Is it the addictive substance or the ritual I created around it?

I used to think this same thing, that my enjoyment of coffee was largely the ritual. But then I switched to decaf for quite a long time and all my little rituals fell away quite quickly.

I still occasionally drank coffee when I felt like the taste, but I certainly wasn’t performing daily morning ritual.

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erikrothoff 10 hours ago | parent | next [-]

I’ve switched to decaf full time and a my generalised anxiety basically went away. I love coffee and still drink it ritualistically. I probably drink more coffee now, at all hours of the day (caffeinated coffee after 12 really messed my sleep).

Also once per week I allow myself an espresso, and I get a nice buzz from it that lasts the entire day.

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idkwhatiamdoing 2 hours ago | parent | next [-]

This hits home. For me stopping coffee (and caffeine) consumption was also one building block of taking care of my generalised anxiety disorder. I enjoyed the morning ritual, but it stopped with quitting drinking coffee. Maybe I should give decaf a shot, but I also miss just grabbing a coffee when out with friends (usually tea does not scratch the same itch and is not worth it when everyone else around you is enjoying a great smelling coffee). All I want to say is “Thanks for sharing” I guess. I was able to connect with what you said.

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ycombinete 8 hours ago | parent | prev [-]

That’s cool. I’d like to quit again sometime but right now caffeine staves off migraines for me. And with a baby in the house I really don’t have the resources for that battle.

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strogonoff 5 hours ago | parent [-]

When(ever) I quit coffee, I got strong migraines after a day or so. However, they subside and go away after a few more days.

I wouldn’t claim it works the same way for everyone, but the difference between coffee being a treatment for migraines and migraines being a symptom of coffee withdrawal may be indistinguishable in immediate term.

	▲	ycombinete 5 hours ago \| parent [-]
		Ah yes. I do get those, but also just get migraines (as well as hypnic headaches) which caffeine is a wonder at ameliorating. I quit caffeine for about 2 years and the headaches never subsided (except the caffeine withdrawal ones of course). They are just a fact of my life I’m afraid. As much as I’d like to get off of caffeine I am very grateful to have is as a remedy.

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port11 2 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

It could also be that the decaf wasn't good? A lot of decaf is poorly roasted and tastes wrong.

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heavyset_go 6 hours ago | parent | prev [-]

It's both. In stronger drug addictions, the ritual itself is rewarding even if there are no drugs present in your system yet.

Add that to conditioned place preference and you have your rewarding coffee ritual.

	▲	Libidinalecon 2 hours ago \| parent \| next [-]
		There is an absolutely huge ritual part to it because I have been trying swap out coffee and just take caffeine pills in the morning to be more exact in my caffeine consumption. I just can not do it. It is just not the same sitting here without the taste, smell and sensory experience completely divorced from the actual caffeine. That is with even taking more caffeine than I would get from my brew coffee.
	▲	ycombinete 6 hours ago \| parent \| prev [-]
		Yes, my morning coffee and cigarette breakfast was the most rewarding ritual. I basically couldn’t start my day without it! Even though I quite smoking over 10 years ago I still remember it with the fondness of an old friend.