The Caffeine Chronicles

FCADV staff will be blogging throughout the 6 weeks about their experience with the Healthy Advocate Initiative. We'll be blogging weekly, so check back soon for the next blog post.

“I give myself permission to change…….after I finish this pack of cigarettes.”

Chantix, gum, patches, cold turkey, hypnosis via IPod, acupressure, self help books, cognitive behavioral therapy. You name it, I’ve tried it. There are many people that wake up and decide they are going to quit smoking, and they do it. To those with superhuman abilities such as this, my hat is off to you. I am not one of those people. I have been trying to kick this nasty habit for years. What smoker doesn’t want to quit? Not only does it make you stink, you are a social outcast, and the impending doom of a multitude of illnesses lingers over your head. If you are a smoker, you probably can relate to standing outside on a break from a meeting, trying to hide behind something in case one of your colleagues comes outside. You immediately feel like a teenager again, hiding from your parents. Or how about when people find out and say, I would have never pictured you as a smoker. Why, because I don’t wear leather pants, because I’m not a criminal? It’s legal people!  

So what’s next you wonder for someone like me who has tried everything? The one thing I have going for me is that I have vowed to never stop quitting. I am a lover of life. I have a wonderful family, incredible partner, a great little house where I play in the back yard with my neighbors, the job I’ve always wanted, and……my health. I once participated in a clinical trial to quit smoking which obviously didn’t pan out. Two years later, they are still calling me repeatedly for follow-up visits to “check on my progress” and every time I make up excuses as to why I can’t come in. Meanwhile, the quit smoking hypnosis session on my IPod is patiently awaiting my return to the light. There is ALWAYS a reason to put off quitting and I have plenty. However, I will try again!

I have decided that my next adventure in quitting is going to involve daily affirmations. Yeah I know, it’s pretty much the epitome of cheesiness. Talking to yourself about how great and together you are feels pretty weird at first. I have discovered that if you say them when you are drying your hair you feel a little less awkward. Not only does the noise drown out the weirdness, you can feel great about multi-tasking!

I have been exploring the way brain connections are formed, neurons, axons, and all those other wires up there, and this apparently is one way to form new connections or rewire your brain. Reshaping your brain sounds like a pretty effective strategy for quitting. Well that and a little nicotine gum to ease you through the first few days. Let me leave you with a few examples of affirmations for you to try.  Wish me luck and happy affirmations!

Affirmations for Breaking Free!

I lovingly take back my power. I release this old idea and let it go.

I give myself permission to change.

No person, place, or thing has any power over me. I am free.

I create a new life with new rules that totally support me.

I easily and comfortably release that which I no longer need in life.

I am willing to change and grow. I now create a safe, new future.

I refuse to limit myself. I am always willing to take the next step.

I choose to handle all my experiences with love, joy, and ease.

I move beyond past limitations into the freedom of the now.

I love and cherish myself. It is safe for me to care for myself.

I now choose to support myself in loving, joyous ways.

All desire for cigarettes [or alcohol or whatever it is you’re addicted to] has left me and I am free!

Check out Jessica’s “Daily Affirmations.”

Learn more about Louise Hay’s Affirmations for Addiction

"My Magical Elixir"

By JB

“What’s for dinner?”, “What errands do I need to do?”, “Is there milk in the fridge?” I feel like having an “Office Space” moment and grabbing my bag of Cheetos and starting a game of Bonsai Blast.  However, my body is in need of movement, and I embark on my adventure.  Departing the office, I pass a Bed Bath and Beyond, Publix, and Pier One. These are the stores I need to go into tonight. I need to get the house organized.  We need milk.  I hear clamoring in my purse as my Blackberry is notifying me I have mail.  It is essential, I do all these things.  I have been programmed since birth to be a go-getter.  Without thinking, I have managed to park my car, and I find myself on my yoga mat. 

As I am sitting on my mat disengaging from my smart phone these inconsequential questions race through my mind.  One minute seems like eternity, and I do not have eternity.  I must stay on go.  I must complete my to-do items.  In theory, having thirty minutes to go blank is a luxury, but who has that sort of luxury? Not many. But wait what if I actually turned off the phone for thirty minutes? Would the household run an insurgency because there is no milk in the fridge?  I turn off my phone, the to-do list disappears, and I disappear into downward dog, sun salutations, and inversions.

This is my moment and move after move I feel my body grow supple, stronger, and graceful with the poses.  I want to ascend into the clouds with my thoughts. My creative side is plummeting and I am lost in a world unbeknownst to many.  I think of nothing, I speak nothing, and I just follow along with the poses.   Vacant of all thoughts, as I descend into child pose, I am reminded of the peace that embraces my body. Rejuvenation   clinches my body as the sweat pores onto my mat. I am overwhelmed with ecstasy because I have just given my mind thirty minutes to detach.  I remember what my yogini friend once told me:  “God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference. Detach.  Intend for everything to work out as it should, then let go and allow opportunities and openings to come your way.  Don’t listen to the voice that says you have to be in charge; that constant vigilance is the only way to get anything done.  Sometimes the outcome you try to force may not be as good for you as the one that comes naturally.”

