Switched Onto Decaf

When I went to Operation DESERT STORM I took up the habit of drinking coffee. Eating breakfast at the dining hall meant that I would have to get up a half hour early. If I had breakfast of coffee once I got to work, I could sleep in. Oh by the way, I was working twelve on twelve off with an hour commute each way. I found the coffee habit a source of fellowship and a conversation item. After a while though I found my coffee habit one that could make me irratable. My attitude could be edgy and I would disenfrachanchise people around me. I also found myself depressed at times. I kept myself going with coffee when I should be resting. But I had not built enough time into my schedule to rest. I let myself get way too tired and too stressed by pushing myself way too hard. Then I found that I had a lot of trouble sleeping. Of course not sleeping was even worse on the stress managment issue.

I tried to simply not drink coffee quite a few times. My head would spin and basically I could not function. I had responsibilities and those had to be accomplished. I was dependant upon coffee to keep my life normal.

Four months ago I asked my wife to buy the coffee with half the caffine in it. So I started tapering off the caffine. Then a couple of weeks ago, I went to make coffee and there was none in the house. I did have decaffinated coffee so I made that. So I have made the final switch to decaf. I have had more than one day where I was feeling very tired. I have had a few head-aches. However, I have felt joy where I did not feel it a long time before. I have slept well and remembered my dreams. I used to remember my dreams I had dreamt during my sleep. But for the past few years I have not remembered my dreams. The week after I switched to decaf I remembered dream after dream. I can ususally guess what kind of problems my mind is processing through the dream. These dreams dealt with all the big problems I have in my life. I have found my mind does not wonder so much when I read. I have found I am less likely to get upset. I am told laying off the caffine will help my cholesterol levels too. Often when someone is drinking a lot of caffine the body stores water in the fat, sort of like a camel hump. I can tell my waste line had gone down a little and is no longer retaining water the same way.

I'm glad that I have made the switch. I still enjoy my decaf. Starbucks anyone?

Comments

Beccah said…
I'm so happy that your not drinking caffinated coffie any more! You seem more happy and less tense. I love you Daddy! Keep it up.
7:57 PM
Beccah said…
I'm so happy that your not drinking caffinated coffie any more! You seem more happy and less tense. I love you Daddy! Keep it up.
7:58 PM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

A lion, a rooster, a billy-goat and Tommy Franks go to a bar...

Image
Three things are stately in their tread; four are stately in their stride: the lion, which is mightiest among beasts and does not turn back before any; the strutting rooster, the he-goat, and a king whose army is with him. ---Proverbs 30:29-31 (ESV) Different creatures in nature have different glories. A rooster is a glorious thing to see. He is proud of his feathers and his position. A lion knows he is a beast to be feared. A rooster would be no challenge for a lion though. A he-goat is no challenge for a lion, though he also is proud of his position and strength. When we think of a lion we think of an animal dangerous and to be feared. But in a sense, a general (king) with his troops who are equipped for battle find no match in a lion. This is especially true if we are talking about a modern general with attack helicopters, snipers, artillery, tanks and well trained troops. We all have our own gifting and glory. The glory may be small or large. One may be a
Read more

Celtic Words In English

I once heard a lecturer say that English was made up at its heart three languages; Anglo-Saxon (A Germanic tongue), French (influence from William the Conquerer A.D. 1066), and Latin (from the church and scholars). She also mentioned that Celtic had been the language of England before the influence of the Anglo-Saxons and some “tie together words” had been brought into English. I assumed she meant words which tie sentences together, or nouns. But I was not sure which words she meant in particular. So I did a little research to find out what those relics in our language are. It seems that Celtic has few words surviving in English. I'm not counting the Celtic words which came in through other languages such as French. I'm not sure that there is a definitive list of Celtic words in English but here are a few I found in various places on the Internet and a book I have. ass (borrowed earlier by the Celts from the Latin asinus) bannock bard blarney bucket car cart clock coll
Read more

Was the New Testament Letters Only Written to Male Brothers?

  Question:   Was the Bible written to men only and not to women?   Some teach that the New Testament letters address brothers exclusively.      Executive Summary Answer:   Women and men share in the blessings of the gospel, Scripture was written for both women and men. So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. (Gen. 1:27 ESV) Answer:   The Bible recognizes differences between genders but also recognizes the commonality between male and female genders.   The book of Proverbs is written to sons to gain wisdom.   “Hear, my son, your father's instruction, and forsake not your mother's teaching, for they are a graceful garland for your head and pendants for your neck.”   (Prov. 1:8-9 ESV) The book of Proverbs was written in order to teach young men wisdom.   Even so, often it is the female gender that teaches wisdom.   Early in the book, the male gender, a son, is to embrace the teaching from a member of the
Read more