My name is Mike and I am a caffeine addict. And no, I am not in an AA meeting right now. I am just willing to admit that I, like millions of others in the world, am addicted to caffeine. Granted, this is not nearly the worst thing to be addicted to, but it still gives me goosebumps thinking that I depend on something and not having it can greatly influence my mood and behavior. So, I bet you are wondering, how did my caffeine addiction start?
Picture me, a 7th grader who grew up with coffee-drinking parents, smelling the fragrance of coffee lingering in the kitchen at 6 am while making my school sandwich. It has been around me my whole life, but my parents insisted that I should not drink it until I was older, but my time had come. I asked my mom if I could have a cup, and she thought for a moment, considering my situation as a tired 7th grader awake at 6, and she caved. However, I will admit, I was responsible for the first 5 years of my life drinking coffee. For those years, I did not have an addiction. I only drank one cup a day, very rarely breaking that habit, and I felt as though I could quit drinking coffee any day and be fine.
Now, though… That is a different situation. I have become a caffeine addict mainly for two reasons. I had an 8 am last semester, so that should be self-explanatory, and I also started drinking Bangs. I know, I know, the Bang energy drinks are definitely not the best health choice, but can you blame me? I drink them before I go to the gym and they greatly amplify my workouts, so I feel like I am in some sort-of tradeoff situation. I drink the Bangs to get a better lift and become healthier from the lift, but the Bangs are, at the same time, making me less healthy. And which side of the tradeoff is healthier? I will never know.
However, I am planning to become less dependent on caffeine. I am starting by limiting the number of bang energies I drink to only one or two a week. Only when I really need a pick-me-up will I drink one. As it is with a lot of minor addictions like sugar and social media, it is about willpower if you want to quit. I know I have the ability to quit, it just comes down to this: am I willing to have a day or two of headaches? And THAT is a question I am not ready to face.
I loved your blog post for this week, as a former caffeine addict, I can relate. There was a time in my life when I was drinking bangs often for work! I worked at a Jersey Mikes over the summer and sometimes would work for 10 hours always on my feet and I felt as if a bang was necessary to get me through my day. But the days I did not have work and did not drink a bang I found myself having awful headaches, and I knew that was when I was addicted to caffeine. I wasn’t a fan of having headaches and I wasn’t a fan of having to have an abundance of caffeine either, so I eventually stopped altogether.