I decided to give up alcohol and coffee for a week to see how my body would react. Some friends asked me why I didn’t choose to give up alcohol one week and coffee the week after, but I wanted to challenge myself and do both at the same time.

It was harder to give up coffee than alcohol. I drink coffee more for the taste and the act of sitting and taking time out, like some people do with cigarettes. I substituted coffee for soy or oat chocolate milk. Last year, I would get a headache if I skipped a day of drinking coffee, but luckily this time, I didn’t suffer from any of that. My body is no longer addicted to caffeine!

I was socially lazier during this week, avoiding bars because I didn’t want the temptation. I partly wanted to see if I had the strength to go out and not drink, but I had some things I wanted to finish sewing, so just chose the easy option and stayed home at night.

I don’t know if it was just my mind telling me what I wanted to hear, but I feel like my body felt really healthy and clean during this week. I felt great, mentally and physically. I considered prolonging my abstinence, but ended up giving in and having a coffee the first morning the week was over. And then another later that day. Just because I could. Feeling bad about it, I didn’t drink any the next day. I’ve cut down my consumption and can go a few days without drinking or thinking about coffee.

Now I need to cut down on my social drinking. I like the feeling of being tipsy or inebriated but I need to relearn how to socialise (especially with people I don’t know) without the help of alcohol.