The headaches begin today...

[miriam_e]

I've decided to give up caffeine.

The headaches will start today and probably extend into tomorrow. I can expect to feel like I have a bad 'flu, with sore skin and the rest of it. I'm gonna stay mostly in bed and try to sleep thru the worst of it.

Caffeine is a much worse drug than is generally considered.

I can look forward to being a lot more alert in the future, especially in the morning, and copping far fewer headaches. I've noticed when I've been caffeine-free for long stretches before that I can go for ages without any headaches at all. When I drink caffeine headaches become a common fact of life.

What usually gets me back onto coffee is if I have to stay up all night in a rush job for something. Then, of course, I need it for the presentation the next day. In such cases I'm usually in some daily kind of job and need it to remain on top of things for the rest of the week. By the time the weekend comes I don't feel like losing it to headaches and sleep, so I continue with the caffeine. Hooked again. You'd think I'd learn, huh.

So I am gonna try to stay away from it this time.

Comments

[miriam-e.livejournal.com]

Cool. Go!

It will probably be pretty easy for me. I dislike the taste of coffee and I'm not too crazy about tea, and cola drinks always tasted too sweet. The only reason I drank any of those was for the caffeine. I actually prefer water or milk (preferably hot milk).

I never understood why people like any of those. I know the feeling of relief when I have a cup for a while (like first drink of the morning), but that is not my body's reaction to the taste; it is the drug. I know it because if I've already had enough caffeine those things go back to being not nice.

And the stuff is so goddamn expensive!
And I get lots of headaches because of it.
And I hate some stupid chemical restricting me.

OK, as far as I know, nobody's actually come out and demonstrated direct harm from caffeine, but the indirect hassle is enough.

(Excuse if this is a bit scattered... headache in full swing. Heheh can give up the addictive drug, but not the computer... think I'll go sleep.)

[faemortel.livejournal.com]

hehe.. if this is the week of miriam tryign to get off addicting things... I know for a FACT that her computer is her most addictive one...try dealing with withdrawls from that... wonder if you coudl go for 4 days.. no PC no palm... no othere computerie gadgets... think you could?

[miriam-e.livejournal.com]

Heheheh :)
I'm pretty sure I have done.
I may appear addicted to computers, but they are really just one of many cool toys in my life. Computers are simply the most useful. I have gone without computers when visiting my family in Queensland. That is a little more difficult since I got a computer for my sister's wonderful kids, and Mum & Dad now have a computer too, but I'm sure I could still do it with no longing for the machines.
I see them as just tools.

I guess I saw caffeine in a similar light. I've never like coffee or tea (I was aware of how the drug made my body feel that it was goood, but I felt it was a fairly revolting thing actually. Same with smack when, many years ago, I used to use it regularly; I never really liked the stuff. I took it for ulterior motives (to socialise, to be in the same frame of mind as my girlfriend, etc) but it was never one of the drugs that I liked and I was able to stop it whenever I felt like doing so.