First of all, I love a good cup of coffee. I don't go to coffee shops. I like a mellow roast with some sugar and some hazelnut creamer. Sipping a cup on a chilly fall morning while reading the newspaper or being online is like a little slice of Heaven for me.
There is even a song that could sort of be about my life - Afternoons and Coffeespoons by The Crash Test Dummies.
But - and it's a big but - it causes me to panic. If I am not mindful I can have a full-blown panic attack.
I have grown more and more sensitive to caffeine over the years. But now I found an article that says that it may be because I am an introvert. To paraphrase, it states that introverts are over the normal level when it comes to neocortical arousal in our brains. Thus, while coffee causes extroverts to gain that extra oomph needed to complete a project or give a presentation, it causes introverts to just get more stimulated and flustered. So coffee can make you feel like you can conquer the world or like the world is crashing down around you.
And how do I know I am an introvert? Why, just today I took a test that tells you your personality type.
I am an INFP, an Idealist. It stands for Introverted - Intuitive - Feeling - Perceiving. In other words, I am a big dreamy wuss. And that's okay with me.
Also today I found out today that all my Chakras are closed. But that is another story.
Lastly, I will continue to have a few cups of coffee a week. I can prepare myself in order to weather the panicky feelings when they start. There is just nothing that I have found that boosts my creativity like coffee does. And then there's that taste! Aahhhh
Let me know, are you an introvert or extrovert? Does coffee work for you or do you pay for it with your nerves? Let me know in the comments!
I am a hardcore coffee drinker, the darker the better! My daughter, who is twenty, has always said coffee causes her to feel panicky (is that a word? lol). I will have to let her know she is not alone.
ReplyDeleteHello Christy!
DeleteThat's the way I used to be. I would drink it black and often.
Yes, panicky is a word - I have to use it all the time (LOL). And yes, please let your daughter know that others feel the same way. I know exactly what she means. Thank you so much for your comment!
You wanna hear something funny:I had a cup of coffee (just to be sociable), half-way thru I felt like leaving my car and sprinting all the way home -a 13 mile destination, and I am no spring chicken (lots of mind chatter too:-D
ReplyDeleteOh Angela! Bless your heart! I just get the mind chatter. I'm glad you stayed in your car, but that must have been hard to do. And you had the coffee just to be nice, too! I don't question if someone says no to the offer of a drink but I understand that sometimes it makes you the object of a dozen questions - why don't you want a cup of coffee? Don't you like coffee? Don't you think it's fresh? Don't you want to chat?
DeleteI really appreciate you telling your story! Thank you!