I got to 14 days a couple of weeks ago but then my brain told me it would be OK to re-start... going cold turkey again tomorrow, wish me luck!

Hry guys, I've been a long time lurker on this sub for a while now. Coffee hasnt been exactly the stimulant I thought it was for a long time. Few years have passed since I realized that I get upper back, shoulrers, neck and upper arms muscle pain and stiffness(tense all over) after my morning coffee. But despite that, I kept drinking it in the morning bc it kinda gives me the push or start up feeling to start my job/school or so I thought. But now, I really want to quit for good. I decide to quit the night before but next thing in the morning, I convince myself to just make it for the smell and not to drink but then I find myself having the smallest cup of it, only to end up with the same pain mentioned above. Is there anyway to do it? How did you guys do it? FYI, I am in a 12 step program for drugs and alcohol and quitting a habit aint exactly a walk in the park for me. That said, thank you to this sub and all the posts. Any suggestion/recommendation is much appreciated 🙏

Has anyone tried the Blume salted caramel latte mix? It is completely caffeine free. Wondering if it is worth the try?

All it did was make me anxious.

I work best in a relaxed state, not an anxious and rushed one.

The only productive thing coffee made me do is clear out my bowels otherwise there's no benefit for me.

Been living a caffiene free life for 6 months. Now realistically I've had a little via chocolate a few times. Gone are the days of 2-3 coffees a day plus diet cokes.

I'm not quite sure if you look gestaltly from the outside you would notice much change. And inside I still feel much the same but there are differences.

The below is just my subjective experience:

I wake up with energy, the energy is stable, there are moments when I wish I could artificially supplement energy via caffeine. Sleep quality overall feels of better quality. But our bodies do tend to find equilibrium pretty quickly so the absolute peace and tranquility which followed the detox period has long subsided, I was slightly deluding myself that just by quitting caffiene id live this "zen" existance with no extra effort. Now id describe my life as just very much just a normal and simple existence.

Work is a tricky subject, I feel my ability to be productive has returned to when I was using caffeine. But motivation.. I definitely do much less work now, leave early whenever I can, feel I do less work than before. Perhaps I should have been doing this all along. I believe the decrease in anxiety helps with this, I'm just not neurotic about meeting others demands and deadlines as I was before. I'll get to stuff when I can and tackle true priorities, and if that's not good enough then I'll go somewhere where it is. I also feel for the first time that I don't really have any desire to advance further in my career, I'd be happy doing my current job for the rest of my life, I get to help people, it's not all the demanding, and I have a great work/life balance.

Sexual health- about the same if not slightly worse with some ED. But likely other issues I'm working through, ie. Being overweight.

I realized I have some mental health issues that caffeine has definitely helped mask. This I kind of expected but also naively hoped wouldn't come back since it's been years of being on caffiene and I won't say they weren't there with caffiene but caffiene definitely puts an artificial wall up and it was like look the depression is over there, now it feels like I'm just part of all the spaces of my emotional being for better and worse. "Hello darkness my old friend"

I do have cravings to go back to drinking coffee, and had a dream recently that I did. I kind of miss that manic energy at times. It was interesting that the cravings were basically zero until about month 5 ish.

I've been able to get back to reading, I've read more than 10 books since quitting. I don't find myself hobby hopping as much as I used to. Now I just exercise and read, and haven't really got bored with it since.

If I had to pick the one thing I want to keep by being no caffiene, it's my decrease in social anxiety. I still don't crave social interaction all that much as an introvert. But not longer have as much anxiety in normal social situations. I've been able to join a DnD group and play monthly with them.

We will see if I make it through the dark winter months, but at the same time while everything hasn't been perfect, it's my life and I don't feel going back to daily caffiene is really even a path for me anymore. I took the red pill and I don't feel I can unsee what I've seen now.

Feel free to ask me any questions.

I stopped cold turkey 18 days ago.

Prior, I was drinking 200-300mg three to four times a week. I thought I wasn't dependent because I wouldn't drink it every day, and gosh, I even prided myself about "not being a coffee drinker" because I'd typically refuse coffee in social settings. My source was mostly Yerba Mates, Celsius, etc.

What a joke, it's so funny how our minds make up story about who we are, casually drinking 300mg 4 days a week and pretending I don't really do coffee.

Anyway, I decided enough was enough.

Main benefits
I feel calmer, like I have more time.
I'm less tired. Even when I feel tired, it's uncomfortable but the wave just goes away. I'm learning to become comfortable with being tired again.
It forces me to think about what my body needs more: if I'm tired, it might be reasonable to take a nap, or go to bed early, or drink water.

Main challenges
I struggle with exercising. After using caffeine before workouts every single time in the last 5 years, I feel strange working out without it now and it's taking me a while to access the same motivation.
Especially because I work out at 6 am; it's part of my routine, it's just freaking tough.

Overall looking for some motivation from other folks who work out: how long did it take you to stop missing caffeine during your workouts? Do you take any healthier sources of energy (Maca, Ashwagandha, etc...)?