Oh wow I’ve had this same experience! As I got older my coffee intake increased way too much and I was depending on it for emotional comfort as well as the caffeine addiction. I realized by accident when I was sick once and I didn’t drink it for a couple days that I felt way less anxious so that’s when I started experimenting and realized that caffeine was the cause of my anxiety. I switched to decaf after that and it was such an improvement in my health. You don’t get as much flavor with decaf at home but I used the flavor creamer for taste. And coffee shops can usually make all the same specialty drinks as decaf which I didn’t know before. I had tried tea before decaf and it just wasn’t the same experience I was looking for. Eventually I started becoming more focused on my diet and trying to gain weight so my morning coffee just kind of got replaced with additional meals over time and now I don’t really think about it. I’ll still have a cup whenever I want but I no longer have the emotional need for a warm cup every morning or when I’m stressed. Kind of related, I also swapped out sodas for sparkling water. My favorite is Bubli but they have been a great alternative to a sugary soda but they have 0 calories and like no ingredients. Anyway thanks for sharing your story. It was cool hearing someone else experience what I did!
Back in February I was getting terrible headaches way too often and the only thing I could figure out was that I was drinking coffee throughout the day. I don't eat sugar or sweeteners and I wan't under a ton of stress, so I cut coffee to one cup in the mornings (black). The headaches went away! I haven't had one since I quit and I have rediscovered my love of tea.🥰 I haven't missed having it throughout the day and I definitely don't miss the headaches! Cheering you on! Hope it isn't an uphill battle.💞
You can do it Shelly! I turned 50 last year and caffeine was doing me wrong on many aspects of my life. I’ll spare you the details but I feel so much better since I started to drink none caffeinated coffee and tea. I really saw a difference within a month. I’m not going back! 😉
similar to your sister, i quit coffee due to increased anxiety and it was one of the best decisions ever! I drink different teas, lemonade, or sparkling water now. still have an iced coffee a couple times a month, and sometimes I’ll do decaf. wish you well on your journey!
Good luck! This has been a struggle for me for most of my life because it really screws up my stomach and jacks up my anxiety, but it’s also, in my opinion, the most delicious substance on this planet. I’ve managed to quit it for good (minus the occasional cup on my days off) by switching to unsweetened black tea (hot and iced), chai, and sometimes a cup of dandy blend (coffee alternative made from roasted grains and dandelion)
Hi Shelly, wishing you well on your endeavour! I'm also an anxious person and had tried - and failed - many times to completely give up the caffeine. In March this year I developed a health issue triggered by caffeine so it was my final incentive to go decaf. So far, three months in, my anxiety is a quiet buzz rather than the roar it was before. I tapered off over the course of weeks, slowly substituting in decaf coffee ie 3/4 scoop caff with 1/4 decaf and slowly increasing the decaf percentage. Got through it with a few headaches and minimal exhaustion. All the very best to you!
@@Eliss73957 thank you for sharing. I’ve done the tapering off method before. I’m definitely going more “cold turkey” this time while drinking tea. It’s day two today and it’s going okay.
100% definitely- coffee gives me anxiety. My heart rate monitor on my Apple Watch scientifically documents it every time! Getting into tea videos on RUclips helps me get psyched up to enjoy the emotional aspect of making and drinking it as much as the ambience of a cup of coffee.
I loved this topic video, Shelly! I switched from coffee to matcha many years ago, and I think it has helped reduce my anxiety and adrenal stress. Holding a warm drink in my hands makes me feel calm and less anxious. Fortunately, hot tea can help with that. I hope this change makes you feel better and would love to hear a future update! 🍵
This is an admirable goal. I've been weening myself off coffee for a while now. What I've been doing-and this'll sound kind of strange and mechanical-is I bought caffeine tablets with an exact amount of caffeine per tablet, and I've been slowly lowering the amount of caffeine I take in per day by literally cutting how much of a tablet I take. This has been the only way I've found to avoid heavy withdrawals while still lowering my caffeine intake. The biggest help with this, aside from knowing exactly how much mg of caffeine I'm taking in, is that there are some days when I need a tiny bit more energy, and I can increase the amount of mg's slightly to give me that energy without completely ruining my aim of eventually eliminating caffeine entirely. Hope this helps!
