Sweet caffeine eases the pain

How long is Lent? 40 days, right? Josh Hartnett even made a crappy movie about it:

Au contraire, mon fraire.

Today, Feb. 25, is Ash Wednesday, the official kickoff to the Lenten season. The end of Lent, Easter, is April 12. March has 31 days. I'm no math major, but that's 47 days. Nice racket the church has going here. And I ain't buying no excuses, a freaking monk invented the calendar.

But I digress. Traditionally, Catholics try to change something during this time of reflection in the lead up to our most important holy day. Normally, I use this time to try to do things like pray more or perform daily good deeds. But that's easy, I'm always a nice guy.

This year, I decided I'm going to push things to the limit and test myself. For the next 40--check that, 47--days, I'm going to give up my beloved Diet Coke.

I wouldn't say that I'm addicted to Diet Coke, but my drinking habits border on unhealthy. I drink 6-8 bottles a day, bringing a sixer to work and having a couple when I get home at night and have dinner (I even wrote about it for my base paper a few years back).

I definitely view my "country coffee" as a pick me up in the morning when I get to the office and in the afternoon when I need a boost. Without it, I don't know what I'll do... in fact, as I write this I have a massive headache. I wouldn't say that this is causing me a psychiatric disorder, but there are some in the medical profession that might disagree:

(WebMD) Researchers are saying that caffeine withdrawal should now be classified as a psychiatric disorder.

A new study that analyzes some 170 years' worth of research concludes that caffeine withdrawal is very real — producing enough physical symptoms and a disruption in daily life to classify it as a psychiatric disorder. Researchers are suggesting that caffeine withdrawal should be included in the next edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM), considered the bible of mental disorders.

"I don't think this means anyone should be worried," says study researcher Roland Griffiths, PhD, professor of psychiatry and neuroscience at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine. "What it means is that the phenomenon of caffeine withdrawal is real and that when people don't get their usual dose, they can suffer a range of withdrawal symptoms." (link)

As I said, this ain't gonna be easy. But I guess dying on the cross wasn't a walk in the park, either. On the bright side, I'm an hour away from having 1 day down and 39--er, 46--to go.

Oh and before I forget, I promise to be honest and if I fall victim to my human weakness, I'll perform public penance here on morganobrien.com