What is your relationship with coffee? How many cups per day do you drink?
Until recently, I used to drink three cups of coffee per day. In the beginning, I believed that coffee gave me energy. But over time, I realized that I felt the same no matter whether I drank coffee or not.
When I decided to tackle my addiction to social media, I decided to take a break from coffee as well.
You can learn about my social media detox in a video that I made about it.
The first two days without coffee went quite well. But from third to the seventh day, I had severe caffein withdrawal reaction – I felt drained, without energy, and suffered from splitting headache. It surprised me how intense the symptoms were.
After that, things started to get better.
When I felt that I needed a warm beverage, I drank herbal or fruit tea. A friend of mine recommends drinking moringa tea. It’s caffeine-free, contains three times as much iron as spinach, is a source of calcium, Vitamin A, potassium, Vitamin B6, Vitamin C, magnesium, and beta carotene.
If you really crave the taste of coffee, try chicory drink – it is caffeine-free and has a soft, nutty taste.
During my detox I decided to take better care of my body: I signed up to a gym and go regularly since then. I drink one, and a half-liter of water per day, eat enough fruits and vegetables and try (!) to go to bed before 10 PM.
I can’t say that I felt more energized during my caffein-detox. I saved money (soy cappuccinos are quite pricey in Geneva) and my breath smelled nice. By the way, have you also noticed that when you drink coffee, your breath smells funny?
You may be thinking that after such a positive experience, I didn’t go back. Well, I did. I like the taste, and even the chicory root can not replace it.
But I learned to listen to my body, and sometimes, I don’t drink coffee at all for days.
If there is one piece of advice that I can give you, if you want to get over caffein addiction, it’s to be gentle with yourself. Give yourself time.
If you are not ready, accept it, and focus on keeping your mind and body healthy by following a healthy diet, exercising regularly, drinking enough water, getting enough sleep, and being present. By being present, I mean:
be
here
now.
If you’re eating, focus on eating, if you’re drinking tea, focus on its taste, the temperature… be present with what is happening inside and around you.
There is no point in being an unhappy, frustrated person just because you do something that is supposed to be healthy. I believe that ultimately, it’s all in our mind and one cup of coffee killed nobody.
