It only takes 60mg per day of caffeine per day to become addicted to coffee. Unfortunately I returned to the slippery slope of coffee about 4 weeks ago to overcome a productive slump and hit some deadlines.
It took me 2 weeks and 3-4 cups a day to realise I was once again addicted and further 2 weeks to realise that I could not beat coffee on the head by reducing my dosage. The ceremony of preparation, sensory stimulation and buzz were all too alluring to stop slowly. And I knew I was postponing the pain whilst stealing from the future.
I love the taste of good coffee but the effects are poisonously tempting. It helps me write, sort of lets my brain work on overdrive hosing words to the page yet ideas are not lateral, creative but two dimensional. Cogent and sharp but linear. Coffee is wonderfully evil because like the bookmakers wife, lady luck, it flirts with you then when you’re addicted it fucks you in the ass – you have to dose up, drink more to get the same effects. Then. Oh god. Then you’re truly shafted.
Make no mistake. Coffee is a drug, albeit one that is well disguised and integrated with culture, economics and social indoctrination. If you dispute any of these facts you’re deluded, that’s part of the drugs effects too.
Caffeine is a bitter, white crystalline xanthine alkaloid that is a psychoactive stimulant drug. Look this shit up: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caffeine
Some lessons learned from this episode though:
1. Deadlines are man made. If you can’t make them, reset them. Negotiate.
2. Taking stimulants is like having a credit card on your life. You pay it back with interest.
3. If you feel like you need a kick, take a nap. Drink water, look at your nutrition or perhaps get a full blood count done. You may be deficient in something.
4. Listen to your body. Sleep when you’re tired. http://lifehacker.com/5478053/naps-can-seriously-improve-all+day-learning-abilities
5. When you choose food or drink don’t just look to feed your mouth or brain. Feed your body.
6. Chemicals are no substitute to pacing, sleep, exercise and healthy food.
7. Coffee will fuck you up in the end. Caffeine is naturally occurring in plants as an insecticide. Its a poison. Your bodies’ reactions are as if it was being mildly poisoned. The bad will gradually overtake you like Spiderman’s Alien Costume. http://amzn.to/bJ4rS1
This is a follow-up to a post I wrote 3 years ago entitled 7 Revelations of Being Caffeine Free.
Apparently it takes only 100mg per day of caffeine per day to become addicted (that’s about 1 cup of coffee or 3 bars of chocolate). Unfortunately I returned to the slippery black slope about 5 weeks ago in order to overcome a productive slump and hit some ridiculous self-imposed deadlines.
It took me 2 weeks and 3-4 cups a day to realise I was once again totally hooked and further 2 weeks to realise that I could not beat coffee on the head by gradually weaning myself off. The ceremony of preparation, sensory stimulation and buzz were all too alluring to stop gradually. And I knew I was postponing the pain whilst stealing from the future and developing a bad habit.
I love the taste of good coffee but the effects are poisonously tempting. It helps me write, lets my brain work on overdrive hosing words on to the page but the ideas I produce are not lateral, it is creativity on stabilizers. Ideas are two dimensional. Cogent and sharp but linear.
Coffee is wonderfully evil because like the bookmakers wife, lady luck, it flirts with you then when you’re addicted it fucks you in the ass – you have to dose up, drink more to get the same effects. Then. Oh god. Then you’re truly shafted.
Make no mistake. Coffee is a drug, albeit one that is well disguised and integrated with culture, economics and the industrial machine. If you dispute any of these facts you’re deluded, that’s the drug messing with your sense of reason.
If you need a coffee at the start of the day before you can face the world, you’re an addict, a drug dependant junkie. If you queue up at Starbucks for an overpriced fix of black hot water you’re a junkie, same as the Heroin addict queueing up for his fix of Methadone. Junkie queueing for junk!
Caffeine is a bitter, white crystalline xanthine alkaloid that is a psychoactive stimulant drug. Look this shit up.
Some lessons learned from this episode :
1. Deadlines are man made. If you can’t make them, reset them. Negotiate.
2. Taking stimulants is like having a credit card on your life. You pay it back with interest.
3. If you feel like you need a kick, take a nap. Drink water, look at your nutrition or perhaps get a full blood count done. You may be deficient in something.
4. Listen to your body. Sleep when you’re tired. Take naps.
5. When you choose food or drink don’t just look to feed your mouth or brain. Feed your body.
6. Chemicals are no substitute to pacing, sleep, exercise and healthy food.
7. Coffee will fuck you up in the end. Caffeine is naturally occurring in plants as an insecticide. Its a poison. Your bodies’ reactions are as if it was being mildly poisoned.
The bad shit will gradually overtake your mind and body like Spiderman’s Alien Costume.
