It was a regular morning when I overreacted. Now usually I’m calm, composed, I’m the guy that lets things slide off my shoulder. But on this day, I became a linguist of profanity. It’s not someone I feel I am in my core or someone I consciously strive to be.
I was triggered, triggered by the way my body reacted to the caffeine; it was time to give up coffee.
As a business owner, I get clients that request meetings with me all the time, and who’s business is dependant on the melding of minds, I’m always meeting clients for the first time at trendy coffee shops. So kicking the coffee cup was a conscious decision. Something of which I thought of for a while, but my lack of focus prevented me from achieving the perk-free focus I wanted.
Now, I love coffee, and I have since my mid-twenties since I purchased an espresso machine, which I used for a few months before stuffing it in my cabinet. You see, it wasn’t just the coffee I loved or the caffeine I craved, but I loved the coffee shop culture. It was hip, cool, filled with busy, successful-looking people.
With every order, my inner voice always questioning, “hmm, I wonder what all these $6.50 coffees are doing to my body, should I worry?” or another question I’d ask myself, “am I an addict? Nah,” I’d shrug inside, as I placed an order for a drip coffee with room.
I convinced myself I had my coffee intake under control because I only consumed it around my business meetings, which were, on average, up to 3 times a day. And the caffeine karma was always clean because I would offer to pick up the bill for clients I would meet. “no-no, it’s ok. I got this!” It was full of warm goodness, positive energy over discussions of our software project together, or next movie production, and ideas seemed to explode.
Things changed. It started to become a problem because my want for coffee was percolating between meetings. A promise I made to myself that I’d only consume coffee during meetings, I figured, if I were going to have a bad habit, it would be while I’m going to be productive.
My days started with a morning coffee with my wife during breakfast, then I’d grab a quick cup to sip while coding a software project, or filming, which I’d have close to me on set in a to-go cup, and times it was at night when visiting with friends or family.
It’s only been three days since I’ve quit, it’s been the three most productive days of my life. That’s why I’ve chosen to write this article. I love to write, but while in my coffee-addicted anxious haze, I always had that false sense that I never had the time. But since I’ve quit the bean, I’ve felt present, focused, and just…happy. And now that I’m #CaffeineSober, I realized what coffee and the caffeine in it did to me. I’m sharing this because, a quick google search, I couldn’t find a decent article I could connect with, so I thought I’d write one.
I’m well aware the drug affects people in different ways, but my coffee consumption made me:
foggy in my mind
feel like I never had enough time
react or overreact to stressful events
feel like I was carrying the weight of the world’s projects
feel distant from my wife and kids
feel like I couldn’t handle my daily stress loads and would push myself to get through them.
not find the joy in the admin tasks of my business, like invoicing, or writing an article like this.
not want to go to the gym because I would see a workout as an unachievable entire body, two-hour commitment, where now I see them as more focused, micro workouts.
feel bloated around my waistline
The list goes on, but I didn’t feel GOOD.
I enjoy my coffee with lots of cream and lots of honey. I suspect there’s a possible combination of the three, caffeine, dairy, and sugar, a triple whammy of things which are affecting my mental health, and something I’m going to be tracking, but that’s an entirely different article. But for now, I’m enjoying a flatter stomach as well.
I’m not basing my article off any science. But there seems to be a common observation of the side effects of coffee. According to WebMD, coffee containing caffeine can cause insomnia, nervousness, and restlessness, stomach upset, nausea and vomiting, increased heart and breathing rate, and other side effects.
I’m not arguing about the benefits either. I’m sharing my own experience in hopes that if you’re like me, there’s nothing wrong with finding the solution for your happiness.
Roasting the bean from my life hasn’t taken the joy out of meeting clients at trendy coffee shops — sipping something over discussions about video game development, software development, and movie production projects. I’ve switched to teas, I still pick up the bill, and my days are a bit brighter, and my resting-smile-face just a bit larger.
About me, the Author: I began my career as a graphic artist when I was still in high school, then followed with eight years of developing software before having the courage to create my own Windows XP based software in the mid 2005s with the goal of licensing it to users around the world. During that time, I had a secret passion for film, and making shortfilms and music videos, of which I wasn’t public about…. Fast forward to 2019. I’ve accumulated nearly a million users of my softwares, and developed over 2000 unique projects of which I’ve spent as the writer for, leading and developing my skills for the larger projects I create today which I post frequently on my channels.
