[kcima]

  Modafinil is also compared to amphetamines (which are
  often used either for recreation or to treat ADHD), since
  its effect is somewhat similar. Generally, the comparison
  states that amphetamines are bad for you and that 
  Modafinil is not as bad because it "works differently",
  but there is probably more overlap than the proponents of
  Modafinil would like you to think.

There is one massively huge difference between amphetamines and Modafinil.

Modafinil is not addictive.

I have a prescription for Modafinil (required in the US) and have been taking it for over 5 years. Getting the prescription was fairly simple and required going to a sleep doctor and getting a "sleep study".

I would never have thought of myself as narcoleptic, although I remember frequently being unable to stay awake in high school math class. I think some would characterize me as "a sleepy guy" and I do have to be careful while driving late at night.

I don't take it on weekends, or vacations. Even for up to 3 weeks or a month, I'll go without Modafinil.

Taking Modafinil keeps me alert and excited about my code and my business.

Not taking Modafinil helps me relax and not think about the stress of running a business. I enjoy things like TV and Movies a whole lot more. Playing with my kids is also more fun when not on Modafinil.

But when I need to get back to work, within an hour of taking Modafinil, I am excited about the code in front of me and can work productively for 12 or more hours per day. When evening comes and you know you need rest, there is no temptation to take more Modafinil and work through the night - although that would be possible.

On more than one occasion, I have forgotten to take Modafinil before work in the morning. These days were much less productive, filled with self-promoted distractions and much less excitement about my work. But more importantly, there is no urge or need to take Modafinil; so much so, that I am able to forget about it completely.

These non-addictive characteristics are completely unlike amphetamines (which I have also unfortunately tried in my more distant history).

Addiction is not something that is just in the mind. Everybody who takes amphetamines or smokes cigarettes on a daily basis, will eventually become addicted. Some are able to overcome that addiction, others are not, but the physical addiction is a certainty.

No one who takes amphetamines on a daily basis will ever forget not to take them, nor will they enjoy a 2 week vacation without them. Same goes for the smoker without cigarettes.

Modifinil is quite easily forgotten for long periods of time. I think it is important to note this difference.

[hythloday]

Addiction is not just in the mind

Addiction, in rats at least, appears to be more in the environment than the body. Rat Park[0] is a fascinating experiment demonstrating this.

[0] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rat_Park

[chimeracoder]

Thank you for bringing up the Rat Park experiment.

The Rat Park experiment is often conveniently ignored because it essentially debunks a lot of common 'wisdom' regarding drugs. It's hard to villainize certain drugs as 'bad' and evil' while endorsing others in light of the Rat Park experiment, which shows that 'bad' drugs aren't chemically 'bad' - they're just taken in a 'bad' setting.

Fortunately, the theory is now becoming harder to ignore, because that's the basis of a lot of effective modern drug treatment, which tries to identify the underlying cause of drug addiction (the environmental/behavioral problems that cause an individual to abuse drugs), rather than focusing on the drug use itself. That's not saying that drugs don't have a physical impact - they do - but if drugs are being used as an outlet to compensate for environmental factors, then removing access to those substances will just cause the underying problems to manifest in other (potentially worse) ways.

It's the difference between treating the symptom of a disease and treating the disease itself. Yes, you might want to take cough medicine if you have lung cancer, since it'll help with your symptoms, but you'd be a fool to think that that's going to cure the tumor that causes you to cough.

This theory is very powerful, because it means that you can use the same techniques to treat drug addiction and other psychological ailments like PTSD, anorexia and self-mutilation, which are themselves often best thought of as psychophysiological responses to environmental factors.

Interestingly, if you really want to use physiological symptoms as the basis for determining whether a drug is addictive or not, then alcohol is probably the most addictive substance known to man. If you ever want to give yourself a scare, look up some of the symptoms of acute alcohol withdrawal (which can actually kill you, after a long and painful bout of delirium tremens and worse).

TL;DR: Addiction is best thought of as a mental response to environmental factors. So, in a sense, it really is 'all in the mind'. Or alternatively, not at all in the mind, and all in the environment. Whichever way you prefer to think of it.

[polyfractal]

Furthermore, the article author is really stretching it with this statement:

"Generally, the comparison states that amphetamines are bad for you and that Modafinil is not as bad because it "works differently", but there is probably more overlap than the proponents of Modafinil would like you to think."

This has nothing to do with "proponents of Modafinil" - they work in different ways on the pharmacological level. The mechanism of modafinil is still being analyzed but it has been shown fairly conclusively that they operate differently.

[swombat]

Actually, I remember reading an article (on HN no less) that said that some studies had found that actually Modafinil worked similarly to amphetamines. Unfortunately I can't find the link for it anymore...

[darrenkopp]

I take Adderall, but not on the weekend. Always be careful when using phrases like "always" or "no one." I would not characterize myself as addicted to adderall either. Many times I have actually quit adderall and tried other ADHD medicines, but come back to adderall because it works better than the alternatives.

My body seems to have no problem stopping or starting amphetamines.