Caffeine @ MindSay



 

   
Caffeine Free
12 days ago was the first day I got so sick. (I am much better now, thank you for asking, just a lingering cough that is subsiding).  Because of my illness, I was only drinking juice and water.

You may not know this about me, but like 90% of Americans, I was addicted to caffeine. As I am not a coffee drinker, I got my caffeine in the form of pop, primarily Mountain Dew. I had to have it, if I didn't get it, I would be cranky, tired, and get headaches. It was terrible, really. So, to avoid the negative side effects, I just made sure to have my pop every single day. Many days I'd find myself drinking 2 or 3 cans a day. Doesn't sound THAT bad, really, but aside from the addiction, it gets expensive.

I never really thought about it all that much, it was just something that I did, like eating--it had to happen every day. Then, I got sick. It was several days before I realized that I hadn't had any caffeine. I am sure I went through the withdrawal symptoms (typically lasting 1-5 days after forgoing caffeine) but they got rolled up into the sickness and I never really noticed them. After getting well, I realized I'd been free for about a week and decided that this would be a terrific time to curb the addiction. So I made a conscious decision and have not had any caffeine since. Total time: 12 days.

This might not be much to you, but to me, this is huge. Then it occurred to me, my two biggest addictions were smoking and caffeine, and I had been dependent on both for years and now I have given both of them up in my 30th year.

One of the things I am most excited about is that I found that caffeine produces more stomach acid and is a major contributor to gastric reflux disease. Many of you may not know that I have been suffering from this (aka acid reflux) for years and it is horrible. I am hoping that losing caffeine will help reduce this problem and it might actually become better for me! It is too soon to tell if there is any effect, but I have my fingers crossed.

In the meantime, three cheers for me, the girl who is quitting addiction. Well, except for tv and books, those I think I will keep.


 
 
   
 

Athletes, How About Some Java?
Interesting article in the New York Times about the merits of caffeine to enhance an athlete's performance.  Of course, it's only effective if you don't already drink a lot of caffeine, but studies have concluded that caffeine really does improve performance.  Check out the article, called "It's Time To Make A Coffee Run" by Gina Kolata.
 
 
 

   
Life is OK
I figure that this is as good of a day as any to start a blog.

For now, I'm biding my time... trying to enjoy myself as much as possible while dealing with the stresses of living at home and being in high school. None of it's really that bad, I just am yearning for something different.

Anger has a tendency to hold me hostage, sometimes. Sadness too. I'm trying to uproot anger, trying to be more compassionate, trying to live simpler, trying to not hold my surroundings up to any unachievable ideals. I think it's going okay. When you're living your life in a place where you have so little control over what's going on around you, you find it so much harder to control what's going on inside your mind and body.

I'm sober; remarkably so.
I greatly miss my daily rituals of Cannabis consumption, as I haven't been partaking in the last two months or so. That's alright though, as I'm high on life.
I'm starting to see firsthand that life is a trip and I'm in for a great one.

I'm tired. Really tired.
This week has been ridiculous my Caffeine intake has been through the roof.
I just need to be alert, awake and paying attention to everything that's going on throughout my entire day... It's hard to NOT use Caffeine as much as I do.  Been trying to ween myself off of it over the last two days... Went from a consistent 500mg+ per day to a half a cup of coffee yesterday and nothing today. I've certainly had worse headaches, but this one is so persistent.

The world is beautiful.
I love our Earth, I love every season and I love spending time in the midst of it all.
We're all connected to each other and every speck of matter that makes up this world and this universe. The universe is everything that exists or has the potential to exist, the symbiotic relationship between space and time. Ideas are as real to me as anything I can hold.

Our environment is deprecating... fast.
As the cause of many of our environmental issues and supposedly the most rational beings inhabiting this planet, we Humans absolutely MUST conserve and be true stewards to this beautiful rock we were lucky enough to gain control of.

People amaze me.
Human nature never ceases to blow my mind. So predictable and yet... so spontaneous. I often zone out when watching people going about their lives, amazed at the complexity of our mind and body.

As much as I'm a fan of the winter, I'm about ready for it to get warmer.
The Sun is really, really nice.

Anyway... this was sort of a big ramble. I'll get more specific once I gather my thoughts.
 
 
   
 

 

   
ZZZZZZZZZZZZ. . .

Two cups of coffee and I'm still sleepy!  As my neurology teacher would say, "Must. Block. Adenosine receptors!" Oddly enough, my eye is jumpier than ever. I guess it had too much caffeine.

 

I guess I'll have to move up to crack or crank until they invent that Java I.V.

 
 
   
 

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