Summary: When I could smell coffee in my urine, I knew it wasn’t a habit anymore - it was an addiction. Here’s what 182 days without caffeine taught me about dependency, control, and the invisible addictions we normalize.
I could smell coffee when I peed. Not faintly. Not a subtle hint. I mean I could distinctly smell coffee in my urine, like my body was literally saturated with it. That’s when I knew: I wasn’t someone who drinks coffee. I was someone addicted to it. My hands would shake without my consent. My fingers would tremble during work sessions. The jitters were constant. But the worst part? I’d normalized all of it. “I just love coffee,” I’d tell people. “It helps me focus.” Bullshit. I needed it to func…