The never ending caffeine cycle (lemmy.ml)

submitted 1 day ago by AddLemmus@lemmy.ml to c/adhd@lemmy.world

21 comments fedilink hide all child comments

Over the decades, I keep switching between caffeine times and caffeine-free times.

It's like this:

need an extra boost for morning or afternoon, and it is really important
it becomes a regular thing again, at least 1xmorning, 1xafternoon
ups and downs are too strong, switching to guarana
it works, even boost now
It turns into madness, e. g. not enough sleep, and it prevents me from napping, or even night sleep is not good anymore. Also, completely dysfunctional in the morning.
optionally increase up to double dose
unpleasant withdrawal
back to start after a month, year or two years

Right now, I'm on day 3 or 4 of a very unpleasant withdrawal again. Headaches, poor sleep quality, muscle and joint pain. Also, the Elvanse boost is really diminished, a lot. Tragically, in terms of productivity and mood, it worked really well with caffeine, just too much madness.

Do you think just staying off for good is the way to go?

you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments

[-] ruuster13@lemmy.zip 1 points 1 day ago

Our brains crave novelty, or new stimuli. It seems appropriate to me to switch from one stimulant to the next as you build tolerance to each. If there are enough to cycle through, hopefully resistance to each one will drop by the time you need to return to it.

The problem it seems you are facing is that there aren't enough different stimulants to cycle through, as well as some possible fear-based thinking about overuse (because we live in a society that forces that thinking upon us). So you're thinking of switching stimulants on and off rather than moving on to the next one.

Hobbies that highly stimulate the brain also function as doses of stimulants when used with intention.

this post was submitted on 13 Aug 2026

29 points (100.0% liked)

ADHD

13482 readers

11 users here now

A casual community for people with ADHD

Values:

Acceptance, Openness, Understanding, Equality, Reciprocity.

Rules:

No abusive, derogatory, or offensive post/comments.
No porn, gore, spam, or advertisements allowed.
Do not request for donations.
Do not link to other social media or paywalled content.
Do not gatekeep or diagnose.
Mark NSFW content accordingly.
No racism, homophobia, sexism, ableism, or ageism.
Respectful venting, including dealing with oppressive neurotypical culture, is okay.
Discussing other neurological problems like autism, anxiety, ptsd, and brain injury are allowed.
Discussions regarding medication are allowed as long as you are describing your own situation and not telling others what to do (only qualified medical practitioners can prescribe medication).

Encouraged:

Funny memes.
Welcoming and accepting attitudes.
Questions on confusing situations.
Seeking and sharing support.
Engagement in our values.

Relevant Lemmy communities:

Neurodivergent Life Hacks

lemmy.world/c/adhd will happily promote other ND communities as long as said communities demonstrate that they share our values.

founded 3 years ago

MODERATORS

MrPoopyButthole@lemmy.world

MrPoopyButthole@lemmy.dbzer0.com