Caffeine effects on reboot

Recently I relapsed after going 48 days hard mode. I’m not happy about it but I became very unmotivated after the hellish withdrawals I was experiencing and just lost my control. This time I absolutely aim to kick this habit forever, no matter how tough it gets. But something that I didn’t even realize until I relapsed was that I never kicked my caffeine habit during my last reboot. Don’t know why, but it just completely slipped my mind. I’ve read that it isn’t good to be on caffeine while rebooting but I didn’t stop drinking coffee when I should have. I usually only have one cup a day but it’s enough to stimulate me. I was wondering how detrimental this is to your reboot? I’ve had terrible withdrawals the last month including intense fear and anxiety and I’m curious if the addition of the caffeine could have potentially prolonged my PMO withdrawals or even intensified them?

 

Thanks for the reply. I’ve literally had the exact same panic that you describe. This time I’m going to completely cut out caffeine and see if it helps, although I’m sure it will. The unshakable panic and anxiety are some of the main reasons I ended up relapsing. I also had some considerable indigestion and stomach issues that I think were brought on by the anxiety, which was worrying me and continuing the cycle. I’ve drank coffee consistently for about two years and never had this problem until I started my last reboot.

 

Well anything that stimulates the brain is probably going to cause a delay in your reboot or potentially conflict with your brain’s rewiring and therefore create havoc during your rebooting process. I’d avoid anything and everything that gets you “high” or gives you a “buzz”. Even caffeine apparently is bad and that’s not even a hard drug. Imagine what other substances will do...

 

Frankly I think it’s worth a try to go without it. I know I’m going to. I’ve gone off of caffeine for a couple days before and I had severe headaches from the withdrawals, but they tend to go away after a day or two at most. If it means I’ll have an easier time during my reboot then I’m all for it. I’ll probably go back to drinking a cup a day once I’m healed but I definitely think it’s a good idea to completely obstain from stimulants like caffeine during the reboot process.

 

Yeah it’s strange, for me I notice that I get more panicked after I eat breakfast, which is usually when I have my cup of coffee. When I wake up in the morning and right before bed I’m fine. This leads me to believe the caffeine is playing a large role in my anxiety, or at least causing it to be worse. It makes sense seeing as how both you and the previous poster commented about experiencing anxiety mid-day as well. I’m thinking about trying a month with no caffeine and seeing what happens.

 

Yeah I’m not really looking forward to going off it honestly. I know I’m going to be a zombie for a week or so lol.

 

Yeah you probably ought to stop doing that...

 

Caffeine increases your adrenal response and directly affects the nervous system, which can increase anxiety and stress levels. You brain and nervous system are the two things you’re trying to heal during a reboot so stimulating them with caffeine is probably not a good idea while on NoFap.