Smart idea with the caffeine tablets. I really enjoy the hot beverage ritual so I’m sucking down a good bit of tea these days while managing to stave off the headaches with the aforementioned tea, Tylenol, and water.
Good luck! You can do this! If you like the heavy body that comes with coffee over the thinness, (this may just be me) of tea, try Twig Tea (Kukicha). It is very earthy and has a heavier feel in the mouth.
I quit coffee for a year and a half (not that long ago), because I was sick of the impossible headaches if I missed it a day. After a while I figured out I still got headaches (lol), and there were other aspects I missed, so I returned to it. _Bon voyage_ on your quest, it’s worth trying something different, and teas offer a whole world unto themselves.
I’ve done that as well! Quit coffee because of headaches and going right back because the headaches stuck around. I workout for about 20 minutes most days and that’s done wonders for me headaches.
Congratulations! Abstaining from coffee and alcohol are the biggest challenges because of the social element. I don't do either for the very reasons you stated (anxious, jittery, etc). Sounds like you're doing all the good things by getting caffeine in tea to start as your body gets used to not having as much. Also check out Teecino's products. They have coffee alternatives. ❤
In regards to caffiene specifically coffee, I tend to go through phases where I can tolerate lots of coffee and sometimes I can't tolerate any due to external stresses making me more anxious so I cannot add alot of coffee(caffiene)to the mix. For context I can only really drink instant coffee as it contains less caffiene and its not too bitter for me. I have also found if I feel like the coffee will affect me then I take some magnesium at the same time and it helps to negate any negative effects of the caffiene, while still giving me the lift of energy. And in regards to tea it contains an amino acid called l theanine, which relaxes you, so this is why tea drinkers are calmer. I gave up coffee for tea for a few months whilst I was not working and I raved about how much calmer I felt. Altho I went from about 3 cups of coffee to six cups of tea a day 😂.
I was a major coffee person that switched to green tea. The quality of green tea can be a factor as wel. Spend money on the good stuff and it can be a beautifully sublime experience. The thing with coffee is that it exacerbates/generate while simultaneously creating the illusion of relieving the anxiety. That's the usual mechanics of addictive substances. (Also it is often the cause of poor sleep). If you can get to the point where you value the soothing ritual of the hug in a cup which tea over impulse of being falsely jack up with coffee, then you may find that the obtaining of energy can be done with choice, shift of focus and will.
I drink coffee but could take it or leave it. I don't have effects if I have it or not. I drink coffee and tea about the same amount. I also often don't drink either. It just depends on my mood. What gives me anxiety is the state of my country currently. Unfortunately, I can't cut that out of my life
I quit coffee for about a year and a half. I replaced it with green tea and it worked for me. It was destroying my stomach to three point where it would effect my mood and my life. Now I'm back on coffee but I'm only drinking one cup and no more and I try not to every day. I can't give up coffee for good but slowing down helped mee a lot. I only drink black coffee too and everyone says to put creamer in it to help with acidity but creamer and sugar make coffee gross.
About a year ago, I started drinking mushroom coffee. The one I use tastes just like coffee and has about 1/5 of the caffeine but is significantly more effective than regular coffee because of the adaptogenic mushrooms serving as a nootropic supplement. I don't feel addicted to it either (although I was never addicted to coffee or caffeine in the first place) so I don't know how it would be for someone switching to it from a coffee addiction.
I only drink 1 cup in the morning. And sometimes i'll 1 or 2 more when i'm out (as in a day trip to a museum and lunch etc) But on a normal regular day just the 1 cup. Too much coffee can make feel jittery for sure.
Caffeine is a nervous drug. I function much better without it but do love morning coffee. settled on instant which has very little caffeine in fact I don't even notice it. I can have as many cups a day as I want with little notice. but quitting any addiction frees the body from the mind and vice versa. your body is your temple. fasting next. bravo!
