I have found yet another tasty but unfortunately dangerous beverage concoction recently.
I am on the hunt for something cold and refreshing that still has some kick in it now that spring is officially here and summer will be here before we know it.
I avoid any form of milk product when it is too warm outside because it really does not sit well as the day wears on. So I typically end up getting an iced black tea lemonade with a splash of strawberry juice and no sweetner (as mentioned in "My Caffeine Go-Tos!").
This has been falling a little flat for my tastebuds so I figured I would try mixing one of the Starbucks refreshers with the iced black tea. I ordered a strawberry acai refresher with black tea instead of water. I gave it a whirl and will only have it on the rare occasion that I need a next level amount of caffeine.
What most people don't realize is that the Starbucks refreshers actually have a great deal of caffeine in them. The refresher juice itself is extracted from green coffee beans, which means that it has been cooked for less time and ultimately holds more caffeine.
Combing the super caffeinated juice with the already caffeinated iced black tea, makes for a lethal combination.
The extreme sweetness of the strawberry acai refresher matched wonderfully with the darker flavor of the iced black tea. However, my heart went into a frenzy and my senses were on high alert. I had to guzzle way too much water and keep moving to combat the impending anxiety attack.
I was glad enough to have been in a calming situation that I could face my anxiety freely. Nothing is worse than feeling the anxiety attack creep through your veins while you're in a public setting and can't really do anything about it other than ride it out.
Which, as a human with anxiety, we understand the wait time for the anxiety attack to pass can seem unbearable and only make the attack worse. I found that embracing my anxiety attacks and basically internally talking to myself helps me to a certain extent.
If I can't convince myself that my body is only trying to prepare me for some freak incident and I'm the better off, then I excuse myself to the bathroom and dab my face with cold water, just closing my eyes while implementing my yoga breathing.
Fortunately enough this time around, I did not have to do anything too drastic. I just downed enough water for two people and paced the room until I had worked my nerves down a reasonable amount. The main downside is how exhausted I was after the episode.
Needless to say, I will be avoiding this yummy/caffeine riddled combination unless I am in absolute need of the surge!
