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Comment by seibelj | Hacker News Reader

My perfect day is 8 hours of caffeine, an hour at the gym, 4 hours of alcohol, SSRI for a nightcap. YMMV

While I never used alcohol, some many number of years ago my drug cocktail used to not be so dissimilar from yours.

All I can say is that, for me personally, and many others, being able to eventually move off that chemical dependency has resulted in richer and healthier days. This isn't a judgement on what works for you, or a suggestion that you do some radical change. Just something to chew on in the back of your mind if the day ever comes where you get sick of it all.

There’s evidence that all of the effectiveness of antidepressants is due to the placebo effect. Contrast this with bipolar or schizophrenia where medications actually seem to benefit vs placebo.

I'd recommend a book that dives into this topic before downvoting: Lost Connections by Johann Harl

A relative of mine is on a very strong SSRI and stimulant combination; talking to them is almost impossible, they're constantly interjecting and changing the subject. They're a coked up toddler with a particularly large vocabulary.

A lot of SSRIs have the expected mechanism of action of disrupting your executive function. This is usually explained as making you more likely to act. The other is disrupting the linking and creation of long term memories, especially negative ones. You can find research evaluating SSRIs and antidepressents looking for these things. Maybe it's not bad, but long term memory and good executive function are the main components of IQ.

In the above case the stimulants were originally prescribed I think to counteract a loss of focus, they might be worse off without them.

Personally I lost a year and a half to Lexapro. It made me happy (or made me think I was) but completely removed any motivation I had to do anything. In my observations this is typical, and a concern I expressed to the doctors involved. People I've known turned into shells of themselves who never left the house.

What do you mean disrupting the executive function? I have taken citalopram (an SSRI) for years without any impact.

It should go without saying that YMMV if you keep that up.

I hope you're exaggerating - that kind of cocktail is going to kill your sleep quality and, in the long-term, quite possibly fry your brain.

Thumbs up on the exercise though.

I like how this is getting flagged out - but it's 100% true - this dude is going to fry himself with practically 0% REM sleep.

Alcohol induces REM, so, you may not be as airtight as you think, there.

Source? Every result on Google for 'alcohol rem sleep' says it suppresses it during the initial phase of sleep, while the alcohol is still in your system. There is a "rebound effect" later in the night, after the alcohol has been metabolised, but spending the second half of the night in a lighter phase of sleep is not good either.

Basically, alcohol is uncontroversially terrible for sleep quality.

Alcohol eliminates REM. It’s one of the most potent suppressors.

I usually let these types of comments enable interesting discussion, but given the response and the worry that it validates someone else’s lifestyle, I must say that it was tongue-in-cheek. My perfect day does not imply my everyday. Please don’t drink alcohol for 4 hours every dear reader!

I am glad to hear that you were indeed joking!

How do you manage long-term drinking?

For example, I myself am about 65 kg and I can easily chug 5-6 pints of beer and be only slightly sleepy the next day.

But I know for sure that my alcohol habits are not sustainable because the next day my stomach (bowels, etc) is having a hurricane. Not sure what would happen if I did this every day (but I did that when I was 22).

I'd strongly recommend L-Theanine if you'd like to not need as much caffeine or alcohol.

I have a similar routine, but with less caffeine and more Ritalin.

If only I were being facetious.

SSRI as a night cap is a bit misleading. It’s not a sleep aid.

Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs)

boclinic.org/diseases-conditions/depression/in-depth/ssris/art-20044825

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