How to Find Relief from Anxiety
For the first time after abstaining from drinking, I struggled with mysterious sensations and a total lack of understanding as to why. These episodes occurred at random times for no apparent reason. My body felt like it was buzzing inside out; my vision could not zero in on single objects; my hustling mind seemed impossible to quiet or concentrate during activities such as car rides with hubby and shopping trips around Ikea (where I used to shop with a cocktail in my Yetti). Moreover, those anticipatory pre-work jitters that typically come off Sunday nights were amped up tenfold alongside an incessant heart thumping when headed to airports for vacations - it was frustrating.
At first, I shrugged off the signs of anxiety that were manifesting in my body and mind. But eventually they became so intense and persistent it scared me enough to want to get curious about potential solutions. I am firmly against medicating myself unless its absolutely necessary and really wanted to find a natural solution.
After researching what could be causing my symptoms, I came across a definition for this condition: Anxiety is characterized by excessive worry & fear accompanied by physical discomfort such as rapid heartbeat and breathing, sweating, or feeling tiredness. Armed with knowledge about how to tackle these feelings naturally was an empowering way for me to understand how I could start to manage these feelings.
I had heard of anxiety before, but was clueless about its effects and what to do for it. Unfortunately this led me to doubt anyone who mentioned being anxious or suffering from the condition - thinking they were making excuses to not follow up their obligations, like showing up for their shifts. But through further research, I discovered that reducing coffee intake might be a good remedy; something which came as quite a surprise given my moderate coffee consumption. I usually drank two cups in the morning followed by an espresso later on in the day when I was feeling stressed or had a long day ahead of me.
After years of coffee consumption as a way to wake up, I decided to give it a break in order to see if there was any difference. Surprisingly, only 3 days without caffeine made me feel better - my racing mind slowed down and those jittery feelings inside disappeared. My breathing seemed deeper while focusing on tasks felt easier than before!
Even today, when anxiety pops up from pushing myself too far or being under stress, cutting out coffee for 2 days does wonders for calming that feeling almost immediately. If you are interested in learning more, I’ve provided a resource for you below.