You did what?!? Day 1

I gave up caffeine yesterday after reading this article. The article talks about how a high caffeine intake can mimic the symptoms of anxiety and depression. In the name of science, I’ve given up caffeine in the hopes it has an effect on my own moods.

Most of my friends know that I suffer a condition called PMDD which basically means I have a full bout of depression before every period. It sucks, but I know it will go away. I am not on any medication for it (that’s a whole other story) but the first advice the doctor gave after diagnosis was to give up sugar and caffeine. I did… for the first month but decided I was even more mental without them. This week, I’m not suffering any PMDD or other mood disorders but I do want to see if the moods improve next month without the caffeine.

So, what was Day 1 like? I don’t drink coffee but I do drink a lot of cola (sugar-free, which apparently has more caffeine than sugared cola). I normally have at least one glass of cola a day but on a day off, I can drink a whole 2L of the stuff. First of all, when I told people I was stopping caffeine intake, the number one response was, “Why would you want to do that?!?” Ah- addiction! Filling people with fear just thinking about taking it away! Everyone was supportive though, and interested in my results.

The hardest part was dinner last night. There’s a full bottle of cola sitting in my fridge. I was on my own for dinner last night and I had a Lebanese bread pizza. I always have cola with pizza! Water just isn’t the same… but I stayed strong and drank the water.

Today is Day 2. You’ll hear about that tomorrow… if I survive.