Is it the (lack of) caffeine?

[vakkotaur]

It's been about two months since I stopped using caffeine. I've noticed that I feel better, or perhaps I should say that mood cycling is more neutral. I'm not sure if it's due to the absence of caffeine or to other factors.

What happened before was that something would get me down, and I'd seem to stay rather down for some time. When I did feel good, it was all too easy to feel down again. Now, it seems to take more to get me to feel down, and recovery from that is shorter, and perhaps the low isn't as deep. One possible explanation is that giving up caffeine is a sort of poor man's Prozac. Caffeine supposedly affects brain chemistry in a way somewhat opposite of the recent family of anti-depressants. And supposedly some people adjust to this, and others don't quite adjust and are thus sensitive to caffeine's possible pro-depressant effects.

That's one explanation. Another might be a sort of placebo effect. I want something to happen, and so it does, and credit is given to something that changed. I doubt that this is it, as I didn't notice the result (if it is a result) right off. And I've wanted that result for some time. Or maybe I just sleep better. One thing I've noticed is that when first off caffeine, I went to sleep earlier. But now that I've been off it for a while, I'm staying up nearly as late as I did before.

But there are other things, not related to caffeine, that could be having an effect. There was kinkyturtle's visit, and seeing my family at Thanksgiving, seeing Gerry and the team again, and also the upcoming trip for Christmas. These things are changes from routine, and not bad ones. Also I've been actually having something of a breakfast recently, instead of just a multivitamin and water. When I ran out of multivitamins (After not having them for a couple weeks, there is a detectable effect. I'll spare everyone the details.) I didn't get another bottle of them but instead got a box of cereal (since most cereals are gorked up with various vitamins) and have a bit in the morning. It seems to work out. And it's now cold out, not hot and miserable, that could also be a contributing factor.

As noted in the last LJ post, I'm making progress on a project I've neglected, on and off, for a while. Between that and a couple things at work, I have a fair sense of getting things done, which certainly helps my mood.

I'm left wondering how much of what I feel and what I do is due to the absence of caffeine and how much is due to other things. Am I doing some of this stuff because I feel good, or do I feel good because I'm doing this stuff? Both?

I'm not going to suggest anyone else avoid caffeine. I don't know for sure that my ceasing its use is why I feel pretty good. But there's no sense in risking messing things up. I like feeling good, and if all I have to do is avoid caffeine, well, it's a cheap enough price to pay. Pass the icewater.

Comments

blood sugar

[wendyzski.livejournal.com]

Could be a blood sugar thing. Caffeine dumps a LOT of sugar into your bloodstream at a time, which causes you to feel more alert. However, the converse of this is that you "crash" later when there is no more sugar to be had.

Skipping breakfast can also lead to low blood sugar. If I don't eat within about an hour of getting up, I get really vague and lose focus, and get VERY cranky. This is improved within 15 minutes of eating something. So if both those things affect your mood in the same way, I would guess that.

I have been a caffeine addict for a long time, and though I do step down my levels every once in a while (I'm down to 2 diet cokes a day) I have never been able to drop it entirely. I know it's better for me not to, but the headaches are AWFUL.

::drinking sparkly yuppy-water at the moment::

Re: blood sugar

[vakkotaur.livejournal.com]

When I backed off, I had to do so slowly. The first time I dropped caffeine, I went to one less can a day every week - and it still hit me a bit. This time it was iced tea, and I ditched the evening tea first, figuring I'd sleep away any problems. I didn't notice anything other than being tired early. I'm not sure, but I might be having fewer headaches now too.