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Thread: I really need someone to give me a reality check - Caffeine

  1. #1

    I really need someone to give me a reality check - Caffeine

    Now here goes I live with my father and recently since the outbreak my agoraphobia has come back to the point I feel unsafe in my own home again.

    Such inconsequential things have become major things again with regards to anxiety all with the fear they may bring on a panic attack.

    Here is what I am referring to here if someone can be the voice of reason for me that would be great if Google but when I do that I usually find something I didn't want to see (even browsing through this forum) I have seen something I wish I hadn't but I digress.

    I don't drink caffeine at all I fear that other pots and pans could become contaminated with it if they are in the same washing up bowl it's literally that bad.

    My father unknowingly to be fair I don't think he realised my anxiety is this bad last week used the kettle but used a cup that had tea in it previously rinsed it out and poured the water in the kettle.

    Since then I haven't used the kettle and if anything the irrationality is getting worse.

    Can someone who doesn't suffer from such a stupid brain as mine please reassure me that the kettle will have boiled away whatever remnants of caffeine may have been in there or do I need to buy a new kettle and yes I realise this sounds insane and stupid.

    Many thanks

  2. #2
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    Re: I really need someone to give me a reality check - Caffeine

    Caffeine won't harm you in tiny quantities I promise, and when its in a tea bag it doesnt even affect the teapot or cup at all I promise

    And the kettle won't have any caffiene in it at all, it would just have hot water in it and nothing else
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  3. #3
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    Re: I really need someone to give me a reality check - Caffeine

    Yes, completely irrational.

    Even if you have a cup that just had extremely strong coffee in it and then drank another drink straight out of it without cleaning it your body wouldn't even register it. Anything you 'feel' would be placebo.

  4. #4

    Re: I really need someone to give me a reality check - Caffeine

    Thank you so many stupid things have been going through my brain I made my girlfriend cook pasta again the other day after I explained the kettle situation.

    This isn't just ruining my life its ruining everyone else's. I think I've almost built it up in my mind so much that even if there isn't any caffeine in there at all if I consume something I'll just be panicking that there is and have a panic attack and it becomes a self fulfilling prophecy.

    It's so exhausting just thinking all of this stupid irrational stuff all the time I feel like crying or worse its making me so depressed.

    All I can think of is panic and anxiety.

    I won't even drink a decaf cup of tea because it seems to have a stimulant effect and that is in my mind I know it is. 😭

  5. #5
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    Re: I really need someone to give me a reality check - Caffeine

    insane and stupid? nope
    Irrational? - most definitely

    ok, weird analogy...

    If you put a drop of food colouring into a cup of water and then tip that water out and rinse it out and then use that cup to fill the kettle with after it has been rinsed out what colour would the water be in the kettle??

    The answer is perfectly clear...(apart from any normal impurities)

    That drop of food colouring represents caffeine in this analogy... there would be no food colouring/caffeine in that kettleful of water,
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  6. #6
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    Re: I really need someone to give me a reality check - Caffeine

    Yeah you're overthinking it tbh. You could take a sip of strong coffee and again, wouldn't even notice it.

    It's difficult for a lot of people right now with the lockdown situation as it is extremely anxiety provoking, but you can still work on the anxiety.

    Try to understand that it's not your brain making think these things. Random thoughts can and will enter your mind, but you have control over how you react to them. Try not to go down the rabbit holes of 'what if'. If you accidentally drink some coffee and DO feel it, so what? You'll feel anxious for 30 minutes until it wears off. Big deal.

    Try to understand now that you cannot avoid anxiety (nobody can), you can only control your reaction to it.

  7. #7

    Re: I really need someone to give me a reality check - Caffeine

    Thanks the coloured water analogy really makes sense plus the fact the kettle has been boiled since I have no idea how many times. And yes Joe it's definitely a case of overthinking it and you are correct a coffee would not kill me in fact last year that very thing happened to me at work and I drank a colleagues cup of coffee prior to that I think I would have had some sort of meltdown but I just took it in my stride and got on with it. I wish I could be that person again and who knows maybe I can. I need to stop thinking of a panic attack as a massive dangerous event because it isn't its just uncomfortable.

  8. #8
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    Re: I really need someone to give me a reality check - Caffeine

    Quote Originally Posted by Hre2stay View Post
    I need to stop thinking of a panic attack as a massive dangerous event because it isn't its just uncomfortable.
    That's exactly right.

    It's extremely common for people to catastrophise anxiety, I would guess 95% of people who suffer with it become their own worst enemy.

    As long as you can remember what you just said, you have a grasp on beating it.

  9. #9
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    Re: I really need someone to give me a reality check - Caffeine

    A panic attack is uncomfortable but not dangerous, I was on the brink of one all yesterday for no good reason but we will always get through it.

    I also ended up cutting out all caffeine a couple years ago, well, other than chocolate because some things are just needed in life! But recently I’ve been drinking tea again, oddly because of the way tea is chemically comprised I don’t actually get the negative effects at all, still do with fizzy drinks and coffee unfortunately.


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  10. #10

    Re: I really need someone to give me a reality check - Caffeine

    I really wish I could listen to my own advice. I washed the dishes earlier and now I'm thinking I washed the cups which had you guessed it coffee and tea in them. Now I feel like my hands are contaminated and no amount of washing will get it off. Again googling is not a good idea. I don't know what to do about myself. It's becoming an obsession and if I carry on this way I won't eat at all.

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