My Brain Feels So Slow Without...

Without caffeine or coffee, I don't know why. Its scary because i feel like a different person and more dumber.

You're not "'dumber." I think us coffee drinkers need a "pick-me-up" in the morning. We have to have our coffee. LOL The coffee has caffeine in it, and that's a stimulant. It can make our heart pump faster, which isn't necessarily good. If you were never a coffee drinker, you wouldn't feel like you needed anything! You wouldn't feel "dumber." You'd feel just normal. It's just that we're used to that stimulant in the morning - or whenever.

So you are NOT 'dumber.' You're just looking for that stimulant from coffee. Best of luck. Hugs, Lee

I'm pretty sure caffeine is the widest abused drug in the world! I've heard of people getting really sick when they first quit. So, I bet you will feel a little slow maybe until it gets out of your system. Maybe you just feel dumb because you don't have that jolt of energy.

Good luck!

TnT

Coffee First, Questions Later

I'm an ADDer and know Exactly what you mean.

You are Not dumb just because it takes a little jolt to get into your groove

Feel heavily dependent on it to function- its even in my multivitamin as well as Guarana.

My mom seems to be ADD (although back in her days it didn't exist), and she always self medicates with coffee, done since she was young. I can't but think this is pretty harmless compared to some other solutions. I mean, it hasn't affected her health at all. She is a healthy senior, but then all people almost in her generation drinks coffee, so there is really nothing to compare with.

My health has only improved since my ADD diagnosis, Adderall treatment and although I don't drink nearly as much coffee, I still enjoy 2 cups in the morning. As long as your heart is not adversely affected by the stimulant, why not let it help get you going in the mornings?

Of course, check with your doctor about all of this first.

Caffeine has 'antidepressant qualities'. I wonder if the only difference is that it's not backed by a pharmaceutical company. Any veteran to the med merry-go-round can assure you that a lot of AD's can increase your blood pressure...and have bad withdrawals...

Interesting..

I think most everyone feels better when stimulated by caffeine. I do, too.
At times when I can't drink coffee, I make sure I get plenty of sleep and that I drink plenty of water. That seems to help.

Are you not drinking coffee for a reason?

Without tea. I can't start my day without at least two cups of tea.

I just feel so dependent on it to function- as well as "energy" drinks.

Maybe it's a need ?

Is there a middle ground - having some but not a lot, for example? A bit in the morning, then focus on good nutrition and hydration the remainder of your day?

Some days I feel like I really "need" my coffee and I have it. Some of those days I don't even get the 'kick' from the caffeine.
Other days I skip it and have water instead, which, along with aerobic exercise, helps brain function and alertness.

many of us are. it's the times we live in. rapid and hard to endure without coffee.

I am not a coffee person firstly, however tea that is a different story, for me I have to have a cup of tea. It is the first thing I do in the morning and believe me I can't function if I don't have at least one cup of tea in the morning.... It seems the only thing that can get me gear up for the day and if I don't have much of a cup of tea like if I have to start my day in a rush and just have a few sips then I get the worse headaches ever until I have had another strong cup of tea. However this may be more of a culture thing not that it really anything to do with the culture but I am from the UK and been drinking tea since I was young.

Do you get enough sleep? I know sometimes I get a lot more slow than usual from not getting enough sleep which I will in turn use caffeine to counteract. But I have been trying to cut down on how much caffeine I ingest since I have anxiety and ptsd and its a stimulant which isn't exactly good for those things.

Other then not getting enough sleep and making up for it with caffeine. Caffeine is technically an addictive drug, so it is also possible to develop caffeine addiction without even realizing it since no on really thinks much of a few cups of coffee a day...and the withdrawal symptoms can include lethargy which could contribute to the slowness it can also cause headaches so if you regularly use caffeine are these negative symptoms most prevalent when you've gone without your usual amount or any?

This applies to tea drinking to green tea and black tea has caffeine unless you get decaf, so yeah its not the tea or coffee its the caffeine in it, that's relevant.