Caffeine

Wednesday, July 28, 2021

Caffeine is an addictive substance.

As the warm liquid descends down your throat you feel an all over bliss as each cell in your body lights up and receives a sweet blessing. I quit caffeine today.

When you have a caffeine habit you get intense bliss which is likely the pain of withdrawal going away. If you have no caffeine habit drinking coffee can be a harsh experience because there is no blissful feeling from your cells receiving the drug that removes the withdrawal. Caffeine withdrawal is the worse feeling possible. You feel as if you head is encased in concrete. If you are older you wonder if you are developing dementia. You are unable to any work that involves cognitive processes i.e. thinking and any work that involves something physical such as putting away the dishes or any exercise because it’s too hard to make decisions on what to do next when your entire body is junk sick. I don’t use that word lightly, it’s literally the same feelings that Burroughs talked about in the book Junky. Once you establish the habit your days flow from one to the next you can do farm work evenly, to pass the time. Eventually like with heroin your caffeine habit does not give you any pleasure. You only take it to avoid feeling ill. You can drink some hoping for a lift and not receive one because you are only maintaining a steady state of normal. The pleasure caffeine gives is real but it’s transitory. Everyone would love to put that feeling in a bottle and whip it out to become more efficient and productive, but it takes as much (if not more) then it gives. Your habit can be developed in just one day. Once you have some caffeine your body wants to have the same or better (more) caffeine the next day. When you have a habit you get up in the morning, throw on a robe and go to the kitchen. You make the caffeine before you do anything else. Once you have some coffee or tea you feel like you are waking up and your day comes into focus. You complete all the tasks you need to do. Getting ready for work or to go out or other tasks around the house. You can pay bills. Everything is so organized and efficient. There is no wondering what to do and how to do it. Nor do you stare at the mess and clutter in the house wondering what to do. After a few weeks on a caffeine habit everything is hard to do again like before you started your habit. You lose the golden magic power of caffeine. I want bliss that is real and caused by achievements, not just caused my the reduction of pain. It’s better to eliminate the source of the pain and skip the bliss from the pain reduction.

For more information consult this book Caffeine: How Caffeine Created the Modern World by Michael Pollan.

Updated: I had quit caffeine but I broke down and had green tea in the afternoon. I am still addicted!