What are your thoughts on caffeine? I’ve used it occasionally for motivation and it works fine. I take 200 mg pills with water or fruit juice. Sometimes I get a nervous crash though and it’s very undesirable.
The problem with caffeine is that it increases people’s risks for anxiety disorders - and anxiety is already a common problem with a lot of people who have schizophrenia.
Some Reading:
Coffee-induced anxiety.
I Quit Coffee to Cure my Anxiety
It’s a trade-off.
As with any neurostimulant triggering or adding punch to the autonomic nervous system’s sympathetic “fight or flight”) branch, caffeine works in almost direct opposition to the anxiety-reducing, dopamine-blocking, anti-psychotic medications. Thus, it counteracts the effects of the anti-Ps, increases motivation and drive – and potential anxiety… and creates the “trade-off” blue mentioned.
I’ve abstained from caffeine for around a month before and I just had no get up and go motivation when I had a wave of depression . For me the caffeine gets me up enough to do something when I’m like that
I’d drank ten cups of coffee a day for forty years. Finally I decided it would be simpler and easier to take caffeine pills. I take two 200 milligram pills a day. I’ve built up such a tolerance for caffeine that I barely notice them.