Eggs and bananas get me through the rough times. Also frozen burritos. There are times to eat well and then there are times to just eat. Caffeine and nicotine do not give you energy. This is important to internalize. They let you borrow energy from your near-future self. They are like a credit card for your metabolism, giving you an advance on the consciousness that you're running out of. They do not actually put any money back in the bank.
I don't know where I would be without PB&J with a sliced banana in, and Cinnamon Toast Crunch is my reason for getting up in the morning. I'm a big fan of the little things. Of course you're right about the credit analogy for these substances. It's the ease of access to the short-term solution without planning recovery that compounds the problem.
Big time. Dated a girl whose dad and grandad were both psychoanalysts. Grandad, to get dad through med school, gave him a couple bottles of Dexedrine to keep him up and a couple bottles of Thorazine for when he had too much Dexedrine. Dude was fucked up even like 20 years later. Not sure it was the drugs but the story is better if it was.
I don't even want to think about the bonafide culture of ADHD medication abuse in post-secondary education and even high school. Fuck all that shit, even if it helps you cram for a class. ADHD diagnosis should require a fucking month-long study of your living habits or something, and parental input should be disregarded by default.