Kava FAQ Will Kava ever be as good as alcohol?

[Blinkyrocket]

I hate myself, I am a burden upon others.

 

[Blinkyrocket]

The only thing she could do was pity me, she couldn't love me.

 

[verticity]

@Blinkyrocket I know you are feeling bad now, understandably. But take it from someone who understands loneliness, even this will pass.

 

[Groggy]

Yes it is a Radiohead song. It's kind of hilarious to hear this angelic choir singing lines like "You're so fucking special"... Regarding the topic of this thread, I recommend you listen to the song "High and Dry" by Radiohead.. (get it?)

That video looks familiar I love this song.

 

[EQ]

A lot of the older guys love Kava because they've been through the trials of Alcohol bliss, and seeing the negatives.
Kava get's better with more pain to be honest.
Learning to love yourself is the hardest thing somebody can achieve, and in order to care for others you must go through deep emotional processes that alcohol only postpones.

I hate myself, I am a burden upon others.

Not true. I like your postings here. Let go of people who push you away, and the ones you mistakenly have. People can only give you an amount of love that you allow in.

 

[GussWest]

Don't put the pussy on a pedestal, bro.

 

[Blinkyrocket]

I feel that I must throw up now. Excuse me

 

[Capitán Bastos]

Alcohol is a killer.
I'd say I've met women who are like alcohol in my day. I met my ex wife on a very liquid night out, she was sober.. I've met women who are like a lot of things. My wife is like kava. We were both sober when we met.
Yup, she's a keeper. Only side effect so far has been a slight nausea from the aroma of my moist ache.
It's not just losing inhibitions, it's also losing control over one's faculties and saying and doing stuff out of character. Makes you lose judgement and act more primitively.
I'm not as middle aged as @verticity , but I suspect I'm older than you @Blinkyrocket. I

 

[AgentBloke]

I remember loving alcohol. I still chase that feeling occasionally, if I'm in the right frame of mind and I mange to limit myself it can still be a very pleasant experience. It's difficult though, it's so easy to go from being chilled and having a great time with friends to driving the procelain bus and oblivion.

I think getting older helped. I can't drink as much, I don't want to drink as much, I drink because I enjoy the taste and no longer just to get wasted.

It's difficult being someone people associate with enjoying a good drink. I get so much alcohol given to me, the house is full of the stuff and I just can't face drinking it most of the time.

Single Malt though, that's something I can get behind most of the time

 

[GussWest]

 

[GussWest]

soberrecovery.com

 

[Edward]

I'm sitting here intoxicated right now so I apologize if I'm being redundant or if there's a thread like this one somewhere else. I wonder though, if I'm going through reverse tolerance than its understand me if I feel that Kava cannot be compared to alcohol. But, as I sit here so pleasantly and blissfully intoxicated I truly wonder if kava really can ever top this feeling, I know I've said in the past that when kava was working that it was better than being drunk but being drunk right now makes me wonder if I was just lieing to myself to make myself feel better because I say, this alcohol can't be topped, there is no better feeling. But, I wouldn't mind somebody trying to save me, and tell me the contrary, I'm just finding it hard to believe that kava is just as good or even better than this feeling I have right now.

In common with the other oldies above and speaking as someone who spent just over 20 years drinking heavily more or less every day, progressively drinking more and more until it was starting to be a major problem, I would say that kava is better than alcohol. I know exactly what you mean about the feeling that alcohol gives you but when you've got to drink 8 beers to even start to get that feeling because your tolerance is so high it gets less fun. Consider also that you get to the point that you have to drink a lot to get enough alcohol buzz the night of drinking but that amount will almost certainly leave you feeling at least a bit ill the next morning and the fun gets even less. I would say that the substances you decide to use for recreation or medicine are entirely up to you. At points in your life you may prefer alcohol and that's fine. Kava will always be there for you and at some point later on in life I think you will find kava more appealing than alcohol. I could be wrong but we'll see. Until then... cheers

 

[Edward]

Oh, and put it this way... I've never had a really good kava session and then woken up the next day to find I've done a shit on the kitchen floor. Neither have I ever pissed anywhere inappropriate. Or punched anyone. Enough said and please don't ask ;-)

 

[Edward]

One more thing... I've been drinking kava regularly for a year now and I have absolutely no cravings for alcohol anymore, I can completely live without it.

 

[AgentBloke]

Oh, and put it this way... I've never had a really good kava session and then woken up the next day to find I've done a shit on the kitchen floor. Neither have I ever pissed anywhere inappropriate. Or punched anyone. Enough said and please don't ask ;-)

Yeah I think it was stuff like that that kind of ended it for me. Blacking out, doing stuff I was ashamed of, hell getting arrested for just being an arse. I don't think I ever took it as far as some people, I didn't drink every day though I was often tempted. It was a crutch though, I found myself "having a quick drink" just to make something else easier and I luckily caught myself before that became a thing. I'd say I was on the brink of acoholism.

I can enjoy a bottle of good beer now, and that's generally all it is. One bottle. I'm glad I managed to get to that point and I can honestly say I wouldn't miss it if I couldn't drink again so I don't think I'd ever get back there.

 

[VictoryRider]

Blinky it's probably because you're still young and new to alcohol...once you've taken Mr. Alky's Wild Ride for many years, it will become glaringly obvious that Kava is the better drug and superior experience. Also, if you're having a hard time getting through kava's "reverse tolerance" and aren't getting good consistent effects yet, alcohol can have a certain appeal for it's guaranteed effectiveness.

