxiety for many months not too long ago. I doing some research on how to cope with it when I found that Splenda had been causing a lot of cases of anxiety. I usually tried to avoid anything with sweeteners like that but then I learned that it also had another name: Sucralose. Turns out the vitamin water I had been taking for my lunch every day was packed with it. After a week off of that stuff I was fine. I haven't had anxiety problems since. I've learned to be a lot more conscious of what I put into my body since then.
ReplyDeleteWhat a challenge! Good luck! :D
ReplyDeleteVery nearly worth it indeed. Hopefully you'll get to a point where the occasional indulgence will be manageable. Because monkey bread with water isn't nearly as fun.
ReplyDeleteThat's a great idea... I am keen to see how my body would react.. Perhaps a summertime detox is in order. I like the sound of no headaches or tiredness! Though, I'm not sure how I would cope without a decent cup of tea in the morning or what I would have when meeting a friend for coffee.. there seems to be such a ritual involved with consuming such things...
ReplyDeletePS. Lovely photo ! xxxxxxx
i could not give up tea. its too yummy! you are very brave!!
ReplyDeletehttp://margarethouser.blogspot.com/
I'm impressed that you replaced tea with water. I'm do miserably when it comes to adequate water intake. My vice is diet coke. I love it, and never have it in the house because it would be all I drink. I gave up flour and sugar, and I noticed that I increased my soda intake as a result. Now I am struggling to get enough water in. Do you have any suggestions for that?
ReplyDelete@ everyone - Thank you all so much for the support! Dealing with anxiety drives me crazy, because it makes me feel alone (hard to explain what a panic attack feels like to someone who hasn't had one) and let down by my body. I'd say it's nice to hear that other people deal with the same thing, but that wouldn't be very nice of me. Still, thanks for chiming in!
ReplyDelete@ Hannah - Nope, not Lent related. I'll continue it for at least a month or two and then might try re-introducing a cup each morning (huge reduction from my normal intake!).
@ Nic - I try to fit in yoga classes as well, and I do think it helps! I also stepped up my cardio workouts significantly a few months ago, in the hope that the extra exercise might burn off some of the anxiety. I think it helped, but I was finally forced to accept that cutting back on my caffeine was probably the only way to go.
@ Jules - I'm a huge water drinker, just because I love it so much. We don't keep anything in the house except water and milk (and alcohol of various sorts). Oh, I'm lying - we do have an emergency stash of Coke Zero, but I only allow myself to have one on the weekends, and I pretty much manage to forget about it the rest of the time.
I get the majority of my water during the work day - I have two 1.5L water bottles at work and I fill them both in the morning, stick one in the freezer at 9 am and by 11 am it's icy and perfect. When I take the first one out, I stick the second one in and repeat for mid afternoon. I like my water very, very cold. Drinking room temperature water takes me forever.
Also, bizarrely, I've started drinking hot water when I would normally drink tea. I think this is mostly because my office is cold and I need something to counteract all that ice water. I drink several large mugs of hot water during the work day. I don't do this at home.
Well, like you said it's not a break up and it's an experiment. Maybe it's worth trying decaff just to get the warm fuzzy's a good hot drink in the morning brings? Hope it works out.
ReplyDelete- Sarah
http://agirlintransit.blogspot.com/
I gave up caffeine several years ago and have never felt better. For me, they were triggering awful migraines. I'm a huge tea drinker and that was the hardest part for me. Luckily, most herbal teas (like hibiscus, or tazo passion) are caffeine free, so I switched to those :)
ReplyDeleteBisous,
Rachel
http://lovealamode.wordpress.com
I, too, gave up coffee for a long time due to anxiety attacks. I didn't have anything caffeinated for about four months, but I was able to start drinking tea (small doses of caffeine!) and eventually coffee. I can't have more than two cups in a day, and they've got to be at least a few hours apart, but it's still my coffee! It probably helps that I don't make it strong and always add soy milk (I'm lactose intolerant). If I drink tea, I try to look for ones with low amounts of caffeine, or don't make it too strong.
ReplyDeleteThis is just a thought. Reading about your water intake reminded me of something. Remember our conversation about Ayurvedic diet principles? There is a prohibition against drinking anything colder than room temperature. In fact, drinking hot water (like your faux tea) is said to speed up your metabolism while drinking cold water will slow it down and interfere with digestion. This is my uninitiated understanding, but maybe worth a thought vis-a-vis 'set points.'
ReplyDeleteLove you bunches,
Mom
@ Mom - I'm not sold on the Ayurvedic thing anyway (way too out there for me), but giving up cold water would be the nail in the coffin! I like my water icy and I could never convert to room temperature and be happy. Oh well.
