Kava for Panic Attacks/Agoraphobia

[Blinkyrocket]

I know it's not likely anyone here has experience with agoraphobia, but does anyone have experience with Kava helping/stopping panic attacks and not just anxiety? Like, I'm talking about the full blown "this is never gonna end, I've gotta get out of here" agoraphobic panic attacks.

I tried xanax today to drive to my parents restaurant which is a 15 minute drive and my heart rate was a little fast but I never panicked. However, the times I've tried kava, I haven't gone that far but actually felt calmer than the xanax made me feel. So, basically I felt calmer with the kava, but made more progress with the xanax. So, if no-one's got answers that's fine, I'm just gonna keep trying and seeing which is more effective.

 

[nickbroken]

I know it's not likely anyone here has experience with agoraphobia, but does anyone have experience with Kava helping/stopping panic attacks and not just anxiety? Like, I'm talking about the full blown "this is never gonna end, I've gotta get out of here" agoraphobic panic attacks.

Have dealt with I for 20 years on and off, has really been difficult to deal with, but everyone has their difficulties. The kava I find that helps is also kava high in Dhk. Boroguru/Nene/fun, ect. Micro is better for convenience. Honestly you need more than just kava though. Exercise, good diet, meditate focusing on breathing remember if you don't hyperventilate you can't have a panic attack. Also seek therapy if possible and CBT group and always remember that it can't hurt you and will always pass whether you want it to or not.

 

[Blinkyrocket]

Have dealt with I for 20 years on and off, has really been difficult to deal with, but everyone has their difficulties. The kava I find that helps is also kava high in Dhk. Boroguru/Nene/fun, ect. Micro is better for convenience. Honestly you need more than just kava though. Exercise, good diet, meditate focusing on breathing remember if you don't hyperventilate you can't have a panic attack. Also seek therapy if possible and CBT group and always remember that it can't hurt you and will always pass whether you want it to or not.

Exercise is one of the things I find hard to get myself to do because the heart pounding and the breathlessness remind of my symptoms but then again that's part of the reason they tell you to do it.

 

[nickbroken]

Exercise is one of the things I find hard to get myself to do because the heart pounding and the breathlessness remind of my symptoms but then again that's part of the reason they tell you to do it.

I know it can be scary rapid heart beat use to bother me also, but it's Ok. Your heart is sulpose to do that. Trt doing light things like going on walks or yoga or anything you enjoy really the biggest thing I learned about exercising is you have to do things you enjoy or you won't stick with it. I think yoga would especially be good for you because it teaches you how to breathe properly.

 

[Kavashua]

I no longer experience agoraphobia but still deal with overwhelming anxiety and I agree kava is much more effective than xanax. I don't have much luck with kava though if I drink it during an episode so I try to be proactive with it and drink before I put myself in a triggering situation. I typically choose KWK pouni ono because for me it hits that inbetween sweet spot of being calming but not overly sedating

 

[2Intense]

Exercise is one of the things I find hard to get myself to do because the heart pounding and the breathlessness remind of my symptoms but then again that's part of the reason they tell you to do it.

Hey Blinkyrocket check out this book Amazon product it discusses the very topic. I have GAD and never knew that people who suffer from panic attacks make this negative association with panic. In hindsight it makes perfect sense. The book takes what we know - exercise improves our brain and explains the science behind it.

 

[Kojo Douglas]

One precaution if you are relying on Kava (or planning on relying on Kava) for full-blown panic attacks - Kava doesn't usually provide immediate relief. Except in really optimal situations, Kava doesn't act with the same clinical precision as a Xanax or other prescription anti-anxiety medication. I use Kava Candy when I am generally feeling anxious and nervous and it usually turns me around in 30 or 40 minutes. But an actual panic attack is something else entirely, it is a kind of crisis state of mind where you might be thinking you are having a heart attack. In that situation, you probably want to either go to prescriptions (if you have them), seek medical attention, or try to tough it out somewhere. I know that's not very helpful, but I have first hand experience with this from panic attacks when I was younger as well as PTSD episodes about 6 months - 1 year ago.

The danger here is that people ditch their meds for Kava, when they might have a more serious disorder that Kava by itself can't address. Of course, you want to try and address anxiety issues naturally with things like Kava, exercise, diet, mediation, etc. But if you end up in the emergency room and tell the doctor you were told that Kava could cover all your bases, that might generate a complaint about a medical recommendation.

 

[Jerome]

I used it a lot, but yeah, like kavasseur said, its not immediate.

Best to start now and get to the root of your problems. A book that helped me was "Hope and Help for Your Nerves" by Dr. Claire Weekes.

I had crippling panic disorder, several panic attacks a day, insomnia, terribly paranoia about people, couldn't go anywhere.

I haven't had an attack in a couple years now and can even get up and speak publicly again.

Work hard, and you can beat it.

