Bark Water

[pshaw_raven]

I'm quitting coffee. Let me explain. No! There is too much. Let me sum up.

Ordinarily coffee is regarded as a fairly healthy thing to indulge in. But I've been drinking so much for so long that I felt it's time to step back significantly and change that habit. I figure that I was frequently consuming well over the recommended upper limit of 400 mg of caffeine each day, and I don't think there's any benefit to continuing to do so. I don't intend to quit coffee entirely, but to have it as a treat. And, hopefully once my sensitivity to caffeine returns, it'll give me a nice boost ahead of hard workouts or races, instead of me needing to suck down multiple cups just to feel functional.

So I'm not exactly going cold turkey, but for the last three days I've avoided coffee entirely and had tea instead. I've learned a few things so far. One, I have way too much tea sitting around and getting stale. I may need to just throw some out, though my brain is arguing the "sunk cost" fallacy the whole time - it was expensive when we bought it, you ought to drink it anyway. If it's gone stale, it's just going to make weird-tasting bark water, and not the blend it was originally intended for.

Two, lapsang souchong is WAY too much first thing in the morning. I mean, I like it, but it's like a punch in the face. I have strong English breakfast that's nice, I've been drinking that one as an afternoon cup for a while now. But yesterday on a whim I decided to have chai and ... I think I found my morning cup. I spent a long time reading up on how to make one's own chai masala, how to brew it, etc. I found a neat Reddit thread where an Indian lady described some of how her mother made chai, mentioning that sometimes she added a few bruised lemongrass stalks to the steeping chai to help fight off colds. Sounds delicious.

Three ... being a tea nerd is kind of fun. :)

So I'm not exactly going through withdrawal, but my body is definitely reacting to the severe reduction in caffeine. And considering how long I've been drinking coffee as heavily as I have, it could take another week or so before my system readjusts. After that, it'll feel almost like a super-power to be able to get up in the morning and not require several cups of coffee just to get going.

In gaming - Broforce - I've gotten to the part where I'm now clearing out aliens rather than "just" terrorists. I've unlocked Bro-ffy the Vampire Slayer, who has some pretty damaging attacks. So far, she's right up there with Indiana Bro-nes, though now that I know how to use Indy's whip as a grapple, he's the one I look forward to getting the most.

Hyper Light Drifter - I didn't realize this game had a reputation for being difficult until I started playing. I can see why - if you want to get ALL the stuff, you have a lot of hard dungeons to get through. Some of the sections are just incredibly, stupidly hard. Chain dashing is a very useful skill once you master it, but holy crap is it hard to master. And let's not even talk about the soccer mini-game, because I'll end up going on a major rant about how much I hate the soccer guy. Right now I'm poking around and looking for collectibles, so I've run into a sort of arena fight with waves of enemies that I had a hard time getting past and so logged off for the night.

I haven't played much aside from those two, but I'm looking to clear out my backlog before buying much of anything new. And I mean, not every single game I own, but I picked out a dozen or so I've half finished, and a few I'm interested in trying and they've just been gathering dust in my Steam library.

Comments

[theradicalchild]

I have epilepsy and various other mental conditions that I fear any kind of caffeine could amplify, so I haven't had any coffee or any caffeinated beverage at all since before Lent last year.

[pshaw_raven]

That sounds like a good reason to steer clear of caffeine. I used to have occasional episodes of heart palpitations and irregular beats, but it's gotten a lot worse lately. Happily the flutters have backed off some, and I no longer feel like I'm being punched in the chest.

[cdayzee]

During my first visit with the therapist, she wanted me to take an apple cider vinegar gummy in the morning before coffee. It's somehow supposed to help with sleep; something to do with balancing the histamines in one's body. I know nothing about that. But in my reading, it's supposed to give you energy..?? I haven't picked up any yet. Curious what you might know about it?

Caffeine only increases my anxiety feeling, so coffee is of no help to me to get me going :sad face:

[pshaw_raven]

I'm not too familiar with ACV, I just know a lot of people take it for a lot of things. I actually hate the smell of it, so I've never tried drinking it. But it seems like histamines have to do with allergies? I think people with fibro and mast cell syndrome need to go low-histamine. So it might help with energy levels if your body is having trouble with something else going on.

I'm sort of surprised no doctor ever suggested cutting back on coffee to help with my anxiety, but I'm one of those odd people who can be calmed by a cup of coffee rather than get jittery.

[cdayzee]

The therapist says she takes an ACV gummy & said I should too :shrug:

But it seems like histamines have to do with allergies?
See that's what I thought! And I suffer from allergies so why am I wanting more of it? The way the therapist described it, ACV is supposed to increase histamines during the day then I'm supposed to take Benadryl [an anti-histamine] at night before bed. She tells me this is the first line in regulating one's body for better sleep. This is all new to me & I've never heard of that before. But if ACV provides healthy energy & possibly helps with weight, I'll give it a go. Trying to figure out what can give me energy without increasing my anxiety has been a real challenge. I'm fresh out of trying anymore :headdesk:

I've read that coffee/caffeine seems to have the opposite effect in those with ADHD, in case that may apply to you. If it had that impact on me, I'd welcome it!

[pshaw_raven]

Taking Benadryl will DEFINITELY make you sleep! Their slogan should be "You can't sneeze if you're in a coma."

ACV gummies probably won't hurt anything, and in gummy form it might taste pretty good. I was trying to think of this, and finally remembered people will take that or pickle juice for muscle cramping and dehydration. You wouldn't think so, but vinegar can help rehydrate you.

https://plantyou.com/switchel-recipe/ - switchel is the name of a concoction I have not been able to talk myself into trying, but some people swear by it!

[cdayzee]

lol so true regarding Benadryl. I don't get on too well with their product though. I won't be taking that lol.

The therapist also mentioned pickles or sauerkraut - something fermented.

Switchel: that's interesting! I'd not heard of that before. Sounds kinda good as long as the vinegar flavor is masked enough.

[dorchadas]

This is reminding me that I've been out of lapsang souchong for years at this point and I need to get more.

I've run into a sort of arena fight

If this is the optional one, that's the achievement where I gave up--I did a bunch of it but could just never get past the end and eventually moved on to other games. Hopefully you have better luck.

[pshaw_raven]

I'm stuck on the last arena, but I decided to take a little time off from it and try to return less frustrated. I may be using the sunk cost fallacy on myself - "You've come this far, you might as well grind it out until you finish."