ReplyDeleteThat's interesting about Ayurvedic principles saying that cold water slows down your metabolism, but supposedly it actually speeds it up since your body works slightly harder to heat it to your body temperature! Of course, this extra boost isn't enough to replace exercise ;)
ReplyDeleteI cut back on caffeine and only drink it in very mild amounts unless I'm up very early or have to be especially alert...a whole cup of coffee only occurs a couple times a week, otherwise I drink decaf, half-caf, or tea. I really love my decaf chai teas! It allows me to drink something nice and strong if i want to at night :) also, Roobios and other herbal teas can be very sweet and pleasant. You might want to try an herbal coffee "substitute", which is a strong herbal tea usually with chicory root and other things (celestial seasonings has barley and other sort of nutty things). It doesn't really taste like coffee but its darker and smoother than tea, with a mouthfeel closer to coffee! Once you've had one cup you're used to it and it's delish.
I wish I had your self control!!!! Good for you! x
ReplyDeleteI actually very rarely drink caffeine (as in maybe twice a month, max) because when I drink coffee I feel like I'm having panic attacks. The physical symptoms of caffeine make me think that I'm really nervous about things, and then I get nervous, and then it just viciously cycles.
ReplyDeleteHuge lots of support!
Can you drink herbal teas? Naturally non-caffeinated. And rooibos tea is really high in antioxidants and non-caffeinated. (This probably isn't helping with your break, but if there's no caffeine...)
ReplyDeleteI would use this as an excuse to buy all sorts of lovely herbal teas. Have you tried the Aveda tea? Or making it yourself? (=much cheaper)
ReplyDeleteHi, I have been following your blog for some time now and I just wanted to say hello and good luck. I have suffered from bad anxiety for over a decade, and have gone on many caffiene holidays. They really help. At this point, I can drink one regular mug a day with no bad effects. One thing that has really helped as well are B vitamins. I suggest one that is a "stress" blend from a health food store, or even just a multivitamin b mixture. Bach's rescue remedy also has helped me. I love your blog and look forward to it!
ReplyDelete- acj
I think of drinking tea as sort of a ritual.
ReplyDeletePerhaps a big cup of chamomile in your hands would be just what the doctor ordered :)
it's interesting to read all these comments. I gave up caffeine about 13ish years ago now, because I recognized that it wasn't doing good things to my body. I was horrendously addicted and couldn't go a day without caffeine without crippling headaches, so I gave it up. I do miss real coffee, so I do drink decaf on occasion. I hope you are able to stick with it - I know it's a huge adjustment. Good luck!
ReplyDeletei had to give up caffeine for a while because of a stomach condition and the thing that helped me a lot was herbal teas. i've gotten to the point now that if i ever have caffeine i am SOOOO wired.
ReplyDeletei hope that it gets better for you!
I tried giving up coffee once, but it did give me the worst headaches. I'm an addict through and through and I think I'm okay with that. I just plain love it.
ReplyDeleteI have similar panic/anxiety issues, and my first was to cut out caffeine after noon since i get more anxious as the day goes by. So far thats been doing the trick, but I haven't had the guts to cut it out completely, so bravo to you :)
ReplyDeleteI'm trying to give up caffeine too because it dehydrates me too much. I have eczema which means i can't retain water. So in order to keep my skin and hair hydrated I need to drink lots of water. I'm actually trying to get to a gallon a day but i can't drink more than 72oz. I just don't think about drinking. How do you do it?
ReplyDeletegood for you! this might help you out alot. and drinking more water is always a healthy move.
ReplyDeletemaybe a hot chocolate instead!! ;)
I had a 'coffee-break' for three months once. I had terrible withdrawal symptoms though. I found perusing the supermarket for 'caffeine-free' tea options was fun and came out with great alternatives (my favourite was Chamomile Tea).
ReplyDeleteIt's not coffee, agreed. But it does fill that 'hot-drink' void. :D
♥ www.anidetoknowbasis.com ♥
Thanks for the advice on the water. I've been trying to drink hot water with lemon every morning upon rising, but for me it's near impossible.
ReplyDeleteI've never had a panic attack before, but I had a friend who suffered from panic disorder for a very long time. It's no joke, and for a while it was debilitating for him. I wouldn't wish it on anyone. I have a phobia, which can cause extreme anxiety (obviously) but--fingers crossed--never a full blow panic attack.
Hi, Rachel: I discovered your blog some time ago. Your photos are lovely and inspiring. You can see beauty in unexpected places - including dishes drying in a dish rack, and baking cooling on a rack.
ReplyDeleteI gave up occasional cups of coffee years ago after realizing coffee made me feel anxious. But I drink tea regularly without any adverse effects.
Coffee has two to three times as much caffeine as tea. It takes lengthy boiling -- not mere steeping -- to thoroughly extract caffeine from tea leaves (see chemistry lab instructions at: http://www.usask.ca/chemistry/courses/255/laboratory/PDF/EXP1_Isolation%20of%20Caffeine.pdf).