A study published Wednesday found that teens who use cannabis are 11 times more likely to be diagnosed with a psychotic disorder, according to NBC News.
The study was led by researchers from the University of Toronto and examined teenage patients who used cannabis within the last year and those who did not, according to NBC News. When the study was further limited to teens who were sent to the emergency room or hospitalized, it showed a 27-fold increase in the likelihood of being diagnosed with psychotic illness.
“I think that there’s enough evidence out there for us to give recommendations that teens probably shouldn’t be using cannabis,” Andre McDonald, a postdoctoral research fellow at McMaster University and lead author of the study, said, according to NBC News. “If we can somehow ask teens to delay their use until their brain has developed a little further, I think that would be good for public health.”
While the research does not prove that cannabis use by teens causes psychosis, Dr. Leslie Hulvershorn, a child psychiatrist who was not involved with the study, argued it was unlikely that the teens were already predisposed to these kinds of mental health issues, according to NBC News. The study noted that the risk of psychosis did not spike for users between the ages of 20 and 33 and Dr. Kevin Gray, a professor of psychiatry at the Medical University of South Carolina who was not a part of the study, told NBC News that the increase in risk of psychosis likely had to do with brain development at different stages of life.
“There’s something about that stage of brain development that we haven’t yet fully characterized — where there’s a window of time where cannabis use may increase the risk of psychosis,” Gray said. “This study really puts a fine point on delaying cannabis use until your 20s may mitigate one of the most potentially serious risks.”
Another study from July 2023 found that marijuana addiction made individuals four times more likely to later be diagnosed with bipolar disorder with psychotic symptoms and two times more likely to be diagnosed with depression. Recreational marijuana use has been legalized in 24 states and Washington D.C., and 13 states have legalized the substance for medical use, according to CBS News.
The Republican governors of two dozen states, including Georgia and South Carolina, penned a letter to President Joe Biden opposing the World Health Organization’s proposed “Pandemic Agreement,” which they said could “undermine national sovereignty” and states’ rights.
The state executives argue the treaty “would seek to elevate the WHO from an advisory body to a global authority in public health.” They contend the proposed accord could also allow the WHO to establish “a global surveillance infrastructure” and force participants to censor free speech.
On Tuesday, 93.3% of voters in Georgia’s Republican primary said “unelected and unaccountable international bureaucrats,” such as those at the WHO, should not have “complete control over management of future pandemics in the United States and authority to regulate your healthcare and personal health choices.” The vote is nonbinding, but it could guide legislative action when Peach State lawmakers meet again next year.
In their letter, the governors said that “if adopted, these agreements would seek to elevate the WHO from an advisory body to a global authority in public health.
“Under the proposed amendments and treaty, the WHO’s Director-General would supposedly gain unilateral power to declare a ‘public health emergency of international concern’ (PHEIC) in member nations, extending beyond pandemics to include a range of perceived emergencies,” the governors added. The “proposals could erode state sovereignty by granting the WHO’s Director-General the authority to dictate responses to a declared PHEIC, stripping elected representatives of their role in setting public health policies and compelling citizens to comply with WHO directives, potentially including mandates regarding medical treatments.”
Govs. Kay Ivey of Alabama, Mike Dunleavy of Alaska, Sarah Sanders of Arkansas, Ron DeSantis of Florida, Brian Kemp of Georgia, Brad Little of Idaho, Eric Holcomb of Indiana, Kim Reynolds of Iowa, Jeff Landry of Louisiana, Tate Reeves of Mississippi, Greg Gianforte of Montana, Jim Pillen of Nebraska, Joe Lombardo of Nevada, Chris Sununu of New Hampshire, Doug Burgum of North Dakota, Kevin Stitt of Oklahoma, Henry McMaster of South Carolina, Kristi Noem of South Dakota, Bill Lee of Tennessee, Greg Abbott of Texas, Spencer Cox of Utah, Glenn Youngkin of Virginia, Jim Justice of West Virginia and Mark Gordon of Wyoming signed the letter.
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