For this study, I stopped drinking coffee for two weeks and tried to drink half a gallon of water every day, which is considered normal for the human body. As a general rule, I usually drink two cups of coffee a day and have recently noticed that I am starting to become addicted to coffee. It seems to me that I cannot be productive and vigorous enough without drinking coffee, so I decided to try to give up this addiction. In addition, I do not drink enough plain water, so I am interested to know how these behavioral changes will affect my physical and mental health.
I have been drinking coffee for a long time; sometimes, I prefer espresso or latte. As you know, tea, coffee, and carbonated drinks dehydrate the body, as they contain caffeine. According to the prescriptions of many doctors, it is necessary to accompany each cup of coffee with a glass of water on top of the daily requirement. However, I did not drink even half a gallon of water while drinking two and sometimes three cups of coffee a day. I never compensated for the fluid in my body after coffee with a glass of water.
It is tough to give up coffee in the early days, and this fact suggests that I started an addiction. The first two days, I felt exhausted; the temptation to give up was potent due to habit. Water was not a substitute for coffee, but I kept thinking that I was doing a great job that would bear fruit for the future. In the first two days, I also had to take Advil due to severe pain in my head. As you know, the most challenging thing is to start, so after spending two days without coffee, I physically did not feel well, but psychologically I strove for success.
The obstacle to positive behavior in the early days was assessing my actions by my colleagues at work. They said I was crazy, and I can understand them. Coffee in the workplace has become part of the culture in many countries; even the term “coffee break” has appeared. A person who does not drink coffee in classic offices stands out from others. His behavior can be considered deviant, which does not carry any lousy connotation in this word (Goode, 2012). However, my family helped me to cope with this, which in every possible way supported me in my endeavor.
On the fourth day, my husband offered me a cup of decaffeinated coffee, but I restrained myself. My daughter’s remark about soda also came in handy; I didn’t know or instead didn’t remember that it contained caffeine, but I also eliminated it from my diet, replacing it with water. I replenished my energy with fruits, and thanks to a sunny day and a walk for the whole day, I drank even more than the required amount of water per day. The next day off, I was helped by a dream and the thought that I didn’t want hot coffee on a warm day. By the way, this was the first day when I did not feel any lack of energy due to the lack of coffee. On this day, I also did not follow the norm of the water I drank, but I turned out to be close and slightly desperate, which was not enough.
Triggers for negative behavior were encountered in my workplace when colleagues offered me coffee, candy, and snacks. The difficulty was explaining why I refuse since my refusal could be taken to heart. In addition, I am a new employee and found a way out to hide the snacks, which I then give to the children. Escape and hide and seek from the problem cannot solve it, but at that moment, I could not overcome myself. When my colleagues and I had to meet in the break room, where everyone got their coffee and donut, I was on the brink. Fortunately, I did not have to drink this coffee, but there was a need to do something about public opinion and approval.
For the first time, I felt highly energetic in the next two days, having more time and energy for work and personal affairs, never leaving the race. For the first time, after a week, I felt a surge of strength from the change in my behavior, which had a perfect effect on my psychological state. I even began to notice that my clothes became a better fit. I was not offered coffee at work, so there were no triggers for negative behavior, and I didn’t have to make excuses or hide in front of anyone. However, there was still a week ahead, but I was already much better tuned in to it than at the beginning of this experiment.
Until Sunday, I felt great; there was so much energy that it seems I wasted it all on Saturday. On Sunday, I felt tired right in the morning, but I held out and did not drink coffee. I was proud of myself, and this feeling saved me. In the remaining days, my mood and physical condition improved, up to the point that I lost weight and felt that my skin improved. I was amazed that this experiment was much easier for me than I expected, and now I am in awe of what changes will await me a month or two after the behavior change.
Reflecting on the problem and the simplicity of its solution in the context of our course, I concluded that coffee is the same drug but available, famous, and not prohibited. First, the lack of coffee in the addicted person’s body causes aggression, cruelty, and anger, although not in such quantities as alcoholism (Goode, 2012). Second, coffee has become part of the culture, in the claim as unfounded as four theories of media bias towards drugs – the ruling elite, the money machine, the theory of the professional subculture, and the grassroots (Goode, 2012). Coffee is popularized by heroes of films and even cartoons, books, songs. There is an unspoken rule of coffee consumption in any office, which is difficult for new employees to refuse. It is believed that every person today should distinguish latte from cappuccino, which speaks of the beginnings of a professional subculture.
Although many doctors say that coffee is harmful to the body, affects the cardiovascular system, increases blood pressure, and promotes anxiety, many people continue to drink coffee. The harm from coffee is not spread in the news, nor is it covered at the state level compared to other drugs. Accordingly, among public opinion, an ardent supporter of a healthy lifestyle, who opposes the consumption of coffee, looks impressive. This fact suggests that coffee also responds to grassroots theory – when society itself contributes to media bias (Goode, 2012). In this regard, to give up coffee in modern society, a person must be ready for perplexed views, personal inquiries, and misunderstandings of colleagues at work. However, every person has at least heard a lot about the dangers of frequent coffee consumption, but the strength of habit and established traditions dictate their own rules.
Part of my success consists of defeating this bias. As a goal-setter and expectant results, I was thrilled when I felt improvements in a matter of days. I appreciate that my family supported me and kept me in good shape, distracting me from negative triggers in every possible way. Nevertheless, I am grateful to my colleagues who tested me for strength in this seemingly tricky experiment. The problem of behavior change has shown me that we can see how deeply rooted it is by making one small change (Gardner & Rebar, 2019). Refusal from coffee touched in me various social fears that I even had to hide snacks and quietly, far from prying eyes, pour out the coffee handed to me.
By giving up coffee, I lost a habit that had a particularly negative impact on my health. Instead of any caffeine-containing liquid, I switched to plain water. This experiment will allow me in the future to save both energy and money that used to be spent on coffee. However, the most important discovery that I made thanks to our course and experiment is that you cannot 100% trust public opinion or the majority’s opinion. If I had succumbed to other people’s persuasion to drink coffee, I would not have lasted even a week. By giving up bad habits, we bring up the strength of character, which has a positive effect on our health.
Reference
Gardner, B., & Rebar, A. L. (2019). Habit formation and behavior change. In Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Psychology. doi: 10.1093/acrefore/9780190236557.013.129
Goode, E. (2012). Drugs in American society (9th ed.). McGraw-Hill.