Search me, God, and
know my heart; test me and know my over-caffeinated
thoughts.
Earlier
this year I woke up one morning with the flu: nausea, body ache, and my head
feeling like it was filled with bricks. I had to stay home from work, so late
in the morning I was sitting in bed with my laptop, scrolling through the news,
and came across an article stating that caffeine withdrawal is now classified
as a mental disorder in the latest and fifth edition of the Diagnostic and
Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (or DSM-V for short).
I am not
writing this to debate whether or not caffeine intoxication or withdrawal needs
to classified as a mental illness. I am writing this because it serves to
demonstrate the impact of how something so normal and relatively harmless can
impact us in negative ways when taken too far, and how easy it is for me to
take something too far. The symptoms of
caffeine withdrawal include nausea, body ache, and a head feeling like it is
filled with bricks. And it turns out that it was what I was dealing with that
particular day and not the flu.
I was
finishing my master’s program and working full time and doing family life, and had been
living on coffee and coke zero. Things had settled down and I had been having
some difficulty sleeping, and so the day before I had randomly decided to stop
drinking caffeine immediately. This turned out to be a very stupid decision. I
knew I would get headaches that night; I anticipated those. I did not
anticipate feeling so miserable the following day. I had not considered how
much caffeine I was drinking on a regular basis.
According
to the Mayo Clinic*, moderate and healthy caffeine consumption is 400 mg a day
or the equivalent of 4 cups of coffee. And by 4 cups, they mean literal 8 ounce
cups. I don’t know about you, but the last time I had an 8 ounce drink of anything
was probably when I had the McDonald’s orange drink in my happy meal. Our coffee maker at home supposedly makes 12 cups of coffee per pot, to which I scoff; we get 8 of our coffee mugs out of it, max. Most
coffee shops don’t serve anything smaller than a 12 ounce cup; the Starbucks 8
ounce “short” is not listed on their menu and has to be specially requested.
Furthermore, I usually take my morning coffee to go in my travel mug, which
holds 16 ounces. I fill that up again at the office before I head out for the
day into the community, so there’s another 16 ounces, which means that by 11am
I’ve hit the ‘moderate’ level of consumption. Then add a 16 ounce coke zero (or
two), a cup of coffee with a friend, and then a couple of mugs at home to help
get my studying done. You can see where the math takes me.
It is well
documented that heavy caffeine consumption can impact mood – irritability,
excitement, nervousness, restlessness, and insomnia, all of which can look like
anxiety. Anxiety fuels worry, which fuels fear, and before you know it, what I’ve
ingested into my body can have a profound impact on my spiritual state of mind.
This isn’t earthshattering news; it’s just that while I’m quick to recognize these truths
in a drug addict, or an alcoholic, I’m less likely to see it in the mirror and
my own more culturally acceptable, "less harmful” forms of addiction. And if I
am anxious about some stressor already and turning to comfort foods – coffee, desserts,
snacks – as a coping mechanism, how much more could the effects of those
comfort foods amplify my symptoms of anxiety or depression?
It is good
to cast all our cares on God, and He is often gracious to meet us in that
place, but perhaps He would also like us to take better care of our bodies in
the meantime and practice that often overlooked and less warm-feeling aspect of the fruit of the Spirit,
self-control? I like to compartmentalize my spiritual well being from my physical well being, but I don't really see that segregation in Scripture. What if, in addition to praying “Lord, I surrender my anxiety and restlessness to
you”, I also work to cut back on the stimulants? What if the cure to
my spiritual apathy may have more to do with going to bed by 10pm than I’d
like to think? What if a huge solution to my stress is to spend six days a week
being busy and one day a week truly resting?
Be over-caffeinated in nothing, but in every
situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to
God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your
hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
 |
| My venti mug: 20 ounces of comfort at a time. |
* http://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-living/nutrition-and-healthy-eating/in-depth/caffeine/art-20045678
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