The Cycle of Addiction and Green Tea
I was standing in line at Starbucks once again. I had told myself I wouldn’t do it anymore. “Just one more time” I said to myself, as I stood browsing at the display case of scones, giant chocolate cookies and yogurt parfaits. I wanted to turn and walk out of there. I wanted to run away. But hey, I deserved this. It was my “daybreak”.
“I’ll have a grande caramel macchiato, please.”
“Sure, what’s your name?”
I wanted to tell them it was John, or Mark. Who knows who might be listening in.
“Forrest”, I would say in a low voice.
“GRANDE CARAMEL MACCHIATO FOR FORREST, PLEASE!!”
There it was. The call of shame for everyone within earshot. My sugary, highly-addictive, four dollar caffeine fix had been called out for all the world to hear. But hey, like I said before, I deserved this. It was my “daybreak”.
This caffeine and sugar affair went on for some time. Oh…for a while I would quit. But once something happened to stress me out and my energy felt low, I would get the uncontrollable urge to stop by a Starbucks.
And who can blame me? They were popping up everywhere. I had four of them within a 3-minute drive from my work in Foster City. I lived a five-minute walk from the Carlmont Shopping Center Starbucks in Belmont. Near my kids school, I would sometimes stop at the Crystal Springs Starbucks (it was a nice one, too; fireplace and cozy seating) just before I had to pick them up.
Even my favorite place to hang out and kill time, the Barnes and Nobles Bookstore, had an in-house Starbucks. As did Safeway. As did Target.
With dealers on every corner, it was not going to be easy to quit. I needed help. I had an addiction. No more excuses. Where would I turn?
Then, I found my answer – to replace my addiction with another, more healthy addiction! I was going to drink Green Tea!!
You see, all addictions are cycles. They start with a feeling of unhappiness or a feeling of being un-fulfilled. Then there is a trigger, such as a thought, image, emotion, or a combination, that sets the addict to find his addiction of choice. After the drug or action has been completed, there is temporary relief and satisfaction, followed by a feeling of guilt, which then cycles back to being unhappy, which starts the cycle all over again.
One could be addicted to many different things. Shopping, TV, drugs, gambling, anger, compulsive eating, alcohol, cigarettes, control over others, being a victim, abuse, and caffeine.
Some addictions may even be beneficial. Exercise, reading, practicing music, yoga, dancing…drinking green tea.
So, in my opinion, learning to replace one addiction with another can be an effective way to change unwanted behavior patterns. After all, I had done it before to great effect.
When I was younger and in the “party scene”, I knew I needed a big change. That’s when I found martial arts, and turned to exercise and mind/body training instead of going out to bars, clubs and parties (best thing I ever did, by the way).
When I noticed I was watching too much TV, I got rid of cable (yes, I got rid of cable. It’s not necessary people!) and started reading again. Reading is another great addiction. I read books on motivation, diet and exercise, science and religion, books for entertainment, books for self-growth and inspiration.
And now that I came across another pattern I wanted changed, I knew what to do. I wanted to stop giving my body these sugar/caffeine hits and start giving it a more balanced energy.
Since I’ve been on the green tea kick, I’ve felt much better. I’ve been going with it for a few months now. I still drink an occasional Starbucks, but now it’s more like once per week, not once or twice per day. Not only have I saved a lot of money, but I’ve felt much more emotionally balanced, I’ve had better sleep, and I have longer lasting energy levels.
Green tea has tons of benefits. I’ve been reading about them in the book, Green Tea – The Natural Secret for a Healthier Life, by Nadine Taylor, M.S., R.D.
Some of the great health benefits of drinking green tea regularly are:
Boosts your immune system
Helps prevent cancer and heart disease
Helps metabolize body fat
Slows the aging process
Lowers blood pressure
Fights harmful bacteria and viruses
Helps the body regulate cholesterol levels
If you have an addiction (I think close to 99% of all people do in some form), don’t run from it. Stare it straight in the eye and ask yourself, what can I do to replace my unhealthy addiction to a healthy one? There’s always room for improvement, right?
I’ve included this very interesting video that explains more in depth on why we get involved in habitual patterns that don’t serve us, and what we can do about it.
Your Trainer For Life,
Forrest Folen, MCT
Tags: addiction, green tea, what the bleep do we know
This entry was posted on Thursday, November 12th, 2009 at 10:40 am.