I could probably do this but can’t imaging losing out on the treat that is my first coffee of the day unless of course I had to quit for medical reasons ☕️
I discovered that my body is super-sensitive to caffeine. It makes me feel really jittery and uncomfortable - like I want to jump out of my own skin. It also gives me terrible headaches. Needless to say, I said goodbye to it years ago and am better off for it. I do love the flavor of coffee though so drink decaf occasionally, and will never give up coffee ice cream! Good luck with your journey/challenge!
I'll join the parade of people praising decaf. I was just like you, on and off coffee, for decades. Loving the emotional connection and flavor, hating how it increases my anxiousness and made me just feel bad and sleep worse. I was kind of a coffee snob and didn't consider decaf... until I did. Wow, I'm back in love with coffee. 2 cups on most days. I live in a big city with lots of high quality coffee roasters. Almost all of them have at least one decaf roast that is really good. Even in Italy I found decaf. In Japan it was super hard to find, but they have such great tea... I digress. All of the emotional connection remains with decaf, just the toxic addiction to caffeine goes away. I'm not trying to derail you from your cold turkey approach... But if you find yourself about to backslide, maybe consider decaf before falling off the wagon again. For the days when I had a bad night's sleep and need to be sharp, I'll drink black tea. With caffeinated coffee it takes me just one day of having it to get a headache the next day if I go without. I have not had that experience with black tea. Good luck. I love your book content.
I applaud you for quitting the coffee habit. I enjoy coffee but if I drink more than a cup to cup and a half it’s taking a toll on my stomach and my natural energy. I think an organic green tea is a better overall for wellness. Your video may inspire me to put the brakes on coffee for a bit. 😊
If you're drinking green tea you aren't quitting caffeine. If you want to quit caffeine be prepared for a multiple day headache. I did many years ago. And it sucked but I knew I wouldn't want to do that anymore. I do drink decaf coffee for the flavor and caffeine free teas and sodas and it certainly gets easier. I've been accidentally dosed a few times (server doesn't register that I really did say decaf) and I get heart racing extra hyper followed by a huge headache. I guess I don't understand if your body craves the caffeine and you quit coffee but drink green or black tea, that in my head is the same as saying "I heard Marlboro cigarettes could be affecting me I'm going to switch to camel cigarettes now."
Sorry for the incoming tl/dr… 🤣 I never drank coffee until my late 20s/early 30s. The gateway drink was some kind of blended mocha from Dietrich’s. Then it was mocha Frappuccino from Sbux. Then Iced mocha. Then sweetened cold brew (notice a trend.. all cold!). And finally I drink cold brew black. I mostly drink it for the taste am a sucker for pairing a little bit of sweet cookie with my morning coffee (after my yogurt and granola! 😁). I generally only have the one glass in the morning. But…. If I want to try to NOT fall asleep reading a book after dinner M-F, then I’ll have a quick iced americano in the afternoon. Good luck on this goal! PS - Cute t-shirt! Love the 💋
You sound very peppy so you don't need it for that. You might get a bit of a headache for a couple of days. I drink decaf for the comfort and the pleasure, and save the caffeine for those rough mornings. That way you have the indulgence but save the caffeine for when it is most effective.
Horrors! Don’t worry, I will drink enough coffee ☕️ for both of us.
Perfect! Good to see you, Michael.
I switched to decaf after burnout and increased anxiety. Decaf is fine.
Oh wow I’ve had this same experience! As I got older my coffee intake increased way too much and I was depending on it for emotional comfort as well as the caffeine addiction. I realized by accident when I was sick once and I didn’t drink it for a couple days that I felt way less anxious so that’s when I started experimenting and realized that caffeine was the cause of my anxiety. I switched to decaf after that and it was such an improvement in my health. You don’t get as much flavor with decaf at home but I used the flavor creamer for taste. And coffee shops can usually make all the same specialty drinks as decaf which I didn’t know before. I had tried tea before decaf and it just wasn’t the same experience I was looking for. Eventually I started becoming more focused on my diet and trying to gain weight so my morning coffee just kind of got replaced with additional meals over time and now I don’t really think about it. I’ll still have a cup whenever I want but I no longer have the emotional need for a warm cup every morning or when I’m stressed.
