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Niki Elle's avatar

Wow, this was great! I always suspected coffee could be an addiction, but the way you describe it makes it even more real. I knew someone who would get caffeine headaches if he didn't have a cup before noon.

I like a cup every morning to start my work day, and I see now that I'm lucky there's no real pull for more. I too didnt get into coffee until i was older; maybe halfway througu college. And i still didnt drink it constantly. Once i started working, though, is when I began a cup a day. Then when I spent 3 months on the Appalachian Trail, I abruptly was cut off from coffee. I'd get it maaaaaybe once a week in town if I was lucky. It was interesting being able to get up and begin hiking, no caffeine in sight. And yet I'd be awake and alert!

Sorry for the rant; I hadn't even thought about that stuff for a while until I read your article.

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Ryan Delaney's avatar

It's fun to hear a little of the story of your relationship with coffee. Now that you know what it's like to feel alive and alert without caffeine, you can do without it if needed. I think that breaks any link to addiction. It would be great to hear about the AT sometime - that's what first caught my attention in your writing.

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Niki Elle's avatar

I definitely think it depends based on the addiction, but for the most part I agree! (Also I don't know of I'd say I was ever "addicted" to caffeine in the same way that some of my loved ones suffer from legit addictions)

And hey, awesome!! I absolutely love ranting about the AT. I have a Trail Log tab thingie on my Substack that sorts out only my AT related entries in one place. Right now, I'm in the middle of writing about New Hampshire.

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Ryan Delaney's avatar

Nice, those posts must be popular! Thanks for the conversation.

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