I've gone back and forth. I'm doing well sticking to 2 rules. No more than 2 normal caffeinated drinks per day and never after 2pm.

Edit: and I drink 2-3 cups of decaff coffee per day but there is no limit on that.

I've used caffeine "medicinally" for over a year now. I start with a microdose until it's not effective, then increase the dosage weekly until I'm at more than 1.5 cups of coffee daily, then I drop down to a microdose again to wean myself off while still having a little something for the withdrawals, then stay off it until I "need it" again.

I'm also bipolar, so that does change things for me, but I think it also motivates me to be really intentional about my caffeine intake so I don't end up in the 'madness' stage you described.

I'm also self-employed and only work 20hrs per week, so I have the privilege of taking the recovery time I need because I can just put a pause on the "extra stuff", which I realize most people don't have the option of doing.

I think if you can be intentional about it, it can be worth it, especially if you can be so intentional about it as to not need a recovery period

I've used caffeine "medicinally" for over a year now. I start with a microdose until it's not effective, then increase the dosage weekly until I'm at more than 1.5 cups of coffee daily, then I drop down to a microdose again to wean myself off while still having a little something for the withdrawals, then stay off it until I "need it" again.

I'm also bipolar, so that does change things for me, but I think it also motivates me to be really intentional about my caffeine intake so I don't end up in the 'madness' stage you described.

I'm also self-employed and only work 20hrs per week, so I have the privilege of taking the recovery time I need because I can just put a pause on the "extra stuff", which I realize most people don't have the option of doing.

I think if you can be intentional about it, it can be worth it, especially if you can be so intentional about it as to not need a recovery period

I'm in that group where caffeine is calming (often makes me sleepy) and I never have physical withdrawl if I skip a couple of days. My cousin on the other hand is physically addicted to the caffeine. I have seen how it affects him if he doesn't get any.

Personally, if caffeine affected me that way, I'd never touch the stuff ever again and I'd look for other solutions and coping mechanisms.

Caffeine give me super powers but the disruption to my desperately needed sleep inevitably causes something fucking terrible and life-changing to happen.

But there's more to it than just "caffeine". I can drink matcha pretty much as desired with little difficulty. But instant coffee will fuck up my life before the end of the jar, which arrives rapidly.

Caffeine is a stimulant. If it helps productivity and mood, but leads to overuse, I would guess this indicates that you're not getting the right amounts of stimulants elsewhere.

If you're medicated for ADHD, perhaps consider changing the dosing. If you're not medicated, now may be a time to consider it. In consultation with knowledgeable doctors of course.

But yeah probably cut out caffeine. It doesn't sound like its helping you.

With any drug, you have to understand that chasing the same level of effect you get when you start will only cause your tolerance and dependence to deepen. You have to accept that for the first two weeks of use, its all diminishing returns. However, eventually a equilibrium can be reached so long as you have consistent doses and don't try increasing to compensate. Then you can enjoy the slight benefits of things like caffeine in the early morning without the habit growing and the downsides with it.

Also specifically with coffee/tea (and other caffeinated beverages)its important to remember that they're diuretics. This means they cause you to expel a lot of water and you have to drink more water to compensate or you will become dehydrated. I find that drinking a cup of water before having coffee reduces the chances of a headache developing substantially.

Our brains crave novelty, or new stimuli. It seems appropriate to me to switch from one stimulant to the next as you build tolerance to each. If there are enough to cycle through, hopefully resistance to each one will drop by the time you need to return to it.

The problem it seems you are facing is that there aren't enough different stimulants to cycle through, as well as some possible fear-based thinking about overuse (because we live in a society that forces that thinking upon us). So you're thinking of switching stimulants on and off rather than moving on to the next one.

Hobbies that highly stimulate the brain also function as doses of stimulants when used with intention.