Kind of related, I also swapped out sodas for sparkling water. My favorite is Bubli but they have been a great alternative to a sugary soda but they have 0 calories and like no ingredients.
Anyway thanks for sharing your story. It was cool hearing someone else experience what I did!
Back in February I was getting terrible headaches way too often and the only thing I could figure out was that I was drinking coffee throughout the day. I don't eat sugar or sweeteners and I wan't under a ton of stress, so I cut coffee to one cup in the mornings (black). The headaches went away! I haven't had one since I quit and I have rediscovered my love of tea.🥰 I haven't missed having it throughout the day and I definitely don't miss the headaches!
Cheering you on! Hope it isn't an uphill battle.💞
Yes! I get terrible headaches as well. 20-30 minutes of exercise on most days has helped me tremendously.
You can do it Shelly! I turned 50 last year and caffeine was doing me wrong on many aspects of my life. I’ll spare you the details but I feel so much better since I started to drink none caffeinated coffee and tea. I really saw a difference within a month. I’m not going back! 😉
I’m working on it and it’s going surprisingly smoothly.
similar to your sister, i quit coffee due to increased anxiety and it was one of the best decisions ever! I drink different teas, lemonade, or sparkling water now. still have an iced coffee a couple times a month, and sometimes I’ll do decaf. wish you well on your journey!
Thank you!
Good luck! This has been a struggle for me for most of my life because it really screws up my stomach and jacks up my anxiety, but it’s also, in my opinion, the most delicious substance on this planet. I’ve managed to quit it for good (minus the occasional cup on my days off) by switching to unsweetened black tea (hot and iced), chai, and sometimes a cup of dandy blend (coffee alternative made from roasted grains and dandelion)
Thank you! I'm surprisingly surviving!
Thank you for spilling the tea on your coffee habit. 😄 ☕☕☕
Ha!! Any time!
Hi Shelly, wishing you well on your endeavour! I'm also an anxious person and had tried - and failed - many times to completely give up the caffeine. In March this year I developed a health issue triggered by caffeine so it was my final incentive to go decaf. So far, three months in, my anxiety is a quiet buzz rather than the roar it was before. I tapered off over the course of weeks, slowly substituting in decaf coffee ie 3/4 scoop caff with 1/4 decaf and slowly increasing the decaf percentage. Got through it with a few headaches and minimal exhaustion. All the very best to you!
@@Eliss73957 thank you for sharing. I’ve done the tapering off method before. I’m definitely going more “cold turkey” this time while drinking tea. It’s day two today and it’s going okay.
100% definitely- coffee gives me anxiety. My heart rate monitor on my Apple Watch scientifically documents it every time! Getting into tea videos on RUclips helps me get psyched up to enjoy the emotional aspect of making and drinking it as much as the ambience of a cup of coffee.
That’s amazing! Thanks for sharing!!
I loved this topic video, Shelly! I switched from coffee to matcha many years ago, and I think it has helped reduce my anxiety and adrenal stress. Holding a warm drink in my hands makes me feel calm and less anxious. Fortunately, hot tea can help with that. I hope this change makes you feel better and would love to hear a future update! 🍵
Thank you, Johanna! The coffee habit is completely kicked and I'm feeling amazing!
This is an admirable goal. I've been weening myself off coffee for a while now. What I've been doing-and this'll sound kind of strange and mechanical-is I bought caffeine tablets with an exact amount of caffeine per tablet, and I've been slowly lowering the amount of caffeine I take in per day by literally cutting how much of a tablet I take. This has been the only way I've found to avoid heavy withdrawals while still lowering my caffeine intake. The biggest help with this, aside from knowing exactly how much mg of caffeine I'm taking in, is that there are some days when I need a tiny bit more energy, and I can increase the amount of mg's slightly to give me that energy without completely ruining my aim of eventually eliminating caffeine entirely. Hope this helps!
Smart idea with the caffeine tablets. I really enjoy the hot beverage ritual so I’m sucking down a good bit of tea these days while managing to stave off the headaches with the aforementioned tea, Tylenol, and water.
