How prevalent are study/work aiding drugs (adderall, etc) in the science fields

How prevalent are study/work aiding drugs (adderall, etc) in the science fields.
I've heard in certain areas, almost everyone is taking something, is this true?

I can’t speak for how prevalent they are, but I wouldn’t recommend it. I spent two years on amps and my cognitive abilities still haven’t fully recovered.

They are safe at low doses, but over time you can develop a serious dependence on them. If you are young I would suggest you avoid them or only use them for special occasions where you need the heightened abilities.

If you are older and struggling to keep up with young people by all means take them, I feel in this situation they are fine and you are old enough to have firmly developed routines and habits that adding a pill to won't endanger.

I would say that their prevalence is almost ubiquitous. However, among students without a diagnosis of ADHD, those taking Adderall did not show any improved performance compared to those taking placebo.

I've been prescribed stimulant medication since childhood and I find it difficult to study without it. I do not take it before an exam.

>I do not take it before an exam.

Why not?

I use ritalin on certain occasions
Very high-functioning people probably take them all the time. You don't get any smarter using them, just a lot more focused, so you have to be smart to begin with to make good use of them.

Taking stims before most exams is pointless unless you have to do a lot of reading. Just take them a day before the exam while revising, I found that I was still more focused than usual the day after I take ritalin.

How did that study work? I remember in high school people using adderall for tests but that is useless, it isn't a magical drug that can teach you stuff you don't already know. It's just amphetamines, all it does is make you much more motivated and makes boring or tedious tasks much more mentally rewarding. I always got so much done on adderall, and I think if you use it to study for s while you probably will progress at a faster rate due to staying focused (and not stopping to sleep or eat). I really wish I could try adderall again but I have no friends.

How did they affect them?

Here in Western Australia there is a bit of a dextro amphetamine, 'dixie' problem caused by very loose lifetime prescriptions in the 90s.

They get sold by the older students down the to the first and second years.
Most of the masters student have learned that discipline is more important than amphetamines.

r8 my stack
>1000mg lion's mane 2 times per day
>500mg ashwagandha
>500mg (50%) bacopa monnieri
>100mg gingko biloba 2 times per day

Polchinski said addys lead to a few very productive days but ultimately he didn't like their effects and didn't use them again. This was after he was already a theoretical physics star.

I take longer to see solutions/make connections when I approach problems. I can still solve them but it takes me a while longer. It has gotten better though, thank god for neuroplasticity.

>dried lions mane
pleb, its like the easiest mushroom to grow

>mfw was diagnosed with ADHD when I was young and was put on ritalin for a few months

Turned me into a zombie, was awful, why anyone would want to take it is beyond me.

If you need to focus for an exam or study session, drink a shitload of coffee. It's legal, tastes good, and it extends your lifespan (because it has anti-inflammatory effects like aspirin).

Because sometimes you need to sit still and get work done. Just don't overuse them and you should be fine.

Caffeine doesn't really work if you use it all the time.
Start with low doses of nicotine for the occasions you really need to concentrate first.

>taking ritalin
>not buying pure powdered L-amphetamine by the gram and pressing your own pills

found the problem

No and fuck off to 420chan

Nobody takes just L-amphetamine.

D-amphetamine is the more active of the two, while L is responsible for more physical side effects.

They don't even produce racemic amphetamine any more and most are either lisdexamphetamine or 2/3 D to L

>Caffeine doesn't really work if you use it all the time.
this. I drink a nice big cup of black coffee about once or twice a week only and I feel like a superhuman for at least a few hours.

Good post, I used to be totally against the stuff but I can't deny that 1/4 of a pill once or twice a week helps me get so much more shit done.

>L amphetamine
Lol, enjoy your body high that does little for your cognitive abilities, brainlet

I'm seeing a lot of posts on how they fuck you up here.

Does this still apply if you're diagnosed with ADHD and were prescribed them?
>inb4 adhd is a fake disorder etc etc

Didn't come here for that, just a straight answer.

They are fine if you actually have ADHD/ADD.

The problem comes from abuse.

But it's so bitter, how the fuck do you do it?

Strategic non tweaker use of stimulants can be great, but many people become fiends for it.

It literally does make you smarter don't let anyone tell you it doesn't.

one just does it. and it doesn't take long for one to actually enjoy the taste.
I don't know how the fuck people drink vodka or smoke cigarettes, but yeah.

I can only speak for astrophysics: other than caffeine, stims/uppers are rare. Booze and weed are much more common. Astro conferences are a time of heavy partying. A good number of occasional shrooms/psychedelics users too.

Get good beans and brew it properly.

No way man, fuck caffeine in general. Shit fucks you up hard. Your mind becomes efficient, but uncreative. Once per month max is a decent rule of thumb, and even then only drink a coke or something, don't go for an energy drink or a coffee. I've seen caffeine take the mental abilities of too many of my friends to go down that rabbit hole. Worst part is that they think it's helping them because they can memorize shit better and therefore get grades inflated relative to their comprehensional, intuitive understanding of a subject, and ability to logically and rigorously deduce / prove shit.

Watch out Veeky Forums, don't fall for the caffeine meme that's been forced on us by Starbucks and the like since the 90s and Seattle's tentacles began to try to conquer our country's psyche.

So... are you trolling or just stupid?

I, for one, enjoy my daily Lisdexamfetamine. It helped me get into medical school , and it's going to help me get a 99th percentile score on the boards.

Like, no fucking way man, not a troll fer realsies.

Caffeine is some serious shit. People take it way too flippantly and our media is even peddling it to the kiddies. They want you hooked from a young age so you think you're smarter than you are and can be a good little worker bee without having the time to stop, relax, and think about your surroundings and try to improve our society, because that would take (((THEM))) out of power.

If you've been hooked, try cutting it out for a month (or more if you're hooked real bad) and just watch and see how much more you think about shit rather than just rushing through.

Time is a valuable commodity. Caffeine takes that away from you by making you focus too much and complete tasks too quickly.

Ok, thanks for clearing that up. Thought I was accidentally making myself retarded.

You're on Veeky Forums so you're already retarded.

same for ecology, although i think psychedelics may be even more prevalent. Students use way more uppers than researchers. It seems like those who are more focused on theory and computation use more than people who work in the field, which makes since. I take adderall often but ive been prescribed since i was 6 years old, so its more to keep my head on straight than for doping.
conferences and field stations are party prone, i think this is a universal for all fields.

i dont have this problem, i get lost in my thoughts.

>if you are older and struggling to keep up with young people by all means kys
Fixed it for you