Once, I enter the car I see a text message appear: “house is cleaned and I got milk.” Maybe yoga does have special powers? ;-)

“Writing in a journal helps the big picture”

By MCD

The first thing I see in the morning is my cat, Noodle and the love in his eyes.  Noodle, is also the first thing I see when I come home from work since he sits by the door waiting for me to come home.  That is the reason I took up writing a journal a few years ago. Writing a journal for me is my self-care technique since I enjoy writing stories about what Noodle may be doing while I am at work.  As women we deal with stress and it is an escape for me to write about Noodle traveling the globe and having fun.

There are days I am too tired to come home and write in my journal and I notice the next day that I am not feeling relaxed and energized.  Sometimes it is nice to take the stress and put it in a box so that I can write about something relaxing and humorous.

When I am writing it is an escape from some of the stressful thoughts in my head and it makes me realize that there will always be times when humor will overcome stress.  I have been writing for five years now and I truly notice the difference the next day when I did not write a short story in my journal.  I smile less, little things annoy me, and I usually have computer problems.  As we take care of our families, our co-workers, and the people we are here to serve, we must also take care of ourselves. 

I also love reading short stories that are filled with silliness as it helps me put life into perspective.  I will admit to reading the Bridget Jones books at times because they make me laugh and also appreciate my own career.  As much as I enjoy adventure, I do not think I would enjoy dressing up as a bunny at a party that was not a costume party.  However, it is fun to read and imagine how comical that would be if I was Bridget Jones.

Mostly though, I enjoy writing in my journal as it relaxes me and helps with my stress and worries.  The best part of writing a journal is it can be one paragraph or three pages.  I also love writing in my journal as I am soaking in a bubble bath filled with stress free scents and having aromatic candles lit in the room.  I will be honest; Noodle is usually sitting on the bathmat as I write since he loves to jump in after I wash out the bathtub to have a lick of water.

I believe as women, stress will always be a factor in our lives, whether it is at home, work, or with friendships.  The key is to find the one thing that makes you smile through the stresses of life.  The night I do write in my journal makes my following day much more productive and positive. I laugh more, little things do not become overwhelming problems, and I enjoy my work even more.

One of the best short stories that I read over and over again when I have an extremely busy and stressful day is the story of Noodle sneaking onto a cruise ship to Alaska.  As he wanders on to the ship, he snacks on peoples left over plates and breathes in the fresh sea air. His favorite part is watching Whales surface the sea.  One day he happens to meet another cat that also wandered onto to the ship.  Noodle introduced himself to Snickers and they began their adventure. They walk the ship and convinced the Captain to help them steer the ship.  This did not go as planned, since Noodle and Snickers were dreaming of tuna and steered the ship to an isolated island.  After realizing their mistake they quickly ran off the ship and hid in the tropics.

As they wandered around the wilderness they encountered an elf named Pickles, who guided them to a private boat, but not before grilling them a fresh tuna dinner.  Noodle and Snickers were sad to leave Pickles as he was all alone on the island.  Therefore, they convinced Pickles to join them on their next adventure.  The two cats and one elf made their way to the private boat and were welcomed with open arms.  The captain of the boat, Tj, was ecstatic to have the company as he had been traveling for two months alone in the sea.  The captain taught the three of them to fish and play scrabble with words such as cookie, catnip, and adventure.  As they finally reached their destination, all four travelers stayed in touch as they knew the next adventure was right around the corner.  No matter what your day brings, remember there is always humor and adventure to be had by all women.  So if you see me smile in the morning, you will know that Noodle and his friends just came back the night before from an adventure.

Water/Meditation

Blog Post by J.L.R.

There are a lot of negative metaphors related to water that easily translate to my everyday work: I am drowning in…I am swamped…. While typically this is language I attempt to alter in my everyday usage  there is something important for me in the recognition that I love water, that water itself reclaims me and that I am at peace within it and yet it is often these metaphors that come to mind throughout my work week.

I grew up swimming. My grandmother was a swimmer and fisherwoman, so I was always on water.  Bodies of water are sacred to me. I do not eat anything from them for this private spiritual practice alone.   More often than not the people in my life talk about water for its calming properties, for the tranquility of being close to a body of water while reading, resting, playing… and I find this is true for me though, not a practice I engage in often enough, because I am too busy. Somehow, even in Florida, I have convinced myself that the ocean, the river, the lake is too far from home. Even when I spend the weekends on the water, the weekdays are often too chaotic to consider the drive to the beach and back. This is how I always fall out of the practice of swimming.

