I’ve had anxiety for years now and I tried all the self-help stuff but I’d always be fighting. You know like the harder you try to be cool, the less cool you are? It’s the same principle. 

In January, after a month or so of heart palpitations and ectopic heartbeats (they were correlated with my anxiety too), the doctor told me to cut out caffeine.

So I did. I tapered down to just 1 cup, then drinking decaf coffee and tea, then just drinking herbal teas. I now just drink a cup of peppermint tea in the morning. The withdrawal symptoms weren’t awful and they lasted about a week, but I think the trace amounts of caffeine in decaf helped with that.

What I noticed was was that I was much, much less anxious. You ever have those days where you’re not anxious whatsoever and everything feels natural? It was like that but it was starting to be a daily thing. 

A few weeks after quitting I had a cup of coffee because I was tired and the rest of the day I noticed I was a lot more anxious, just off 1 cup. Since then, I’ve had a cup or 2 of coffee a month and tea if I’m a bit tired at work and the difference is so noticeable. The days I consume caffeine are the days I’m much more anxious.

The second thing I’ve quit recently is porn. I quit about a month ago after watching the video I link below. I’ve been trying to masturbate less and using my imagination if I do, and I feel so much better for it. I unsubbed from all the nsfw subs and turned off nsfw content to reduce temptation. Honestly, porn rewires your brain and will increase depression and anxiety 10x over.

I’m not saying anti-anxiety meds don’t work, but it’s always more useful to subtract from the issue rather than add stuff on to it.

Check out r/decaf, r/pornfree and the videos below. They’ll be able to explain it much better than I can.

Don’t think you can’t do without your morning coffee or porn. Trust me, you can. Anyone can.

https://youtu.be/pVXHD1gl6c4

https://youtu.be/DclqE-9vFgY