grubby

This is going to be a rant of sorts.

Although my sleep has gradually been getting better and better, i am still experiencing the odd night or two here and there where i struggle to get to/stay sleep. Usually it's more the former, sometimes it literally takes 2-3 hours just to get to sleep - i believe it is known as "onset insomnia" or something like that.

Upon doing some more research and using the process of elimination i have concluded that my caffeine intake is part of the problem. I usually have lots of caffeine, but it mainly stays within the morning time-frame....... it's only recently that i learned that caffeine can stay active in your system for anywhere from 12 to 24 hours....... which seems to explain a lot in terms of my sleep patterns. So with these latest findings, it appears i may have to give up and/or significantly cut back on caffeine as well if i am to return to being 100% "normal"....... sigh.

This realization got me to thinking, how come all "the good stuff" always comes with strings attached?

Think about it...........

Tasty/restaurant/American/fast food: tastes great and looks great...... but will make you fat and unhealthy in the short-term, and outright KILL you in the long-term (clogged arteries, cancer, diabetes, etc)

Soda: tastes great and can be very refreshing, tickles your palate with the fizzy-ness............ ditto.

Sugar in general: tastes great and is found in all sorts of enticing treats........................... ditto.

"Diet" offerings: does not cause obesity, seems to act as a good-tasting alternative to sugar and fast food............... until you go Google what's in it and find out it's actually even worse for you.

Coffee/caffeine: gives a nice morning boost and improves mental clarity and function......... keeps you up at night, disrupts your sleep pattern, contributes to anxiety.

Alcohol: quells all your worries, stresses, and negative emotions, just makes you feel "happy" (if only temporarily)............... results in hangovers, withdrawal, poor health, and even possible death.

Weed: never tried myself, but i've heard it's effects are comparable to alcohol in terms of feeling "happy" and "relaxed"............. seems to cause loss of motivation, laziness, and psychological addiction.

Sex: feels amazing and gives rush of feel-good chemicals........... may come with all kinds of problems of it's own including unwanted kids, drama, STd's, legal trouble, etc.

anyone else ever wondered about this?? i'm sure i'm not the first to ponder this angle and make this observation.

it seems to me all "the good stuff" in life always seems to have a hidden "catch", or multiple "catches", attached to it.

What do you guys think?

ScottFromWI

Everything has a cost in life in my opinion. There is no "free lunch" as some say.

I think that's one of the core issues addicts must deal with when getting sober. We want the good feelings alcohol or drugs give us without the consequences, but it's simply not possible. Accepting that is a big step moving forward.

PurpleKnight

I found I was drinking a lot more coffee when I got Sober and that caused a similar problem at bedtime, but then I switched to green/white teas, which meant I could still have the same number of hot drinks, but with less caffeine in the evenings.

I guess the theme running through all those things, is everything is fine in moderation or in small doses, the "good stuff" can still be "good stuff" as long as we don't over indulge in them, as too much of something can lead to other problem.

However for addicts or addictive substances, sometimes there is no choice in the matter of quantity, when it comes to an addiction with any of the above list, for example as an alcoholic I don't get a choice in regulating my alcohol consumption to 1 or 2 drinks, hence why Sobriety is the solution.

I've always wondered that the addictive part of my mind that caused an issue with alcohol, maybe it's causing similar behaviours to other things in life, who knows, the most destructive I know about was alcohol so that took priority to sort out!!

GracieLou

Think about it...........

Tasty/restaurant/American/fast food: tastes great and looks great...... but will make you fat and unhealthy in the short-term, and outright KILL you in the long-term (clogged arteries, cancer, diabetes, etc)

****It is about moderation. You can eat this stuff just not everyday to excess. I eat this food at least once a week and lost 65 pounds. I eat normal healthy meals in between and walk almost two miles a day. You have to give to get.

Soda: tastes great and can be very refreshing, tickles your palate with the fizzy-ness............ ditto.

