RYL Forums - Hazardous coping

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Schizonormative

14-12-2016 02:42 PM

Hazardous coping

When I was a teenager (15/16) I started drinking coffee to relieve anxiety. I have adhd, so it does actually relax my brain to have caffeine. Well eventually stress got so bad I was drinking a whole pot of coffee every day, which is dangerous since I have a heart problem. I was able to get it down to about 2 cups a day (average) and that was fine, but recently stress has increased and I'm back to almost a pot of coffee by my self.
Any ideas on ways to cope with stress that are less hazardous to my heart?
Ideas to help get me back to a regular amount of coffee would be nice too, but I feel that once I can manage my stress, the coffee will drop again.

Wonderland.

14-12-2016 06:08 PM

In terms of the coffee, perhaps to keep alot of the behaviour the same at first but with lesser caffeine, you could get some decaff coffee and start off swapping one cup a day to it rather than caffeinated. And just go slowly from there.

At the same time build up some coping skills that work for you. The first few things you try may not be for you, but something WILL help.

I'm not quite understanding what it is you get from drinking the coffee when stressed, so not sure what to suggest coping skills wise. Maybe if you could try and explain it as best you can (what the caffeine does for you/what you are like without it) then we may be able to understand a little better.

Schizonormative

15-12-2016 01:38 AM

At this point I think the coffee is a habitual crutch. It started as a way for me to focus and it was readily available. At this point, my brain just reaches for coffee when I get stressed.
If I can find a decaf coffee that tastes good, I'll have to give that a try, thanks.

Epic- I'm open to talk in more detail, if you're at all interested. Maybe i havent heard of some of the ways to cope you have come across.
It's also pretty likely we have reacted differently to similar stimuli. My doctor has more than once called my case "out of the norm" and "atypical". I'm pen to discuss that in more detail too though.

Schizonormative

23-12-2016 05:59 PM

Hey everyone. New issue I'm having. Decent decaf is hard to find and often far too expensive to be practical. If anyone had decent decaf for decent prices please let me know. It's the next step in making me safer and I can't find any online.

Iamcatbug

24-12-2016 11:48 AM

If you can't find a decent decaf coffee you could maybe half the amount of coffee you have each drink? For example half a teaspoon instead of a spoonful?

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