If you are still not convinced tea has less caffeine, try tisanes or herbal "teas" -- my favourites are Tazo's Wild Sweet Orange, and any good peppermint "tea."
I'm going through a similar situation, but with alcohol instead of coffee, and depression instead of anxiety. The first couple weeks have been difficult (very odd to not have a single glass of wine in a social setting), but I'm trying to stick to it and have already noticed that my moods feel much more balanced. Good luck to you, Rachel.
ReplyDelete@ the sweet people who suggested herbal tea - That would be the logical move, but I've never been able to get into herbal tea. I've tried and failed multiple times. I really like plain black tea, and herbal seems to be a completely different thing, sadly.
ReplyDelete@ anon 12:04 - Oh, I can definitely tell that my tea has much less caffeine than coffee! I (used to) drink several cups of tea daily but coffee was a once in a while treat. I can tell that the caffeine in my daily tea was taking a toll on me - I might be more sensitive, and I definitely drink more (and stronger) tea than many people.
@ Sloan - Good luck to you too! It's hard to give up things we really enjoy, but sometimes it's the only thing to do, at least for a while.
I'm a big anxiety sufferer too. I've cut out alcohol, caffeine, and a lot of sugar for a while ago now. Out of all of these, I actually think that reducing sugar has made the most difference.
ReplyDeleteI drink naturally decaffeinated tea and coffee now sometimes. I mustn't be a connoisseur because I can't detect a big difference in taste. Hardcore enthusiasts would be horrified!
I'm so thankful I stumbled upon this blog! I'm in my junior year of college and have been feeling really stressed, even though my course load isn't that bad. After this post, I thought about my caffeine intake and it seems like the stress and the caffeine are related. My vice is classic coke. It'll be hard to give up, but if all of you commenters above have given it up, maybe I can too? Going for it!
ReplyDeletesuch an interesting topic, thanks for sharing. i have always had a low threshold for caffeine. it makes my heart race/pound, and i feel 'unsettled'. my good friend bonnie is a tiny little pixie of a woman, she might weigh 90 lbs. bon drinks several cups of strong, black coffee each morning, saying if she goes without, there will be the migraine consequence. this has always made me crazy b/c i can't figure out why bon can drink coffee like a burly sailor and i can't. rachel on a good note, i had anxiety attacks in my late 20's...and the good news is they faded with time. don't know what was the turning point. but haven't had one in years. while i was going through them, i probably could not have read this blog convo without igniting panic. so, treat them like a visitor. and eventually an unwelcome one. xoxo kathi
ReplyDeleteI gave up coffee for lent, so I know what you mean!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Rachel. I think this is just what I needed to read to seriously consider doing the same thing...for very similar reasons. Anxiety, be gone (or, at least diminish)!
ReplyDeleteI stopped drinking coffee for about 8 months and I noticed a big difference in both my anxiety and my moods. I suffer from anxiety as well and I can't handle a lot of caffeine any more. I've always had problems sleeping and when I cut out caffeine I noticed that I was able to fall asleep easier. If I didn't love coffee so much I bet I would be a healthier person.
ReplyDeletejust found your lovely blog & am so excited! this post especially spoke to me as i attempted a caffeine break a few months back and i too went through withdrawals from having the comfort of a coffee cup in my hand. wishing you luck!!!
ReplyDeleteI just gave up coffee for a similar reasons - it was making my heart race a bit each morning. I couldn't tell if it was physiological or psychological, but either way, it freaked me out. I was lucky and didn't suffer any withdrawl headaches, and I have allowed myself tea and chocolate (I think decaf coffee just has less caffeine; herbal tea has zero) but I still miss the IDEA of coffee a lot. Especially when I'm out.
ReplyDeleteAt first, it's really hard to give up on something that's been a part of you for the longest time. But if quitting on coffee will really help you a lot, then it is fine. So, how have you been since the no-caffeine days started? At least, aside from panic attacks, other adverse effects also go out. No more stained teeth, among other things.
ReplyDeleteDitto!!
ReplyDeleteI never liked coffee to begin with and never had more than 2 cups a week or so but I hated how it became a crutch/ perceived comfort. I'm lucky to be a huge tea lover so chai, jasmine and green tea, get me through the slump.
Just found your blog btw, great posts, great recipes:)
I have been having palpitations recently and think it has to do with reintroducing caffeine into my diet after going off it while i was pregnant. Like many others here, i love the idea of coffee and will find it hard to give it up. But i think i must. Because this anxiety is not fun to live with.
ReplyDeleteI'm so jealous that you were able to give it up without headaches. I *tried* giving up caffeine (coffee and my once a day diet soda) and I literally got sick. I had to stay in bed where it was nice and dark and cool. It was terrible. Needless to say, I still drink my coffee and my diet soda. I want to quit-- it's just so hard!
ReplyDelete