The first couple of times I drank a full cup of coffee, I felt good. I could definitely feel the caffeine working its way through my system, but it was a positive, rather than negative, experience.

Slowly but surely, however, the negative effects I’d experienced back at university began to return. A couple of hours after I drank coffee, I’d start to become increasingly jittery and lightheaded.

Eventually, I’d find myself feeling hot and sweaty – and whether I was sitting, standing or lying down, I felt unbelievably restless. I also felt panicky and found it harder to deal with even low-stress tasks or requests that popped up at work.

One afternoon after I’d had an iced coffee, I even found myself having to stop work and practise some breathwork to stop myself from spiralling into a state of panic under the pressure of my usual to-do list. In particular, I found the coffee really affected me when I was feeling tired or worn down – the times when most people tend to reach for more of the stuff.

In short, it didn’t take long for me to realise this wasn’t going to work.

“I tried to train myself to handle caffeine after a 5-year break from coffee – here’s why it wasn’t worth it”