The act of swimming is work, if you are not used to it. Keeping balance and maintaining a rhythm while your body becomes a mechanism of transport is a tiring task.  I think this is why people choose not to swim. It is certainly why, once I have not swam for awhile, it is so hard to begin again. In November I joined a gym specifically for access to the pool during the week, and although I have not been consistent I am up to three times a week and recommitting to this throughout the summer.

Swimming is not just good exercise (the best exercise even) it is a meditation for me.  There is no silence like that underwater. Every voice you are accustom to, every bird, every car motor, every white sound your body has absorbed as its own silence is gone. I can hear myself think, clearly. My body is unweighted and I can glide without any of the pains of age or injury. I can reclaim my strength; I am not drowning, I am fully present.  With my goggles, I can see the most tranquil soft blues, turquoise and white reflect off of each stroke of my arm or kick of my leg; I am creating a silent sound wave. Swimming is not about the exercise, though it helps me feel in-tune and grounded once back on land, it is about those seconds I can hold my breath and experience an alternative world; or at-least a part of the world that allows me  the sense of freedom I cannot fully experience on land.

I often find myself laughing underwater, reliving things that may have happened throughout the day, letting go of the stress related to what I did and did not get done. Shaking my head as I push my feet off the wall and jet forward into this laughter is its own reward. It is greater than the mantras I tell myself of the benefits in the work I choose to do. I feel good just thinking about it. I have to remind myself the next time I feel too tired for the gym that the benefit is this great.

 Blog Post by R.M.

There are good coffee days and there are not good coffee days.  It has nothing to do with the taste of the brew, although a weak blend can try anyone's patience. 

Good coffee days lend themselves to only one cup for the day.  It's a satisfying place to be.  I don't leave my coffee mug on the roof of the car as I exit the driveway. Things get done all the way to 'finish.'  Co-workers don't intrude on your space and the microwave doesn't steam lunch into a gooey mess.  The good coffee days are when you read an article that supports one's own prejudices about the benefits of drinking coffee—things like coffee provides antioxidants, may help fight against dementia, Parkinson's disease and type 2 Diabetes.  Women in a recent Swedish study who drank at least a cup of coffee every day had a 25 percent lower risk of stroke, compared to those who drank less coffee or none at all.  One appreciates these articles, as they offset another recent article that said coffee consumption results in heightened anxiety, caffeine addiction, or (gulp!) dry skin. 

Good organic, fair trade coffee purchased out of a bin at the local natural foods store makes me feel virtuous and right in supporting the workers of the world.  Coffee made at home in my beloved coffeemaker is the best.  This cup of coffee has just the right amount of organic, brown sugar and organic soy milk.  It's just the right temperature, as I pour it into my favorite insulated mug—the one that says “A day without coffee is like a day without coffee.”  Ah, a good coffee day.  The sun is shining, my laundry is folded and that ex-best friend from high school's Facebook picture makes her look ten years older than she really is.

The bad coffee days result in that afternoon second cup of brew.  Things are piled high on the desk and everything gets recorded on sticky notes instead of lining up neatly on the To Do pad.  The phone sits silent until the exact moment when I decide to place a call on my cell phone.  Bad coffee days are cloudy times when co-workers never seem to be able to put the new roll of paper towels on the roller in the kitchen.  Perhaps, I should type out instructions?  The bad coffee days include the ones where I wake up, stumble out to the kitchen, open the cupboard only to find that my suddenly new coffee drinker in the house, age 17, has neglected to tell me that he used the last of the ground beans during a late night study session over Skype.  On these days, I could almost be convinced that coffee consumption might result in high cholesterol or a stroke, if I had the time to worry about it. I'm certain that coffee's co-dependent partners are pastries and cookies.  My body can't ingest one without the other.  It doesn't help that a co-worker's two-day-old birthday cake is in the break room.  The one she brought to share, but later confessed she couldn't resist the temptation if she was left home alone with it.  Right now, the cake is plotting with the coffee pot against my waistline. However, let's be clear.  Chocolate in any form, even on bad coffee days, does not count as sugar consumption among any women I know. 

Here's a picture of my desk.  Was this a bad coffee day or a good one?  If I hadn't spilled my coffee all over my desk, I wouldn't have a photo opportunity to include in this blog post.  I wouldn't have been able to rationalize buying a replacement latte from our local barista, nor would I have gotten out the spray furniture polish and cleaned my entire desk.  It's actually perspective.  It's really not about the coffee. 

*coffee quote from Stephanie Piro, a cartoonist for Six Chix, who draws and writes “Fair Game.”  Her latest book is "My Cat Loves Me Naked.”

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 Blog Post by MCD

By Anonymous