Coffee was a part of my life for over a decade. The aroma, warmth and its bitter depths were a familiar part of my daily routine for so very long. At some point it became a crutch and a substance I could no longer live without ~ or so I thought. I am sure many can relate to this dance we do with addictions in our life. I know it’s not good for me, but I’m just not ready to quit it yet.

Back in November I decided it was time for the coffee bean and I to part ways. For good.  In my life this habit was only a symptom of a greater misalignment within my physical, mental and emotional body. To be so utterly dependent on anything (other than your basics of food, water, shelter and so on), was no longer something I could turn a blind eye too.

Despite my daily cup of Joe, I was tired most days. Low energy and fatigue were just something that had become normal to me. Let me preface that I sleep fairly well these days with 7-8 uninterrupted hours being the norm. I exercise very regularly and consume a wide range of health and organic/chemical free foods. Yet deep within my bones weariness was a constant companion.

In my heart I knew that my daily caffeine habit was to blame, but I did not want to admit it. We humans are quite good at something called backwards logic. Have you tried it before? When you know you need to do something, but you really don’t want to, so you find a way to walk yourself backwards and convince yourself that it’s not really that vital.

Lots of healthy people drink coffee. 

Coffee is supposed to give you energy not make you tired. That can’t be it. 

I add medicinal mushrooms and herbs to my coffee to make it healthy. 

See what I did there? The stories we tell ourselves so that we can hang onto our destructive habits for just a tad longer. It was this dance that made me realize that my habit was more of a mental game than a physical dependency.

Zero Judgement

It is important for me to point out, that at no point during the decision to quit, quitting and writing this post, did I judge or criticize myself. If there were thoughts of guilt, remorse or self loathing, I quickly dealt with them. Clearing them from my mind, body and heart and restoring myself to a state of truth.

Truth – I quit when I was ready. Ready mentally, spiritually, emotionally and physically. BUT I was also deeply honest with myself about the games I could play to talk myself out of it. It is a fine line my friends and one we must all learn to walk.

Become better than we were yesterday, but do not judge who you were.

 

 

How I Quit

I was blessed to be working with a group at this time, doing a detoxification and bodily reset protocols facilitated by Healers Rising Academy. While I do believe I could have done it alone, I had the support of my husband (who also quit coffee and a mired of other habits) and some beautiful people from all around the world.

My quitting was gradual. If I am to be raw, honest and true with you all, what I was most wanting to avoid were the withdrawal symptoms. I live a busy life where I run my own business, homeschool my son and manage our homestead. I was not in a space where I was ready to welcome in days of headaches, cranky-ass behaviour and whatever else was going to darken my doorstep.

We started with slowly switching to decaffeinated coffee (always look for the Swiss water method). We used to grind our beans fresh, so we started with 2 scoops caffeinated, one scoop decaffeinated and gradually changed that ratio over a period of 10 days. Finally we ditched it all together, knowing that even decaffeinated coffee is an irritant to the system.

The craving for a warm and rich beverage in the morning still exists. There is something about that ritual that I just love and despite my efforts, herbal teas were just not cutting it. I do enjoy those in the afternoons, usually in the form of nourishing herbal infusions, but I still wanted something dark and rich in the morning.

I want to state, that this transition sounds easy on paper, but I did have my bad days. I had a few headaches, some deep exhaustion and I was definitely a cranky bear at times. But now that I have seen the other side, I would gladly tackle those experiences again to live the way I am living now.

 
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Cascade Effect

It was not until the caffeine and coffee had completely left my system that I realized what a hold it had on my body. It was incredibly eye-opening to see how many different bodily systems were affected by my daily habit. I remember telling a few family and friends that I could feel my body having to relearn how to function without this substance coursing through my veins.

The deep exhaustion was flooring. Immediately I knew that I had caused serious harm to my adrenals through the daily use of a stimulant. There were days where I literally thought I could not function and for the first time since university, I was occasionally napping. I should note, that even when my son refused to sleep for any longer than 2-3 hours at a time (which lasted for almost three years) I was unable to nap. And I sure did try! For me to sleep during the day, I knew that some deep healing was occurring within my system.

I had anticipated the challenge with digestion and thankfully had supportive herbs and fermented foods to guide me through this process. Coffee, decaffeinated or otherwise, is a strong irritant to the body, often causing a purgative effect. For many people, regular bowel movements are thanks to a regular coffee habit. I knew this transition was coming and while I knew my digestive system was relearning how to function on its own without the need of the irritant, the effects were fairly mild thanks to my plant friends.

However, this next adjustment was not something that I had anticipated at all. My reproductive cycle had completely shifted and changed. Prior to quitting coffee, I had a very predictable cycle and knew exactly what to expect and when (within a few days). No longer! It was clear that my entire endocrine system (the system of that governs all of the hormones in the body) was completely out of balance. I could not believe that my morning cup of coffee had such long lasting and reaching effects in my body.

You see, all of the hormones in our body are interconnected, living in a delicate balance with each other. In fact, it is quite rare for people to have a single hormone imbalance, at least in my experience. As my adrenals were recovering from years of abuse, my reproductive hormones and blood sugar levels were also being adjusted. I could feel my body remembering how to function and live without the constant introduction of stimulants into my system.

 

 

Looking Back

When I look back at this entire process I have nothing but gratitude for the experience. Not only do I feel amazing – no more fatigue! – I have a deeper understanding of the human body. I can now see just now intertwined every nerve, cell and function is, working together in a beautiful dance. I understand what a single substance can do to this vehicle we drive through life and how important it is to listen to your body.

It has been almost three months and I can say a few things with confidence.

First, I am most definitely not drinking a coffee ever again and that is thanks to the following statements. I am not tired at all anymore, even on days where I don’t quite get as much sleep as I would have liked. No more afternoon yawns!

My digestion is finally working really well; far better than it ever did while I was a coffee drinker. And my reproductive cycle has regulated and I now have something that resembles a predictable cycle once again.

I also know, without a shadow of a doubt, that I can pretty much do anything if I set my mind to it. This experience gave me a faith and confidence in myself that I did not have before and for that I am incredibly grateful.

Thank you for reading my story and allowing me a platform to share my experience with you all.

With love,

 

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