Coffee as an anti-depressant

I notice that when I am feeling blue, which is rather often these days, three or four cups of strong coffee usually brightens my mood considerably. This evening I woke up and everything sucked, so I drank about 3 cups of coffee, did about 6 sets of 50 pushups and 6 sets of 15 bench dips, and now I feel quite good.

Ironically, I read an article just recently that said people who drink multiple cups of coffee each day are less likely to commit suicide. Not sure how true that is, but I am beginning to think those findings might be correct.

What do you think? Do you find that coffee lifts your mood? I know it wakes people up, but do you find it to have a temporary antidepressant effect on you?

 

exercise seems more likely

 

there are various studies that come to different conclusions about foods

you have to be cautious about how you interpret the conclusions of these studies, because often they either show you one aspect of a food and not another, or they show a correlation that doesn't take into account confounding factors.

it's also important to consider that industries know that studies like these drive consumer behavior, and are active in trying to manipulate the results.

One medical study found that people who smoked had lower rates of alzhimers. It was later determined that the reason why it prevented alzhimers is that the smokers died well before alzhimers developed, and that in the survivors, it actually increased the rate.

Apparently there has been a recent study declaring that people who drink 2-4 cups of coffee per day have a lower risk of suicide.

A Finnish study found that those who drank 7 cups or more per day had a higher risk of suicide.

So this either means that the quantity of coffee consumed affects its outcomes, or that there are other correlations that are the controlling factors.

There are a lot of potential problems with these studies. One problem is that coffee consumption might be correlated with employment, or with income, and that this, rather than coffee consumption, affects suicide rates.

It might also be that people who have difficulty tolerating caffeine are more likely to be in poor health, and not surprisingly don't drink any coffee and are also at higher risk for suicide.

That coffee might make you feel good in the short term is not a surprise. Meth, crack, and other drugs might do the same, but there's reason to think that these aren't so good for you.

It's really not clear if coffee will help or hurt you. Either is possible.

Regular, gentle aerobic exercise is a clearer path to wellness.

If you feel that drinking coffee is helping you, I would neither encourage nor discourage you.

 

if they did a study with two groups randomly selected from a pool of people at equal risk for suicide/depression, and found a difference in outcomes between those two groups, I'd be more likely to believe that coffee was a causal factor.

 

I get depressed when I run out of coffee

 

do some mental push-ups. :redface:

coffee dependency is for the drones. I'm still just at a half or less cup with milk. Fine without it. :sunny:

 

Some get not only depressed when they run out but also violent.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bbv5B71KmkA"]Airplane 2 - "Out of Coffee" scene - YouTube

 

GIVE ME SOME FUCKING COFFEE!!:banghead: :cuss:

 

I'm pretty sure it's a dopamine agonist.

But exercising activates endorphins, which is probably more of that effect.

Coffee strings me out compared to any positive effects it gives, I just drink it because we have unlimited coffee at work and it wakes me up.

I think I've done way too many hard stimulants in my day to notice any real effect from coffee.

 

I don't think coffee makes me happy but I get ill as hell when I don't have it.

 

I prefer to think of it as anti-psychotic

 

can't life without three strong cups of coffee. coffee lifts my mood and helps me concentrate on my guitar playing and makes me less paranoid throughout the day.

 

yes, coffee gives me happy, warm fuzzy feelings

hot drinks seem to warm the body & soul
so tea is also great

hot chai soy latte is one of my favorite drinks...
the spices in chai smell and taste heavenly

 

sometimes my coffee smells like pee

 

...that made me laugh out loud

where do you get your coffee from?

 

tim hortons


it was a joke though ...based on the earlier post about when my pee smells like coffee

 

yea, I figured
Tim hortons? I visited one while in Canada. I didn't get anything though. My friend got a donut.

 

keurig too but thats mostly for backup use when tim hortons is closed

 

I feel like the positive effects of coffee or caffeine are related to the cycle of addiction....you withdrawal through the night, wake up in the morning feeling like shit because your body is craving the caffeine, drink a cup or 5 of coffee, feel instantly energized and better overall, and accredit it to the coffee when in actuality its just your body getting its fix for the day.

I'm super addicted to caffeine (i drink a lot of green tea, and occasionally soda..never been a fan of coffee) and I feel like shit without it - I get headaches, I can't think clearly, I have no energy. Caffeine certainly makes me feel happier but only because the lack of it makes me feel so horrible.

 

I like going to the Coffee Bean and I used to go to Seattle's Best when they were in Border's book stores but now those are closed...

the independent coffee shop near me is called 'Back to the Grind' and that place is top notch

I'd say coffee shops in general could kind of be a good anti-depressant. Relaxing environment, great smells, delicious coffee..