I wrote an article about my previous attempt to quit coffee here. I've tried it again and this time I’ve actually been able to quit all caffeine for real. I haven’t had any since 9th December 2023. That’s more than 2 months ago now. And I have some good news. It’s not been bad at all.

I expected that it would be hell on earth based on the first 1-2 days of withdrawal symptoms that I’ve felt during short breaks from it that I’ve had previously. If this is your experience, and you want to quit too, I have good news for you. If my experience is any guidance, on the other side of the withdrawal symptoms you can feel free and at least as good as you did when you felt at best on coffee. I'd argue you can feel even better. More calm, harmonious and happier. And all this while not feeling like a zombie before getting your fix every morning and no heavy, draining crashes in the afternoon. Your mood can be much more stable throughout the day.

So how do you get to the other side of caffeine withdrawal? Well, it’s not easy. It will be painful. The first 2 weeks were the worst for me. I was extremely tired, had headaches, and felt depressed. It felt like my brain was functioning at 30% of its capacity. Thoughts were slow, and feelings were very fundamental. In other words, I felt like a zombie a lot of the time. I doubted my decision many times, and honestly I don’t think I had set a clear goal regarding how long I wanted to stop drinking coffee for. But with every passing day I thought let’s try to do another one. And another one.

After about 2 weeks I started having “good days”, where I didn’t think of coffee at all and didn’t have any of the bad symptoms. Week 2-4 there were some zombie feelings coming back every other or every third day. But they became more and more sparse. Eventually, I just got free from it and I started feeling like myself again, and honestly even better.

I feel calmer now. And happier. It’s scary how good it is to be without coffee, and yet such a big part of our society is dependent on it. I wish more people could experience what it’s like to be without it. And as I mentioned in the beginning, when I say coffee free I mean caffeine free. Maybe the reader is already caffeine free and knows what I’m talking about. Or maybe you’re curious to try it.

Either way, caffeine has been the most difficult thing for me to stop with. I’ve quit carbs in short stints of a week to multiple weeks (keto / carnivore diet), I’ve been alcohol free for 18 months now (aiming for life probably) and I’ve stopped consuming porn (also aiming for life). Out of all of these I’d say coffee has been the most difficult to quit. It just affects your whole being. Your mind, your body and your soul.

But don’t be discouraged. Imagine, if you can quit this there’s no limit to what else you can do. If you go in seeing it as a challenge, and if you’re prepared for what’s coming (what I’ve described briefly above), you might have good chances of succeeding. Don’t forget to meditate when you feel at your worst and also remind yourself in those moments what’s waiting for you on the other side and why you embarked on this mission to quit coffee to begin with.

I had heard so many stories of people trying to live without coffee saying that it really just sucked and that life was gray and dull without it. But I’m glad that I tried it to be able to see for myself what it’s like. I can tell you it’s not dull. It’s the opposite. I wish you the best of luck if you want to try quitting coffee yourself. Let me know how it goes in the comments below.