Someone pinch me. Is this truly happening? Have I really given up two things I love most? Moments before this article came to me, I was drinking turmeric golden milk while reading my third book of the week. Past me would have smack current me upside the head to knock out the pretentiousness. Who is this person I’ve become?

Reading for pleasure and drinking ancient ayurvedic recipes supporting my mind and body in a number of different ways? Really? But it’s true and I feel amazing. Who would have thought?

But why you ask, did you give up coffee and social media? You can still drink the golden milk and read. Lots of people do that plus have their morning cup of warm, delicious Joe with a side of insta-scroll.

Here’s the short of it: Coffee messed with my body in a way that made me feel uncomfortable, so it had to go. As with the social media, it messed with my body in a way that made me feel uncomfortable, so bye bye. Let me elaborate.

The Social Media Part

Last year I needed a social media detox in February. My anxiety rose from constantly checking different media outlets to see if people were liking and commenting on my posts. My concern for the day became more about what other people thought of what I said and less about literally ANYTHING else. It was time to put myself into a self-induced home rehab clinic of sorts and go cold turkey.

The first couple days were hard and I found myself going to my phone more than I normally did to check on things. As time went on, it got easier and I could feel the anxiety melting away. Whew. After my 30 day detox, I eased back into the world of social media and eventually got sucked back into the infinite scroll.

This February, I was more than ready for another month of social media detox and actually started in January. Having already pulled the plug on Facebook, I really only had Instagram and the occasional Twitter to let go. I also took the Medium app off my phone (gasp).

Over the last two weeks, writing and reading have been my main squeeze. In that time, I’ve penned over 100 pages of my manuscript because my mind isn’t distracted by the constant noise.

The Coffee Part

Get back to the coffee already, how are you surviving? Like the anxiety from too much social media, I believe my body was telling me coffee was no longer needed. All of a sudden, I started getting bad acid reflux after drinking my morning cuppa. Since I usually don’t eat till 10am, I knew it had to be the Joe.

This bummed me out because I love the morning ritual of sipping coffee on the couch and waking up slowly with the hubs and kids. I like the taste of coffee but didn’t necessarily need it to get through the day. Ultimately, I didn’t want to be uncomfortable so I began looking for suggestions to help.

Is it the caffeine that was bothering me? I could make the switch to decaf.
Maybe it was the acid, so how could I make coffee less acidic? Did you know egg shells can do that?
As I read up on acid reflux, the healing powers of ginger and turmeric kept coming up.

Why not? I’ve heard good things and I like the taste of ginger. Turmeric wasn’t a spice in my daily diet, but that didn’t stop me from trying it out. I found some ginger tea and mix it with raw honey each morning. Plus, bonus: I get my hot, soothing drink before the sun rises.

As for the acid reflux, sadly it was not targeted with the morning coffee but was happening all day. I couldn’t figure out why. For the most part, I stay away from grains and foods that cause intestinal distress. But other foods that can cause it include chocolate, so I’ve dropped my dark chocolate habit. Additional I replaced any nighttime snacks with the golden milk. It’s like a natural sleeping pill and my eyes are dropping just thinking about it.

Is This Just A Phase?

Who knows? One day I might incorporate both coffee and social media back into my life, but for now, neither are serving a higher purpose. As someone who gets distracted easily, letting go of Instagram might actually help me write three or four books a year.

But how are you going to market your book? That’s a good question and one I’ve been toying with for awhile now. As a writer I need a way to reach my audience but as I write more each day, it is making me love my craft more and more.

In forming one on one connections with my audience, I can engage on a deeper level finding out what people want. Writing for me is not about the likes and comments, but reaching my ideal reader. Currently, that is middle grade readers and their gatekeepers. I am really excited about opening up the lines of communication between children and the adults around them with books.

Seeing firsthand how my children talk to me about the books they are reading gets me excited about what I am able to offer young readers. There are several series (Harry Potter, Divergent, Series of Unfortunate Events) that both my children and I equally enjoy to read.

So sorry coffee and social media, but for the time being, sayonara! This writer is more concerned about finding out how her own book is going to end. And truly (mostly social media), you have distracted my work long enough.