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Stimulants Caffeine, Safe but counter-productive stimulant?

I think routine plays a role here, too. The cup before getting up, the one you have after lunch, or during a break at work, or while reading the newspaper (my mom). At some point it's hard to differentiate what triggers you to drink that one cup of coffee, the need for the caffeine or the whole setting/custom thing. Availability and it being a socially accepted and even pursued as a hobby (in lack of another word for the connoisseurs) makes it all easier.
 
lecroute said:
I think routine plays a role here, too. The cup before getting up, the one you have after lunch, or during a break at work, or while reading the newspaper (my mom). At some point it's hard to differentiate what triggers you to drink that one cup of coffee, the need for the caffeine or the whole setting/custom thing. Availability and it being a socially accepted and even pursued as a hobby (in lack of another word for the connoisseurs) makes it all easier.
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You are definitely correct about that. Although I do specifically get very strong alerting effects from caffeine, I am also very attached to the ritual. I especially feel this if I’m in a very good mood. preparing my coffee gives me a small task which takes my mind off my extreme tiredness in the morning and then consuming it gives me a reason to sit down and chill for a bit. next, usually within about 45 minutes, the caffeine will hit me and my tiredness will be lifted very suddenly which feels amazing. though I don’t often succeed in doing this, I found that the best thing to do is start my work tasks straight after drinking my coffee but before the caffeine kicks in. this way, I’m already in the zone so the energy boost will direct my focus onto that.
 
lecroute said:
That's the word I was looking for and couldn't come up with!
And the thing about how just preparing your coffee already begins to act on your mood.
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No problem, glad I helped you find the word. it’s actually something I hear mentioned a lot in articles about coffee and caffeine.
Although I generally really prefer the psychoactive effects of energy drinks and much prefer them in the summer because they don’t make me faint due to the heat like coffee does, cracking open a can doesn’t give the same vibes as brewing a pot of coffee. even better, if I finish my work tasks in advance and I have a free day to myself, preparing that pot of coffee feels even better as I start thinking about all the wonderful things I can do in my spare time.
 
See... Today I decided to go coffee free. It's the first day in months. I even had my coffee when I had 39 C fever. But it's really the "ritual" of preparing it that I had to avoid (ritual in parenthesis because I drink instant coffee). It's not the coffee I was automatically after, it was the preparing.
 
I don't notice anything if i stop drinking coffee. Juice gives me an energy boost in the morning. I love the taste of coffee though but only have 1 in the morning
 
I'm into coffee for the taste, too. And it kind of turned into a routine which I broke today. So far no strange feelings or cravings.
 
I sometimes get really emotional when I consciously think about the fact that caffeine is now working for me and is helping me deal with depression instead of causing it like it was before. I was literally about to quit this substance forever but here is my advice for anyone thinking about going down that road.
Firstly, if you think it might be causing you problems there’s no harm in quitting temporarily, you can always go back if your issues aren’t solved.
Secondly, if caffeine suddenly starts causing you issues like anxiety or depression at reasonable doses, something has obviously changed and it may very well be a nutritional deficiency or hormone imbalance.
For me, I strongly suspect it was a vitamin and protein deficiency because when I increased my protein and vegetable intake, I would always get very positive effects from caffeine and after a few weeks of eating these healthy foods consistently, I didn’t get anxiety even from huge doses of caffeine.
I noticed that when not on caffeine, I not only feel really sluggish, but somehow a lot more susceptible to depressive feelings and have no optimism despite being much calmer. now, when I consume caffeine in the morning and it affects begin to hit, that background negative mood lift suddenly and I seem to have a lot more optimism about the future. strangely, nicotine which I found much more euphoria and rewarding doesn’t seem to have that special effect which caffeine does. I can’t believe I’m saying that because I love nicotine much more as a recreational drug as well as a functional one. however, although I find nicotine good for getting tasks done later in the day I have a really bad reaction to it in the morning and I don’t know why. furthermore, I realise that nicotine, Even at moderately high amounts does not energise the physical body and produce pleasant alertness in the same way that caffeine does. from my experience of quitting caffeine and replacing it with nicotine for A whole month during ramadan, I learned a valuable lesson. this is that rewarding/dopaminergic properties of a drug might not always be the main determinant of why we like certain drugs. yes, in most cases it probably is yet in others, the main factor could be that a given drug could have a useful functional property such as promoting wakefulness and providing energy in the case of caffeine, or suppressing anxiety in the case of benzodiazepines or tricyclic acid depressants.
 
Neuroprotection said:
I learned a valuable lesson. this is that rewarding/dopaminergic properties of a drug might not always be the main determinant of why we like certain drugs. yes, in most cases it probably is yet in others, the main factor could be that a given drug could have a useful functional property such as promoting wakefulness and providing energy in the case of caffeine, or suppressing anxiety in the case of benzodiazepines or tricyclic acid depressants.
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If you are sleepy/lethargic or anxious/depressed and it's affecting you bad enough, finding relief from that state will be the reward. It's like the nice feeling you get when you can finally! use the the bathroom. Or when your have camps that stop suddenly (like stomach camps). Relief feels rwarding (would have to research as to how connected those emotions are nuerologically, don't have the time for that now).

I think with coffee(taste)/caffeine(effect) is the same as with everything else: As long as you don't overdo it, enjoy!
 
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