Everyone has a different tolerance level for caffeine. Everyone’s body reacts differently to intake.
A useful tool for me was determining my caffeine tipping point.
During the height of my anxiety, I was drinking way too many grande Caramel Macchiatos from Starbucks.
Once I realized that caffeine was contributing to my panic disorder and generalized anxiety disorder, I decided to cut it.
Cold turkey.
It wasn’t that difficult for me because I was never the I-need-a-cup-of-coffee-in-order-to-be-human kinda guy.
I went for at least three years without having any caffeine. After all, mindfulness is nice, hyper-awareness, not so much.
It wasn’t until I put in a little research that I realized I was actually ingesting a fair amount of caffeine from so-called decaffeinated drinks.
After a bit of accidental experimentation, I figured out somewhere along the way that I should never take in more than 40 or 50 mg of caffeine in a single drink. Nor do I ever really want to exceed 100mg in a day. But if I do, and start to feel my body buzzing in that hollow-sort of way, at least I’ll be cognizant it was the caffeine and not something else.
Your mileage may vary. The takeaway here is to learn your caffeine tolerance level and be sure to have a plan. If not, you can find an early morning drink throwing off your equanimity before the day even begins.
As with all things, moderation is key.
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