Good luck! You can do this!
If you like the heavy body that comes with coffee over the thinness, (this may just be me) of tea, try Twig Tea (Kukicha). It is very earthy and has a heavier feel in the mouth.
Thank you!!!!!
I quit coffee for a year and a half (not that long ago), because I was sick of the impossible headaches if I missed it a day. After a while I figured out I still got headaches (lol), and there were other aspects I missed, so I returned to it. _Bon voyage_ on your quest, it’s worth trying something different, and teas offer a whole world unto themselves.
I’ve done that as well! Quit coffee because of headaches and going right back because the headaches stuck around. I workout for about 20 minutes most days and that’s done wonders for me headaches.
I've been using alcohol to self-medicate my anxiety, and it similarly DOES NOT HELP AT ALL. Also on a journey to quit. Best of luck, Shelly!
Best of luck to you as well.
Congratulations! Abstaining from coffee and alcohol are the biggest challenges because of the social element. I don't do either for the very reasons you stated (anxious, jittery, etc). Sounds like you're doing all the good things by getting caffeine in tea to start as your body gets used to not having as much. Also check out Teecino's products. They have coffee alternatives. ❤
Thank you so much! I gave up alcohol several years ago so coffee is next. Whew. It’s going!
In regards to caffiene specifically coffee, I tend to go through phases where I can tolerate lots of coffee and sometimes I can't tolerate any due to external stresses making me more anxious so I cannot add alot of coffee(caffiene)to the mix. For context I can only really drink instant coffee as it contains less caffiene and its not too bitter for me. I have also found if I feel like the coffee will affect me then I take some magnesium at the same time and it helps to negate any negative effects of the caffiene, while still giving me the lift of energy. And in regards to tea it contains an amino acid called l theanine, which relaxes you, so this is why tea drinkers are calmer. I gave up coffee for tea for a few months whilst I was not working and I raved about how much calmer I felt. Altho I went from about 3 cups of coffee to six cups of tea a day 😂.
I can’t drink coffee as much as I used to. I started to have stomach problems a few years ago.
I was a major coffee person that switched to green tea. The quality of green tea can be a factor as wel. Spend money on the good stuff and it can be a beautifully sublime experience. The thing with coffee is that it exacerbates/generate while simultaneously creating the illusion of relieving the anxiety. That's the usual mechanics of addictive substances. (Also it is often the cause of poor sleep). If you can get to the point where you value the soothing ritual of the hug in a cup which tea over impulse of being falsely jack up with coffee, then you may find that the obtaining of energy can be done with choice, shift of focus and will.
Thank you so much! I love green tea and have been enjoying matcha at the moment. I appreciate your comment.
Quit caffeine a number of years ago, more of an energy drink thing for me though, so I wish you the best of luck! It can be hard but it can be done
I gave up energy drinks a long time ago. They make me super jittery.
I drink coffee but could take it or leave it. I don't have effects if I have it or not. I drink coffee and tea about the same amount. I also often don't drink either. It just depends on my mood.
What gives me anxiety is the state of my country currently. Unfortunately, I can't cut that out of my life
Good for you! I believe in you! You can do it!
Thank you!
I've tried quitting coffee before and I just couldn't do it. I failed miserably. lol
Hey! Me too!
I quit coffee for about a year and a half. I replaced it with green tea and it worked for me. It was destroying my stomach to three point where it would effect my mood and my life. Now I'm back on coffee but I'm only drinking one cup and no more and I try not to every day. I can't give up coffee for good but slowing down helped mee a lot. I only drink black coffee too and everyone says to put creamer in it to help with acidity but creamer and sugar make coffee gross.
About a year ago, I started drinking mushroom coffee. The one I use tastes just like coffee and has about 1/5 of the caffeine but is significantly more effective than regular coffee because of the adaptogenic mushrooms serving as a nootropic supplement. I don't feel addicted to it either (although I was never addicted to coffee or caffeine in the first place) so I don't know how it would be for someone switching to it from a coffee addiction.
I similarly have switched to green tea and it’s been amazing. Done wonders. Truly.