****I drink Coke Zero. I don’t care what is in it. You can pry it out of my cold dead sober hands.


Sugar in general: tastes great and is found in all sorts of enticing treats........................... ditto.

****Chocolate! See post above, same applies!

"Diet" offerings: does not cause obesity, seems to act as a good-tasting alternative to sugar and fast food............... until you go Google what's in it and find out it's actually even worse for you.

****I never looked at the calorie nor ingredient label on a bottle alcohol ever. Not once. I didn’t care. Am I going to pretend I care now what is in my diet soda? Kinda late for that, don’t you think?

Coffee/caffeine: gives a nice morning boost and improves mental clarity and function......... keeps you up at night, disrupts your sleep pattern, contributes to anxiety.

****I don’t have a big issue with caffeine but I did have issues getting to sleep. I take on OTC generic gel cap Unisom and off into dream land I go.

Alcohol: quells all your worries, stresses, and negative emotions, just makes you feel "happy" (if only temporarily)............... results in hangovers, withdrawal, poor health, and even possible death.

****Alcohol to an alcoholic does nor even rate in the same post as these other items. Most people can drink alcohol in moderation and not have it effect their lives. I am just not one of them because I am an alcoholic.

Weed: never tried myself, but i've heard it's effects are comparable to alcohol in terms of feeling "happy" and "relaxed"............. seems to cause loss of motivation, laziness, and psychological addiction.

****I have smoked pot. I did not do much for me. I mean it was okay but was not my vice. Alcohol was my first and only love.

Sex: feels amazing and gives rush of feel-good chemicals........... may come with all kinds of problems of it's own including unwanted kids, drama, STd's, legal trouble, etc.

****If you are running around have unprotected sex with strangers then yes these apply. Do not the blame the act of sex on these troubles. The troubles are caused by irresponsible or uneducated individuals.


What do you guys think?

That is what I think.

Soberwolf

Well said scott

bunnezjp

Choices, choices, choices!

Well, I can tell you how I deal...

Fast food - there are healthier choices if you must eat out.

Soda/caffeine (one in the same to me) - I, too, loves my pop. Diet anything. To help my sleep, I drink caffenated Diet Stuff in the day and caffeine-free in the afternoons. I don't drink coffee.

Diet offerings - well, I'm a pesco-vegetarian and veggies are my hobby, so not too much into diet foods

but....

Sugar - must have small amounts every day in the form of skittles, peanut butter M&Ms or kettltcorn

Alcohol - quit working

Weed - never worked

Sex - soon, but I'm careful.

Best to use your own best individual judgement in all these things. Cheers!

Bunnez

Aellyce

I think the key here is being honest, responsible and not getting into excess with any of these. If we find that we cannot control something and run into problems repeatedly (like me with alcohol), eliminating it completely may be the best and safest choice. Simple as that?

I also do eat fast food sometimes and don't feel it being a problem. I used to crave all sorts of crappy foods while drunk but that's not the case anymore.

I don't drink sodas at all mostly because they are not worth the "empty" sugar and I'm very sensitive to some sweeteners. So no diet products for me. But I do drink fruit juice.

Sugar: I never had a sweet tooth and don't eat stuff with added sugar regularly, but the occasional chocolate and ice cream can be nice treats.

I love coffee and drink 1-3 cups a day. No longer in the afternoon though.

Alcohol: I can't. I've been sober for 8 months now and it stays that way.

Weed: I tried a few times when younger but it either made me sick or mentally disconnected. Did not like it so no more trials.

Sex: I think it's one of the best shared things we can experience as human beings, on several levels. It can be done in a completely responsible way. I personally never had problems with/due to it.

3arai

Grubby,

I think you are piling your plate way too high with too much worry.

The only thing you have to worry about right now is quitting caffeine. I'm dealing with this too. I absolutely have to stop drinking all caffeine. I really can't moderate it, either.

So I drink caffeine free diet sodas. I've tried to add in some water to my diet over the last few days.

