07/17/2024
I tried to quit coffee and almost died! Well, that might be overstating, but it wasn’t fun. In 2019, I got the bright idea to quit coffee. It was the last addictive substance in my life. While not a huge hindrance, I just drank too much and it wasn’t adding to my productivity like coffee claims. I read a bunch of articles about quitting, watched some YouTube videos, and thought I was set. This would be hard. It would take days, but many people said it would be worth it to be free from caffeine addiction.
I decided (as most do) to attempt this feat on a Monday. FYI, I drank more coffee that Sunday before than I had in almost my entire life. LOL. Here is a rundown of that day:
6am: I was fine. Missed the habit of coffee but didn’t have any withdrawal symptoms.
8am: Started to feel “off.” No real side effects but definitely not myself.
10am: This was getting hard. Headache in both the center front and back left of my skull. Was starting to feel my pulse through my head.
12pm: Lunchtime. Told my family about what I was doing. They quickly dismissed me as crazy and that this whole exercise was pointless. Brain fog + headache were firmly entrenched.
2pm: On a call with a realtor colleague and negotiating a deal. Making my client’s case about a roof and was going on for 30-45 seconds only to have her say, “Seth, are you ok?” My brain fog had morphed to cognitive decline. I told her I would call her back. LOL.
2:15pm: Spoke to a high school friend who after a short period asked the same thing. “Yo, are you feeling alright?”
2:30pm: That was it. I fired up the Keurig. Shortly after I sipped those first drops of coffee, EVERYTHING NORMALIZED. I felt fine in like 15 minutes. If that isn’t a physical addiction, I don’t know what is.
That evening I relented to my wife this is the one thing that I will remain addicted to. Which is ok. I love coffee. Have you ever tried to quit caffeine? Were you successful? If so, was it hard? Or did you fail miserably like me? LOL.