And try decreasing your carbs/sugars and increasing (enormously) the amount of fat and cholesterol you intake. Keeps your mood steady.

 

[Blinkyrocket]

Well, I do know that if kava worked it would be as more of a chronically therapeutic thing. My main problem is agoraphobia so I guess I just gotta get outside everyday and get used to it.

 

[nickbroken]

Well, I do know that if kava worked it would be as more of a chronically therapeutic thing. My main problem is agoraphobia so I guess I just gotta get outside everyday and get used to it.

Trust me as someone who has suffered from it most of my life. Meds can only do so much natural and pharmaceutical. There is a price to pay with whichever you take and your anxiety most likely will never be 100% gone and that's Ok. I use hate anxiety and panic attacks because I felt like it robbed me from so many things in my life, but one day I started to accept it. Because it honestly made me a better person. How can anxiety make you a better person you might ask? Well for starters. If I didnr have anxiety I would still be in drugs, or in jail, or dead. I say this because I was a bad person and lived a messed up life.

I occasionally talk to people I knew from those days of my life. If they are alive they are still on drugs or in jail or a mix of the two. Some are dead. Also anxiety talk Mr compassion. To be good to other people and understand that we all suffer. You are not alone in what you are dealing with over 2 million people in America alone have agorpa

 

[nickbroken]

You have to, herbs or pharmaceuticals there is no easy answer. You have this for a reason and maybe it isn't as bad as you think. I use to hate anxiety for robbing of things in my life. Until one day I accepted it because I realized if I didn't have anxiety I would still be on drugs, in jail or dead because mod for thr people I knew from back then fit into that category.
Anxiety also made me compassionate to my fellow man. I realized that we all suffer in some way and mine isn't particularly worse than anyone elses. Infact if we are honest there are literally billions of people on this planet that would trade places with you, and that is very humbling. Noone knows what this life is about or what or if there is anything after. Enjoy yourself while you can, try not to sweet the small things because in the end they are small.

 

[Jerome]

Well, I do know that if kava worked it would be as more of a chronically therapeutic thing. My main problem is agoraphobia so I guess I just gotta get outside everyday and get used to it.

Face the fear. Bathe in it. Embrace it even if it makes you vomit. Laugh at your fear. Even if your heart is pounding and your knees are shaking. Emerse yourself in the fear until your amygdala is conditioned to not respond to your trigger. That's what worked for me.

 

[Jerome]

You have to, herbs or pharmaceuticals there is no easy answer. You have this for a reason and maybe it isn't as bad as you think. I use to hate anxiety for robbing of things in my life. Until one day I accepted it because I realized if I didn't have anxiety I would still be on drugs, in jail or dead because mod for thr people I knew from back then fit into that category.
Anxiety also made me compassionate to my fellow man. I realized that we all suffer in some way and mine isn't particularly worse than anyone elses. Infact if we are honest there are literally billions of people on this planet that would trade places with you, and that is very humbling. Noone knows what this life is about or what or if there is anything after. Enjoy yourself while you can, try not to sweet the small things because in the end they are small.

Nicely put. You're spot on with that wisdom.

I suppose I was the same way. Panic disorder got me off chronic drug use and got me a job and living healthful. Also got married and had beautiful kids. Without the anxiety I might still be working labor and spending any extra money on pot and booze.

Again, very well said.

 

[nickbroken]

Nicely put. You're spot on with that wisdom.

The kava is speaking through me.

 

[Jerome]

The kava is speaking through me.

Haha. Nah, it sounds like you've thought long and hard about that.

 

[nickbroken]

Haha. Nah, it sounds like you've thought long and hard about that.

Ahh yeah one thing that is interesting about having agoraphobia is it gives you a lot of time to ponder life and see the world for what it is, or at least what you believe it is. For me there are times I will be out doing something and just stop and think about what a trip it is to be alive. To be surrounded be people coming and going different from us but very similar in the sense that we all have hopes, dreams, fears ect, and we are all in this together riding a little blue space ship to the grave. Its so easy to get caught up in the things in the world and make them out to be more than they are. I am very guilty of this. I am currently making a big deal out of kava being late which is strange because I can die in my sleep and it won't matter. So I'm essentially worrying about nothing. I will say one bring being alive is amazing, and if there is or isn't anything after this I am happy to have experienced it. The good and the bad because it makes life amazing. Not kidding though the kava is flowing and life is beautiful. I have a woman who loves me, a roof over my head, food in my stomach and a Peace I haven't had most of my life. Its going to end one day because it must but it just makes it that much more beautiful. Next shell is to you my friend and to everyone in the board. A group of beautiful adventurers all coming together for something that touches our lives.

 

[Jerome]

Let's here it for partners who will love crazy people. I've got the most patient of them all. Even when I believed she was putting poison in my water, she stuck by me. Love, could quite literally, heal the world...