As far as fast food, sex, etc. Worry about that if you are obese or think you have been putting yourself at risk for STI's. Otherwise focus on what you need to do.

doggonecarl

The "catch" is everything done to excess can be bad for you.

MarathonMan

Lol.....i drink probably 12 cups of coffee per day......not sure if its bad for me or not....i sleep like a log oddly.

grubby

I guess it's true that everyone's specific body chemistry is different. That also might explain the mysterious instances of people on here who drank far heavier and for far longer in comparison, but claim no withdrawal when they finally did quit.

But just speaking personally i typically have a Large black coffee and a small black coffee every single morning, first thing in the morning...... i'd say it's an average of 32 ounces.

Then sometimes (not every day), i'll have a large black tea around 10 in the morning or so........ but sometimes i drink green tea instead, it's very random and depends on what i'm in the mood for at the moment. I rarely drink caffeine past 1 pm or so.

Strangely enough, i still feel very much "alert" when 10 or 11 pm rolls by...... which is when i go to turn in or at least attempt to. It's such a nuisance, i wish there was a time machine so that i could go back in time to when i was a little kid and was falling asleep within ~15 minutes, naturally.

heartcore

Grubby -

I'm also dealing with super-insomnia (both getting to sleep and staying asleep). Initially, I took melatonin, but read info on potential hazards and have ditched that.

I'm trying to drink less coffee, also. At first I planned to cut it entirely, then decided this was an unreasonable expectation in my life right now (a thinking cycle that spanned a day - "I should quit", "no, not ready"... very familiar).

I decided to "make small changes" - including not drinking coffee in the evenings, trying to take an alternative caffeine free bev to AA meetings so I don't waste caffeine intake on crappy AA coffee, etc.

I'm focusing on supporting my sleep habits by:
not doing internet on my iPhone before bed - apparently the screen light signals the brain to stay awake.
clean bedroom. new, fresh sheets. lavender oil on the quilt. = creating an inviting sleep environment.
wearing a mouth guard when I sleep. I am a grinder, and I know it wakes me during the night. my dentist has been hassling me to wear a mouth guard for years, but I've avoided it because of life-improvement laziness (drunk on wine at night, sleep is not an issue, passing out really) and vanity (not wearing a mouth guard when sleeping with others). I'm single now and having trouble sleeping and willing to take some steps, so mouth guard it is.
I've been exercising at the gym when I can, and notice that I have an easier time sleeping on those days.
I've been getting massage once every other week since quitting drinking. I have very tight neck, jaw, and upper back muscles with no vices to release them.

But no - I don't want to fully give up caffeine. And yes, it just seems like TOO MUCH effort to be truly healthy sometimes. All the yummy stuff is forbidden. This is definitely a historical moment - a powerful focus on providing said forbidden and unhealthy fare ($$$ profit) while disseminating info that promotes fear of same.... wasn't like that in other eras.

Hey, take sex off that list! With some minor attention/care , none of those negative consequences are relevant, and its been proven to be very very healthy - for body, mind and soul.

closetlobster

I've always been a poor sleeper...From a drawn out 2 - 3 hours to get to sleep, to fully blown upside-down sleep pattern during my alcoholic binges.

I've found a few things work for me:

1. Getting up earlier. I now have to get up for work at 6am. I cycle to and from (around 15km total a day).

2. General exercise - try to hit the gym and cardio until I die (not literally!). This knocks me out in the evenings.

3. Cutting any caffeine after 5pm.

Also if you're not in the mood for nuts cardio. Try swimming at a slow/moderate pace for roughly and hour. Not only is it relaxing for the mind, it somehow exhausts you! Google 'tired after swimming'. I sometimes need to nap afterwards - and I'm 25!

Dee74

Not being mean...I'm laughing cos I see myself in this...but...
maybe only an alcoholic or addict would think that not doing things to excess is a 'catch'? lol

D

MIRecovery

A favorite WC Fields line.

All the good things in life are either illegal immoral or fattening.

Can't say I agree but funny nonetheless

grubby

Ain't that the truth brother.