I called in sick yesterday and binged the Fallout show. That felt extremely relaxing.
I have been off sick for four weeks lol. It’s hilarious. I’ll watch Fallout now.
Coffee, Tea, and caffeinated beverages have been a double edged sword to humans, and specifically human society, since its discovery.
Michael Pollan authored a book on the subject a while back. Here is an article which summarizes some of it.
Ultimately, Capitalism as we know it today would not have been possible without stimulants (like caffeine) and the invention of the lightbulb. These two factors allowed human beings to remain awake and alert 24/7, vastly expanding the time window for us to consume and produce, and ultimately further solidify Capitalism’s hold on the world at large.
Right like stimulants are super useful but more like for that guy in one of the world wars (who took way too many but other than that) and to his credit he did escape the Russians and lived to be like 70 or something. He also caught and ate a bird raw during this time period. Hang on actually let me go find the Wikipedia article.
Ok I’m back. I pasted the story here because I think it’s important to read BEFORE seeing the picture.
Koivunen was a Finnish soldier, assigned to a ski patrol on 15 March 1944 along with several other Finnish soldiers. Three days into their mission on 18 March, the group was attacked and surrounded by Soviet forces, from whom they were able to escape. Koivunen became fatigued after skiing for a long distance but could not stop. He was carrying his patrol’s entire supply of army-issued Pervitin, or methamphetamine, a stimulant used to remain awake while on duty. He consumed the entire supply of Pervitin, and had a short burst of energy, but soon entered a state of delirium and eventually lost consciousness. Koivunen later recalled waking up the following morning, separated from his patrol and having no supplies.
In the following days, Koivunen escaped Soviet forces once again, was injured by a land mine, and stayed in a ditch for a week, waiting for help. In the week that he was gone, he subsisted only on pine buds and a single Siberian jay that he caught and ate raw. Having skied more than 400 km (248.5 mi), he was later found and admitted to a nearby hospital, where his heart rate was measured at 200 beats per minute, and he weighed only 43 kg (94.8 lbs).
He died in 1989 at the age of 71.
It’s also my understanding (now, I’ve forgotten where I read it though) that his thought process on the matter was that when he was trying to get one out of the bottle but his gloves were too thick to get just one, so he said “fuck it I’m probably gonna die anyway” and poured them into his palm and just slammed then bitches back.
Stimulants are also the reason WWII was so insane. A lot of it (and postwar actions) are thrown in a very different light once you realise everyone was on meth
They are why the Nazis were able to easily take most of Europe, one binge and it was over. And also why they faltered in Russia after starting out very well, because it was too much to take on one binge and they had to keep fighting during and then after the recovery period.
Yeah, you must listen to Hamilton Morris’s Podcast! It’s a fascinating story and an example of one of the many roles stimulants have played in human history and society.
As a coffee addict and enthusiast myself (used to home roast High grade Arabica when I had more time on my hands), I’m not going to knock stimulants outright.
But it’s not lost on me that we wouldn’t have a 24 hour economy without caffeine and electric lights, which block the uptake of adenosine and production of melatonin respectively, creating the biochemical response necessary for our civilization to exist as it currently does, for better and worse.
Now I want to see an apocalypse story where stimulants suddenly and inexplicably stop working, and civilization as we know it comes to a crashing halt, or more likely a staggering and increasingly groggy stumble down into a nap.
This article from the guardian indicates the need to develop and produce synthetic coffee in the future after climate change has ravaged land reserved for coffee production.
Honestly while coffee’s days are likely numbered, stimulants will likely only be further developed in the lab to be more finely honed to enhance potential human productivity levels and, hopefully, be made safer for human consumption.
Stimulants are necessary particularly to modern militaries and the usage of stimulants in a wartime context have been well documented since WWII.
Given the important role stimulants play in both modern capitalism and modern warfare, it’s unlikely we’ll see a “Stimulopocalypse” any time soon.
That said, the world you allude to might look somewhat like the world awakened by the Knocker-Up, although really it’s more likely all aspects of human life would simply slow down without stimulants.
I feel like I stumbled into a very innocent and unaware thread involving stimulants and the world. People bickering about whether or not you should include caffeine or proper sleep in your schedule, while the rest of the world is just downing copious amounts of drugs trying to keep up and sane (neither are possible).
I consume the stimulant AND get proper amounts of sleep. They are not exclusive.
well aren’t you a well behaved corporate subject ;) /s
It’s kinda funny, I’m over here exercising for 1-2 hours every day, taking benzos about once a week, and ketamine infusions monthly just to not set myself on fire in a public square or something pointlessly melodramatic and people are like “Tut Tut, coffee is a serious vice”
Man, I want ketamine infusions. how are you getting ketamine infusions
and do you mean, infused into your coffee? no don’t answer that answer the first thing ;)
There have been some experimental trials run. As someone with an absolutely winning smile and lifelong depression I got in the program at one point.
Ran out of money though, very expensive. Of course first hand experience is an invaluable way to learn anything if you ask questions and watch carefully.
