Does the military still hand out amphetamines and/or modafinil, or is caffeine really the alertness/wakefulness drug of choice?
The military’s obsession with energy drinks is contributing to PTSD
11–20 of 79 posts
Re: The military’s obsession with energy drinks is contributing to PTSD
#12[deleted]
Re: The military’s obsession with energy drinks is contributing to PTSD
#13The current facts about coffee and sugar are the following: drinking coffee is good for your mental and physical, while sugar is linked to depression, addiction, anxiety, heart problems, obesity and not surprisingly, PTSD: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4522929/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4086302/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5056806/
You're leaving out many things about coffee. Specifically, caffeine, which energy drinks are often loaded with. Caffeine on its own can cause anxiety (See "Caffeine-induced anxiety disorder") and is linked to depression. Let alone workers consuming caffeine during work time with headaches(or other withdrawal symptoms) on their days off who still haven't figured it out the stuff is just plain not good for you.
Re: The military’s obsession with energy drinks is contributing to PTSD
#14Does the military still hand out amphetamines and/or modafinil, or is caffeine really the alertness/wakefulness drug of choice?
>Does the military still hand out amphetamines and/or modafinil, or is caffeine really the alertness/wakefulness drug of choice?
Actual stimulant use is restricted to special forces and flight crews. But anecdotally, the energy drink consumption in the Army is out of control. I can remember people literally ordering pallets of Monster to show up on training exercises. Nicotine too. It's not uncommon to see someone with a dip of Skoal in both sides, smoking a Newport 100, and drinking a Monster all at the same time. It's just a necessary escape when you're living in an environment that has your fight-or-flight response engaged 24/7 causing total CNS overload, with zero access to alcohol or hard drugs and 4 hours of sleep a night.
Re: The military’s obsession with energy drinks is contributing to PTSD
#15Does the military still hand out amphetamines and/or modafinil, or is caffeine really the alertness/wakefulness drug of choice?
>Does the military still hand out amphetamines and/or modafinil, or is caffeine really the alertness/wakefulness drug of choice? Actual stimulant use is restricted to special forces and flight crews. But anecdotally, the energy drink consumption in the Army is out of control. I can remember people literally ordering pallets of Monster to show up on training exercises. Nicotine too. It's not uncommon to see someone wi…
I would say that as of 2018, the big energy drink is Rip It, and truly the volume and frequency of consumption across the forces cannot be overstated. As you say, when your life and the lives of your comrades is on the line, what else can you do? Most people require drugs to remain some semblance of alert for 18 hours a day, and of course it takes a toll.
It’s almost as though a constant state of deployment and endless warfare is a damaging and undesireable condition.
Re: The military’s obsession with energy drinks is contributing to PTSD
#16Does the military still hand out amphetamines and/or modafinil, or is caffeine really the alertness/wakefulness drug of choice?
>Does the military still hand out amphetamines and/or modafinil, or is caffeine really the alertness/wakefulness drug of choice? Actual stimulant use is restricted to special forces and flight crews. But anecdotally, the energy drink consumption in the Army is out of control. I can remember people literally ordering pallets of Monster to show up on training exercises. Nicotine too. It's not uncommon to see someone wi…
> I can remember people literally ordering pallets of Monster to show up on training exercises.
What like as a replen demand? Aren't they restricted to using issued rations on an exercise? And how are they getting them deployed?
Re: The military’s obsession with energy drinks is contributing to PTSD
#17Nothing in the article links energy drinks to PTSD. > High energy drink use, which was classified as consuming two or more drinks per day, was significantly associated with those survey respondents who reported mental health problems, anger-related behaviors and fatigue, the authors found. The above passage is about as close as the article gets to its title, and it's left vague by combining mental health problems, an…
Also the causal direction between say, fatigue and energy drink consumption, is not at all obvious....
Considering the effect of caffeine on sleep, it's a very small leap to make
Re: The military’s obsession with energy drinks is contributing to PTSD
#18The current facts about coffee and sugar are the following: drinking coffee is good for your mental and physical, while sugar is linked to depression, addiction, anxiety, heart problems, obesity and not surprisingly, PTSD: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4522929/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4086302/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5056806/
You're leaving out many things about coffee. Specifically, caffeine, which energy drinks are often loaded with. Caffeine on its own can cause anxiety (See "Caffeine-induced anxiety disorder") and is linked to depression. Let alone workers consuming caffeine during work time with headaches(or other withdrawal symptoms) on their days off who still haven't figured it out the stuff is just plain not good for you.
I've stopped drinking coffee as it would frequently give me anxiety and sometimes panic attacks. I now drink tea or water at work. However, I still need to work harder on cutting down on sugar.
Re: The military’s obsession with energy drinks is contributing to PTSD
#19[deleted]
Re: The military’s obsession with energy drinks is contributing to PTSD
#20The current facts about coffee and sugar are the following: drinking coffee is good for your mental and physical, while sugar is linked to depression, addiction, anxiety, heart problems, obesity and not surprisingly, PTSD: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4522929/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4086302/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5056806/
From personal experience I'd say coffee is not always good for your mental state. If I drink a cup every day for a week I get into a constant state of anxiety and nervousness. I also get dizzy during workouts. I also can tell when my girlfriend had coffee because she will be much more combative in discussions.
As with a lot of other things observe yourself and don't blindly trust studies. even if the study finds positive results for 90% of people you may be in the 10%.