Coffee, anyone?
My doctor said it, my acupuncturist said it, my physiotherapist said it.
“You have to stop drinking coffee.”
This is was in my last round of chronic headache times. It is always the question: “Do you drink a lot of coffee?” Oh my, yes. Coffee is my liquid gold. It runs through my very veins. I live breathe and piss coffee (you addicts out there will now exactly what I mean about this – I reckon my urine is about 75 percent arabica.)
Oh god yes.
But coffee did shitty things to me, too. It made me tense, anxious. Sometimes I’d drink a cup and then get this crazy butterflies-in-my-tummy feeling. Not to mention the cost of drinking take-away flat-whites constantly. So a while ago I switched to pure decaf and though I still drank at least three cups a day (all home-made on my espresso machine), the issues went away.
But… I missed that boost I got from the caffeine. The other day I went to a cafe and had a full-caf flat-white instead of decaf. And instantly, I perked up. I felt cheerful and amazing. People commented on my excellent mood. I didn’t feel bleh or drained, I felt wonderful.
Image via Orbit Visual
Isn’t it weird that such a little thing can make such a huge difference? I’ve read heaps of articles on caffeine and the effects in has on the human body. It is literally a performance-enhancing drug, utilised by athletes to achieve peak results. Any student can tell you of it’s essential qualities around exam time. (Here’s a great piece from Lifehacker about what delicious magic the good ol’ caffeine can work on your body.)
This mug is relevant to my interests.
Now that I’m in my own place and my life is much less stressful, I admit it – I’m going back on the caf. I’ve been experimenting with these half-regular-half-decaf concoctions that seem to put me into a decent mood without sending me into anxiety-town. If I do start having the problems again, I’ll be right back onto decaf asap. But I’m liking this upbeat feeling – and I’m keen on being my bubbly, caffeine-assisted self again.
Are you a coffee addict too? Is caffeine an integral part of your day, or are you wary of it’s personality-altering effects? Let me know below!
Look at my blog name. Nothing more needs to be said!
I am a 2 cups a day girl. One for morning tea and one with afternoon tea
no massive side effects, which is good. ☕☕
Two cups is a great amount, and you are so lucky that you can be happily caffeinated, I’m jealous. Baby steps…
You could also try mocha’s they have an additional kick from the chocolate… I enjoy those too
I wholeheartedly dig on this suggestion and am going to do it right now.
I had the same problem as you, but it all went away when I decided I was a ONE CUP person. I have my large flat white in the morning, and that’s it. It really gives me something to look forward to in the morning (sometimes I go to sleep feeling excited about coffee) and is completely manageable. Recently I had a day where I was meeting two authors to discuss their works and I’d had broken sleep the night before, and I was in a cafe for like six hours, so I thought ‘to hell with it’ and got a second cup. Room spinning. Gut churning. Mouth moving faster than thoughts.
If you are in the cafe situation again, go for the decaf. Most of it these days is really tasty, you can’t even tell. But I SO get the whole going-to-sleep-excited-for-morning-coffee thing, I get that too! I’m so excited to be going home in an hour and a half to have my afternoon coffee in my underpants while playing internet and scrolling Tumblr. It’s like my perfect afternoon.
OMG is that your Little Miss Scatterbrain mug?! I love Hargreaves!
Re: the coffee Thing, I might be an interesting creature. I used to drink many cups of coffee every day, at all odd hours. Then I got married and received a Gaggia espresso machine. Which led to an expensive (but necessary) grinder. Then my husband bought me a little in-home roaster for Christmas. All of this has actually led to a decrease in my coffee intake. Drip coffee often gives my sour stomach, but espresso doesn’t. Every day I have what I guess is considered a double iced breve – two double-ristrettos over ice with sweet and cream. Or, if I need something hot, I make it a double-latte. But that’s all – I get an initial spike of caffeine, and it makes me “normal” rather than jittery. The End.
Isn;t that mug great? I was tossing up between that and the Little Miss Chatterbox one, but the Scatterbrain is just so much more me.
The “double iced breve’ sounds amazing. Even though I can still drink coffee on the hottest of hot days (during the heatwave this week I still came home and made myself a latte), sometimes I make a coffee frappe in the blender – Two shots of coffee, a bunch of ice, milk and a dash of vanilla essence to cut the bitterness a bit. I could drink those all day! In fact, I’m going to ahve one when I get home!
Make a tray of frozen coffee cubes, dude! Bam!
I am completely on board with everything you’ve said mate! Being wonderifically preggy I have quit near everything that is good in life, including cigarettes and beer. The only thing I physically couldn’t, and emotionally wouldn’t give up is coffee. I love it, and I feel that going to one-a-day is more than enough of a sacrifice. People get judgy too- saying things like “are you sure you don’t want decaf.” while glancing at my swollen midsection. Liked this bloggy post. xo
Is this Katem Katem of the Port of Macquaries? If so, how good to hear you are presently the incubator of a tiny human spawn! Don’t let those judgey types make you think you don’t deserve your one-a-day, you do! I too have given up all of life’s delicious vices, but NEVER coffee, not completely.
The Coffee extends life, The Coffee expands consciousness.
I drink several pints of coffee (usually black Americano) each day. When my wife was experiencing headaches last year I swapped to decaffeinated; as my brain associates the taste of coffee rather than the presence of caffeine with being awake and energetic the difference to me has been negligible if I use good quality coffee.
I just had my morning coffee in the hopes that it would ward off my possibly impending sickness… I hear you on the addiction Molly!
I hope it helps, lady! (It will though, cause coffee fixes everything.)