I only drink 1 cup in the morning. And sometimes i'll 1 or 2 more when i'm out (as in a day trip to a museum and lunch etc) But on a normal regular day just the 1 cup. Too much coffee can make feel jittery for sure.
That’s amazing to me.
Caffeine is a nervous drug. I function much better without it but do love morning coffee. settled on instant which has very little caffeine in fact I don't even notice it. I can have as many cups a day as I want with little notice. but quitting any addiction frees the body from the mind and vice versa. your body is your temple. fasting next. bravo!
I could probably do this but can’t imaging losing out on the treat that is my first coffee of the day unless of course I had to quit for medical reasons ☕️
Absolutely. I’m actually doing okay.
I discovered that my body is super-sensitive to caffeine. It makes me feel really jittery and uncomfortable - like I want to jump out of my own skin. It also gives me terrible headaches. Needless to say, I said goodbye to it years ago and am better off for it. I do love the flavor of coffee though so drink decaf occasionally, and will never give up coffee ice cream! Good luck with your journey/challenge!
I've felt amazing switching to tea!
Wishing you well on your goals! 🫖
Thank you!!
I'll join the parade of people praising decaf. I was just like you, on and off coffee, for decades. Loving the emotional connection and flavor, hating how it increases my anxiousness and made me just feel bad and sleep worse. I was kind of a coffee snob and didn't consider decaf... until I did. Wow, I'm back in love with coffee. 2 cups on most days. I live in a big city with lots of high quality coffee roasters. Almost all of them have at least one decaf roast that is really good. Even in Italy I found decaf. In Japan it was super hard to find, but they have such great tea... I digress. All of the emotional connection remains with decaf, just the toxic addiction to caffeine goes away. I'm not trying to derail you from your cold turkey approach... But if you find yourself about to backslide, maybe consider decaf before falling off the wagon again. For the days when I had a bad night's sleep and need to be sharp, I'll drink black tea. With caffeinated coffee it takes me just one day of having it to get a headache the next day if I go without. I have not had that experience with black tea. Good luck. I love your book content.
I applaud you for quitting the coffee habit. I enjoy coffee but if I drink more than a cup to cup and a half it’s taking a toll on my stomach and my natural energy. I think an organic green tea is a better overall for wellness. Your video may inspire me to put the brakes on coffee for a bit. 😊
You can do it! ☺️☺️
If you're drinking green tea you aren't quitting caffeine. If you want to quit caffeine be prepared for a multiple day headache.
I did many years ago. And it sucked but I knew I wouldn't want to do that anymore.
I do drink decaf coffee for the flavor and caffeine free teas and sodas and it certainly gets easier. I've been accidentally dosed a few times (server doesn't register that I really did say decaf) and I get heart racing extra hyper followed by a huge headache.
I guess I don't understand if your body craves the caffeine and you quit coffee but drink green or black tea, that in my head is the same as saying "I heard Marlboro cigarettes could be affecting me I'm going to switch to camel cigarettes now."
Thanks for your input.
Sorry for the incoming tl/dr… 🤣 I never drank coffee until my late 20s/early 30s. The gateway drink was some kind of blended mocha from Dietrich’s. Then it was mocha Frappuccino from Sbux. Then Iced mocha. Then sweetened cold brew (notice a trend.. all cold!). And finally I drink cold brew black. I mostly drink it for the taste am a sucker for pairing a little bit of sweet cookie with my morning coffee (after my yogurt and granola! 😁). I generally only have the one glass in the morning. But…. If I want to try to NOT fall asleep reading a book after dinner M-F, then I’ll have a quick iced americano in the afternoon. Good luck on this goal! PS - Cute t-shirt! Love the 💋
Thank you!
You sound very peppy so you don't need it for that. You might get a bit of a headache for a couple of days. I drink decaf for the comfort and the pleasure, and save the caffeine for those rough mornings. That way you have the indulgence but save the caffeine for when it is most effective.
Ha! Thank you!
Oh I’m disappointed! So many proven benefits, especially black coffee. And never decaffeinated because if you don’t get a buzz, it ain’t worth it. 😮
Ha! I’m sorry to disappoint.