You can look up Spravato. It’s expensive and has to be taken with a couple hours of medical observation.
I’ve never drank the stuff.
As far as I can tell, you’re all addicts in collective denial.
I’m not in denial. I’m well aware that I’m chemically dependent on caffeine and will have withdrawal symptoms, including headaches, if I cut back or stop drinking coffee.
I also really like coffee. I drink half-caff just so I can drink more without getting the jitters.
But the rest of them are totally in denial. 100%
I used to never drink coffee because I didn’t want to become dependent on it. It also helped that all the coffee I ever tried tasted terrible.
Then one day, my husband was raving about switching to french press and how good it was. To humor him, I took a sip and… it was so delicious! My fate was sealed, and I regret nothing.
I can straight up forget coffee exists sometimes. I don’t have any coffee related urges, but I do have an “I need to wake up, maybe coffee will do it.”
I went off it when I started my ADHD medication, it was difficult and I had a few days to recover. It put coffee in a whole new light for me.
Course the medication is also stimulants, but it makes me think good and remember things so I’ll take it.
I can actually stop anytime and often do. I would miss tea though, but tea is different.
I need coffee because I don’t like sleeping
Maybe you wouldn’t dislike sleep as much if you weren’t so starved off free time that sleep feels like time you could be doing something fun
Don’t worry, I slack like hell. Half my work time IS free time
A proper sleep routine dramatically improves your quality of life. Please don’t neglect yourself, friendo
I get 7-8 hours a night. Wish I didn’t need to though, so much wasted time!
every so often i see articles about people who don’t need the normal amount of sleep, like the lady who when they brought her into the sleep test lab, didn’t sleep at all that night because it was all just too interesting to her.
jelly.
That’s brain defrag time, buddy! Helps you think straight
When can I upgrade my brain to an SSD 😩
You must be doing it wrong. Have you tried the tuck?
Isn’t that why the concept of coffee break was invented
I drink coffee because it tastes good.
I feel sad for people who drink it because they see it as a requirement.
I’ve got the best of both worlds! Love the taste of my black coffee, and it keeps the monkey that bangs a hammer against my temples at bay.
Maybe the monkey wouldn’t exist in the first place if you didn’t drink coffee so often…
Nonsense!
Btw, coffee isn’t stimmulating, if you take it regularly. Au contraire, you get withdrawal symptoms (sluggish, tired) if you don’t take one.
Can’t find the study right now but it was here on Lemmy about a month ago.
On the other hand coffee is a fucking lifesaver when you really absolutely must stay awake.
This is why I drink tea instead.
Tea gang, what what.
But I think it’s pretty much the same thing. I’ve overdrive tea and woken up in the middle of the night plenty of times.
I seriously think that this is why it’s so easy to get ADD/ADHD drugs in this country.
Wait, easy? I have to go without from time to time despite multiple diagnoses of it throughout different life stages, including one from a “medication as a last resort” psychiatrist who explicitly said that stimulant medication is absolutely necessary for me.
I’ve gone months without due to shortages, and due to physician issues. I’ve been drug tested to ensure I don’t smoke pot more times than I remember. I’ve had psychiatrists who refused to continue care because they “don’t prescribe that drug/dose”.
Meanwhile I’ve had to shoo away opiates because I’m allergic but get them anyways.
headass country we live in
Like I get it, it’s always after surgery. But also that’s the thing that gets me, we need more powerful non opioid analgesics so I don’t have to decide between hives and roughing out shit.
It’s just like, I shouldn’t have to fight this hard for medication that benefits me and society for me to be on. And not like “benefits society” in a capitalist sense, but more in a “it helps nobody if I forget to look before crossing the street” sense
My wife has ADHD and because she’s really a human suit piloted by ten adolescent squirrels, she is prescribed Adderall. It’s often like pulling teeth to get her prescription refilled.
easy??? most insurance will fight you tooth and nail when you want them to cover it, and even then they usually won’t. and i have to be scrutinized by doctors (obviously having to pay for the appointments) every 1-3 months just to get a prescription. i can’t even get a 90 day refill which is a lower cost because it’s a schedule 2 drug (same as narcotics for some reason). how is alcohol so easy to get but i have to go through all these hoops to medicate?
also one time i had a medical emergency at my house and needed to be transported to the hospital. the police basically saw my medication, checked the amount in the container and saw that it was completely fine for the amount of time i had the prescription considering i took less than one per day, then STILL were like “yea we think it might be an amphetamine oversose”. obviously the doctors were able to tell that it was not at all related to any sort of drugs from the bloodwork and symptoms, but one nurse still suggested off-hand on a written note that she thought it was ADHD drug overdose. like bruh how, anyone will see that you take ADHD medication and immediately assume it’s drug abuse with no actual basis, even when doctors can clearly see otherwise.
that being said i think access to the medication depends entirely on the doctor and area you’re in. which is stupid, yes.
That’s why I don’t drink coffee
