Giving up coffee - the BEST thing I've done!

Hey guys,

I thought I'd inject a little positivity into the forum on this foggy sunday morning with a little success from this week.

On monday, I woke up feeling great. Had a nice confident teaching day. Then, had a parents meeting with a parent I see all the time, and anxiety struck.

I felt really out of breath, dry mouth, had racing heart beat, and I got my old favourite symptom - head shaking off body sensation with cotton wool brain to boot. Yes, its happened many times before and often much worse, but I thought about my day - what I'd thought, what I'd done, and what I'd consumed. Despite promising myself I'd now never go over two cups of coffee per day, I'd had 3. I could feel the caffeine racing around - making my nerous and edgy.

Not sure why it got me this time, but it really pissed me off! All the work I've been doing over the last year to rid myself of this problem, and yet I haven't been able to give up coffee, which I KNOW makes all of my shaky, horrible symptoms worse. So I thought enough's enough, and I quit. Just like that. And I've not had one since!

I got bad withdrawal syptoms on the first day, and I was very anxious. But by day 2 I felt absolutely amazing! I feel so much less shaky and nervous. I feel so much more relaxed! When it was my turn to speak in assembly, I normally get nervous. I just sat and observed myself. At one point in my head, I actually dared myself to see if I could make myself nervous...my heart beat loudly a couple of times and then nothing! I enjoyed myself!

I'm not saying this is a cure to anxiety. No doubt I'll be a bag of nerves again soon enough, but I really can't believe how much more relaxed I feel. I know plenty of people that drink coffee by the gallon and never have any ill-effects, but for me, I've been feeling for a while that it accentuates anxiety symptoms. It's just not for me.

littlemissteacherlady is my blog if anyone wants to read more about my struggles and successes. If you're thinking you're someone like me that caffeine doesn't help, I urge you to give it up right now! Put down the french press and grab yourself some peppermint tea!!! xx
 

Mickery

Well-known member
I don't know that it ever made any difference to anxiety, but I've quit coffee a few times :rolleyes: and always felt better for it.
 

Piece_By_Piece

Well-known member
I couldn't give up coffee. What would I live for then? lol
Honestly, I don't drink that much coffee. So I don't really need to quit.
 

tovoxy

Active member
Wow i just can't imagine living without coffee! ive been thinking on giving up...but that seems impossible... hmm i probably gonna make myself some coffee right now
 
I was a coffee fiend!!! And although I restricted myself to one cup a day, I loved the stuff!!!

I gave up all tea, coffee and any caffeine containing product....eg green tea, decaff

I gave it all up about two months ago and it was very hard to do BUT its like you said
Littlemissteacherlady said:
Not sure why it got me this time, but it really pissed me off! All the work I've been doing over the last year to rid myself of this problem, and yet I haven't been able to give up coffee, which I KNOW makes all of my shaky, horrible symptoms worse.
exactly!!! And now I won't even touch the stuff because I know it's like injecting myself with anxiety.yuck.
 

coyote

Well-known member
i do recognize that caffeine has some negative health effects

but frankly, i drink caffeine because stimulants help my brain to quiet down and focus

and i currently can't afford Adderall or Ritalin prescriptions
 

Remus

Moderator
Staff member
When I worked for Starbucks I was at my shakiest, espressos all day gives you the twitchy eye! Decaf helped but there's still caffeine in that.
 

this_portrait

Well-known member
I recently decided to cut down on my caffeine intake as well. I don't remember the last time I had caffeinated coffee. Not just coffee, either, but I've also been drinking caffeine-free soda, too. I will say I feel less jittery and that it does help a bit with my anxiety.
 

Hastings & Main

Well-known member
I LOVED COFFEE!!

Quad-cappuccino's every morning (I hated just drinking a little tiny cup of coffee, so I just made enough to fill a regular-size coffee mug!), until I realized how bad it made me feel - the 'up'-rush was over-rided by the 1000% jump in anxiety, jitters, etc - so now it's just 1 cup from the corner store on a break from work.
If coffee didn't affect my anxiety, I'd have a backpack-device filled with the stuff with a tube running to my mouth.

A friend of mine recently also had to say goodbye to her beloved bean due to her anxiety issues...
 

KnuffleBunny

Well-known member
Ooh good job! I've been meaning to quit coffee myself; unless I have decaf, I end up with a stomach ache and it doesn't matter how much I drink, a lot or a little. Your right, tea is MUCH better for you. I usually go between hot chocolate (lately with some spices for my blood circulation) and tea for that very reason if I need a warm drink. Again, good job, I hope this good start has lasting results. :)
 

vj288

not actually Fiona Apple
I've never had coffee and from all the negative side effects of it I know of I don't intend on starting. I also don't drink soda so I don't intake any caffeine as far as I know. I'm already a jumpy person when I'm nervous, this doesn't sound like it would help.
 

aftermidnight

Well-known member
i do recognize that caffeine has some negative health effects

I hope no one has given up coffee because of this misconception. If anything, the health benefits of drinking coffee seem to outweigh the harms, though neither the supposed benefits nor the supposed harms have been greatly supported by scientific literature. I would put my money on it doing greater good than harm, assuming it doesn't actually upset your stomach or whatever.

What a lot of people don't realize is the effect coffee/caffeine has on their bodies' water balance. I've heard that for every cup of coffee (or shot of espresso) you should add another glass of water onto your recommended daily consumption of water (6 glasses). It's probably not a big concern if you're only drinking one cup of coffee, but if your usual morning kick consists of four shots of espresso...
 

coyote

Well-known member
I hope no one has given up coffee because of this misconception. If anything, the health benefits of drinking coffee seem to outweigh the harms, though neither the supposed benefits nor the supposed harms have been greatly supported by scientific literature. I would put my money on it doing greater good than harm, assuming it doesn't actually upset your stomach or whatever.

What a lot of people don't realize is the effect coffee/caffeine has on their bodies' water balance. I've heard that for every cup of coffee (or shot of espresso) you should add another glass of water onto your recommended daily consumption of water (6 glasses). It's probably not a big concern if you're only drinking one cup of coffee, but if your usual morning kick consists of four shots of espresso...

cool, thanks for the info
 
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