As someone diagnosed with ADHD as an adult, my first response is "wait, did we not already know this?"
Seriously, reliance on a lot of caffeine is such a typical way for ADHD folks to self-medicate, especially prior to being diagnosed.
Have you ever drank so much coffee it feels like you're medicated?
I used to use nicotine patches + coffee and it was basically like being in Ritalin.
If I can drink 1L of coffee inside an hour I'm in the zone
If I can drink 1L of coffee I'm in the bathroom.
AKA: The Zone
Pot'o'Zone
A few months ago I had a 250ml energy drink (78mg caffeine) to power through a lab report after avoiding caffeine for a few years and it honestly felt like a more anxious and jittery version of the dexamphetamine I used recreationally a few times back in '18
Oh boy. I have such a terrible relationship with energy drinks. At one point last summer I was drinking like 4 Rockstar's and working 10-14hrs a day.
One day I got home after a long stint of 12hr days (11 in a row?) Shotgunned a beer and almost immediately fainted. My roommate saw me go down and get clotheslined on a lawn chair. He rushed out and got me off the chair. I came to with him standing over me with a very concerned look on his face asking me what happened. (Still very out of it) I said, very dismissively and half pissed off, idk man, I was dreaming!
Fun times. Sore neck.
I self medicate with caffeine and have known it for years. Though changing my diet has worked better for controlling my ADHD than anything except pharmaceuticals. I'm in my late 40's and have been diagnosed ADD / ADHD since the 1980's. A low carb diet works decently for me. It's not 100% like being on Adderall or Ritalin but I am more focused and able to stop spinning my wheels most days.
Unfortunately, for some of us, caffeine calms us down enough that it puts us straight to sleep. I drink caffeine at night if I'm having trouble sleeping. I get the stimulant effect when I've already taken my meds - it definitely sharpens my focus then, but sans actual stimulants, it puts me to sleep better than Benadryl.
Same here. Nothing can cure my insomnia quicker than a cup of coffee!
Agree that caffeine is "more yes than no" as a means of self medicating. My focus is basically dogshit without caffeine unless I'm hyper-fixating. It's great until I have a ton of caffeine, then the negatives start to outweigh the positives and my anxiety overtakes me.
As someone diagnosed with ADHD as an adult, my first response is "wait, did we not already know this?"
Seriously, reliance on a lot of caffeine is such a typical way for ADHD folks to self-medicate, especially prior to being diagnosed.
Have you ever drank so much coffee it feels like you're medicated?
I used to use nicotine patches + coffee and it was basically like being in Ritalin.
If I can drink 1L of coffee inside an hour I'm in the zone
If I can drink 1L of coffee I'm in the bathroom.
AKA: The Zone
Pot'o'Zone
A few months ago I had a 250ml energy drink (78mg caffeine) to power through a lab report after avoiding caffeine for a few years and it honestly felt like a more anxious and jittery version of the dexamphetamine I used recreationally a few times back in '18
Oh boy. I have such a terrible relationship with energy drinks. At one point last summer I was drinking like 4 Rockstar's and working 10-14hrs a day.
One day I got home after a long stint of 12hr days (11 in a row?) Shotgunned a beer and almost immediately fainted. My roommate saw me go down and get clotheslined on a lawn chair. He rushed out and got me off the chair. I came to with him standing over me with a very concerned look on his face asking me what happened. (Still very out of it) I said, very dismissively and half pissed off, idk man, I was dreaming!
Fun times. Sore neck.
I self medicate with caffeine and have known it for years. Though changing my diet has worked better for controlling my ADHD than anything except pharmaceuticals. I'm in my late 40's and have been diagnosed ADD / ADHD since the 1980's. A low carb diet works decently for me. It's not 100% like being on Adderall or Ritalin but I am more focused and able to stop spinning my wheels most days.
Unfortunately, for some of us, caffeine calms us down enough that it puts us straight to sleep. I drink caffeine at night if I'm having trouble sleeping. I get the stimulant effect when I've already taken my meds - it definitely sharpens my focus then, but sans actual stimulants, it puts me to sleep better than Benadryl.
Same here. Nothing can cure my insomnia quicker than a cup of coffee!
Agree that caffeine is "more yes than no" as a means of self medicating. My focus is basically dogshit without caffeine unless I'm hyper-fixating. It's great until I have a ton of caffeine, then the negatives start to outweigh the positives and my anxiety overtakes me.