Saturday 18 October 2014

Energy Drinks - My Secret Addiction

Hello again, dear internet. Today is a ‘Very Special Entry’ in my blog. Today we’re talking about addiction… to energy drinks. Laugh if you will, but I feel these magical beverages are a dangerous force and should be treated carefully.

It all began when I was seventeen-year-old gent, popping over to my boyfriend’s abode. Whilst there, I was offered an energy drink. I had heard of such things before. Red Bull, for example, is marketed often on TV. However, my juvenile mind thought that because energy drinks were high in caffeine – they would taste like coffee. Ew.

But eventually, I relented and tried some of the energising elixir. My goodness – that didn’t taste like coffee at all. Imagine a soft drink (any will do, they all blend together in the end), but better. I’ve tried many brands of energy drink since then and the taste is surprisingly uniform. It’s a sort of… fruity taste, but with an extra something just behind it. I’m inclined to say it’s got a metallic aftertaste, but in a really, really good way.

I struggled sleeping that night, due to the phantasmal effects of that dull-gold (the colour being another staple of energy drinks) liquid. But life carried on.

Fast-forward five years and we find myself working at my current job, in a call centre. The shifts are long and I, being young and foolish, have a habit of staying up late. The allure of energy drinks tempted me, and on a particularly tired day, I bought a bottle of the stuff at lunch.

Maybe I was particularly exhausted that day, but that was the first time I truly felt the effects of an energy drink. Within half an hour of finishing the bottle, my world changed. I was suddenly more alert and perceptive than I had ever been in my whole life. Every one of my senses was turned up to its maximum. My mind was racing and yet so very clear. My fingers flew across the keyboard. My mouse clicked with a sniper’s accuracy. It was a fantastic feeling and I never wanted it to end.

The come down-which came roughly an hour later, was sudden and hard. My mood plummeted and my body was reduced to a slow, sloppy, mess of yawns and grumbles. Had my tiredness returned, or was this just how normal people felt? Even now, I can’t be sure. But whilst I was sitting there, half-slumped over in a dull, grey world, I remembered how it felt when I was running on the energy drink’s power. I started to ask myself, why doesn’t everyone want to feel this way? Is this how we’re supposed to function? If there’s a way to be the best you possibly can, why don’t we do it?

So I kept on buying energy drinks. I got several multi-packs at home and always took a few to work. They became a staple of my day. It was normal. I’d always have some – even if I wasn’t tired. I’d wake up, have a can, then another on  the way to work, then one before my shift, then one with lunch, then one or two when I got home as well. Any one of those cans I just mentioned, may or may not have been a litre bottle, depending on the day.

That’s when I realised I was addicted.

It was a bizarre thought, sitting down and taking stock of need. I didn’t like it. The idea of addiction, of being reliant on something, wasn’t something that sat well with me. I decided to give up the energy drinks. The very next day, I went cold turkey.

It was one of the longest, hardest days I’ve had in a long time. It was as if the hours of tiredness I’d been fighting back, all came on at once. I felt as if I’d gone a week without sleeping. People at work noticed. I’m quiet at work. No one ever notices.

Yet I managed to survive. It’s not a perfect recovery. If I have a hard night, then sometimes the allure of that sparky, golden mistress is too much. But I like to think that I’ve at least got a handle on it. I know when to stop.

So in short kids, energy drinks are fun. They can help you achieve a level of attention and dexterity that you never thought you had. But it’s not worth it. The quantity you need slowly goes up and up, almost without noticing. The comedown is harsh and withdrawals are exhausting.

Invite that witch’s brew into your life… at your own peril.

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