My Soda Problem 🥤

The Sweet Burn

> Estimated reading time: 2-3 minutes

Carbonated drinks is my bane.

I call it my weakness because its a guilty pleasure I know puts me in an uncomfortable situation but I still seem to always seek it.

Who this is for
Anyone who struggles with giving up a guilty pleasure despite knowing its negative consequences.

CONTENT MAP
[01] Heartburn Explained & My Trigger
[02] The Cycle of Temptation & Relapse
[03] The Universal Struggle: Guilty Pleasures
[04] Awareness vs. Discipline: A Key Lesson

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Heartburn Explained & My Trigger

If you aren't familiar with heart burns, its a painful, burning sensation in the chest and it is caused by stomach acid flowing back up from your stomach (acid reflux).

_{Illustration of heartburn trigger for me.}

Many things cause it like lying down after eating or bending over after eating. I noticed my own trigger was carbonated drinks. After gulping a chilled pepsi or coke, even just a few sips makes my chest start hurting. I literally feel the acid from my stomach going up my chest and it really hurts.

The Cycle of Temptation & Relapse

There was a time when I decided to abstain from taking carbonated drinks and take more of fruit juice instead but temptation got the best of me again, LOL. I was able to stay off for a month or two but when I found myself in Lagos traffic and needed to cool my body, I found myself hailing the women hawking to give me one cold mineral 😭😹.

Even today I fell prey again. I had taken a few sips of coke during the trip with my Dad to an event. I thought it was harmless and I was good but during the event the burning sensation came again and I got very uncomfortable so I had to put pride aside and ask my dad if he had this drug called 'Danacid' which he often takes around because he gets the burns like me too. Luckily for me, he had a sachet in his bag. He initially teased me of seeing why it is good to take your medication everywhere you go but eventually gave it to me.

This is what makes this very funny. I already know the consequences and I feel the pains. I know carbonated drinks trigger my heartburn, yet I still go back to gulping them. This just shows how difficult it could be to let go off things that bring temporary pleasure, even when they harm us.

The Universal Struggle: Guilty Pleasures

_{The struggle with tempting treats.}

I believe many of us have a similar habit or that guilty pleasure we can't stay off. It may not be gulping carbonated drinks like me; it could be eating any junk food you seem to lay your hands on, late-night snacking, sweet tooth for consuming sugar, or even not sleeping (being a night owl). Like, we know these habits are not good for us, yet we continue because they feel good at that particular moment. Well, I guess we are just being humans. The flesh is weak so we often fall to these pleasures that get us happy or spikes our dopamine.

Awareness vs. Discipline: A Key Lesson

In the end, my struggle with soda has taught me that awareness does not equal discipline. You might be feeling pain each time you do that bad habit or make the choice to be undisciplined. I have this conviction that if you permit it, each painful reminder pushes you to making better choices. After today's heartburn episode for me, I think I will try to be more disciplined.

📌 All Images used in this post is from Freepik

✨ Hive Learners Prompt Week 205 Episode 01: IS IT THAT BAD?

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