It is hard to believe that on this date 11 months ago after having a severe manic episode that I went cold turkey and gave up caffeine. It became out of necessity after living a vivacious life three months prior and living two decades before as life with caffeine. My brain still wants carbonation, but my mind has not wanted caffeine since.

It was about four months earlier that I had begun to realize that high amounts of caffeine were  affecting my ability to regulate myself. It was before I had made the drastic decision to withdraw from my medication against the advice of my treatment team and then I realized that having caffeine fueled me during my most vulnerable moments in addition to not totally following my medication regimen totally.

Because was in a horrendous situation at the time that had a severe outcome not totally by my control by my uncontrollable reaction at the time, I knew that beverages like sweet tea were not possible for me. However, it was not until my manic episode last August that I would not realize the dangers that caffeine was playing in my life and that once all the damage was done and I was left to recover and get back on track that it was the time to start the process of going cold turkey from caffeine.

The worst part was the next several days with the severe headaches that I experienced, but I know that was expected and after experiencing a full blown manic episode that was scary on many levels I totally understood the necessity of living the caffeine-free lifestyle that I had never went back to that way of beverage consumption.

Doing so has helped regulate my body in numerous ways that it made me realize that life is more livable because I could enjoy life physically just as I did mentally. Eventually the headaches went away, and I began to have a normal type of mindset that I learned to stay away from the caffeine that I made a part of my lifestyle by sharing it with the medical people that I could not have it in my life.

For me eleven months later, living the caffeine-free lifestyle has become a part of my life just as much as anything else I do on the daily basis. My father often shared stories of those that he knew altered their habits to best protect themselves or the dangers of doing something that I believe he would get to me to understand the dangers of something in my life.

Caffeine was one of the elements that both he and my mother always knew was not a good mix for me and the psychotropic medication and condition. They had always been after me to forgo caffeine and the tragic event as a manic episode caused me to make the ultimate decision to forgo caffeine completely and see the benefits of doing so has provided me.

Living a caffeine-free lifestyle for eleven months has taught me that I can do anything if I make up my mind that I can do it. Over the course of my caffeine free lifestyle, I have had ample opportunities to divert back to my old ways, but each time, I see those choices I am often reminded of the challenges that I experienced when I was indulging in caffeine and the dangers of going back to my old ways can lead to. Therefore, I hydrate myself in whatever caffeine free beverage choices are available to protect my mental health, which is just as important as my physical health.