In my 20's I could never drink kava for more than a few weeks at a time. There was just too much stuff to do that doesn't suit the kava experience...bars, concerts, nightclubs, raves, parties, out late, all over the place etc...
All that stuff is better suited toward alcohol. But when that period of life comes to an end, you'll still be accustomed to that same level and frequency of drinking...everything about it gets worse, it becomes less enjoyable (then you drink more), your body can't handle it as well, the health consequences start becoming more apparent, sloppiness increases, generally all the negatives become the most prominent aspect...but because of the nature of addiction, your mind will still say...ehh just drink more you'll be fine.

When I look at what happened to all my friends who drank hard and never gave it up (most of them), it becomes obvious that all the negative things you hear about alcohol are very true. Some have had withdrawal seizures while sleeping(more than once), blood pressure spiking near stroke-level, multiple DUI's, car wrecks, violence, classic alcoholic marital issues, endless unreasonable arguments, increased blackout occurrence, rehab, AA, relapse and a doctor visit would surely show many other physical problems.

The fact that kava is effective and enjoyable for both recreational and medicinal uses, while being relatively harmless to the body and completely free of physical addiction makes it clearly one of, if not the best drugs to ever exist. Add to that, that it doesn't negatively effect your behavior or thought process and if anything it slightly increases empathy.

*Very* well put @Shakas.

I still have an alcohol evening now and again, but I don't love the effects anymore. It feels good for about
.5 hour, then starts to go downhill. I feel like crap the next day (even after only 2-3 drinks), brain full of sludge,
no energy, etc. The older I get the more pronounced this is. Nowadays, I can avoid alcohol just thinking about how I'm going
to feel later on/next day. Blech. Generally not worth it.

With Kava, it's all good (TM).

 

[Groggy]

In common with the other oldies above and speaking as someone who spent just over 20 years drinking heavily more or less every day, progressively drinking more and more until it was starting to be a major problem, I would say that kava is better than alcohol. I know exactly what you mean about the feeling that alcohol gives you but when you've got to drink 8 beers to even start to get that feeling because your tolerance is so high it gets less fun. Consider also that you get to the point that you have to drink a lot to get enough alcohol buzz the night of drinking but that amount will almost certainly leave you feeling at least a bit ill the next morning and the fun gets even less. I would say that the substances you decide to use for recreation or medicine are entirely up to you. At points in your life you may prefer alcohol and that's fine. Kava will always be there for you and at some point later on in life I think you will find kava more appealing than alcohol. I could be wrong but we'll see. Until then... cheers

Who you calling oldies I am 41 I have 9 more years until my mid life crisis, thank you very much.

 

[ThePiper]

Better? Its all relative. Some people say a cup of tea is better than being absolutely smashed. I dont like being heavily intoxicated anymore so i can say that kava is preferable to alcohol at this time for me. When you go deep enough into the kava rabbit hole you start questioning what it is about substances that really draws you in. For me, its about increasing my mood and reducing anxiety, or for creativity. Kava can do all that without interrupting my life. Im sure there will by a time when i want to let loose (lose) with something stronger, but the longer i go without alcohol the more i feel the urge to stay sharp and present in life, and actually face my problems proactively instead of regularly dousing the wounds in alcohol

 

[Capitán Bastos]

Actually, not only am I less inclined to drink (or at least overindulge) since I started drinking kava, but ,now that I think about it, I actually drink way less kava as well.
I guess I'm passed the novelty?
Oh, I forgot my tobacco at home before my night shift, just had my first dose after 5 hrs of work, didn't miss it.
Mate helps too, actually a healthy serving of kava with a matespresso chaser is great before work.

I never really was a heavy drinker, but the reason for drinking is imo as important if not more important than quantity and frequency. I've had a rough decade. Made a million and lost a million twice over type decade. I've always been an optimist. Optimism can turn into defiance given enough bullshit in your pool of life.
Having a bad day, then taking to alcohol to sort of prove to yourself that you are strong and can have fun regardless, works for a couple of hours tops. I feel like the alcohol (after the first shower of dopamine) just enhances whatever state of mind you're really in. I internalize and compartmentalize all the time, if you bury chemical waste in a field you won't notice it, but it's there.
I didn't get into real problems, not really, until I was prescribed ambien though.
That stuff should be illegal. I was sleep drinking at times, calling people and saying the weirdest things, waking up with no clue until I checked my texts. I didn't intentionally mix ambien and alcohol, but even the next day the ambien would affect how I took to alcohol. Don't miss it.
Never again.
I know a lot of people with addictions or tendencies, functional yes but still chasing that ultimate party or trying to fill some sort of great abyss..
That's not me.
I self medicate the goal being to be able to be the person I really am, face the daemons and still be able to be the best father, husband, brother, son I can be. In defiance of all the external and internal stressors.
Kava helps.
Kava works.
Sometimes kava reminds me of my grandfathers or the older brother I never had. Or rather, the feeling or state of mind.
They never fixed my problems for me, but they listened, told me I got this and got my mind off the bullshit for a while. You know, it's so subtle, the corrosive stress and soup of negative thoughts, when you live with it for long enough, you don't even notice how inconsiderate and self absorbed you are. I remember especially talking to a neighbor I can't stand before and after kava. After kava I was able to be nice to this individual and actually find aspects of that person and that conversation that I genuinely appreciated. And I always hated small talk and constructed kindness. I'm way more comfortable putting out a fire, almost getting stabbed at work than cringy social gatherings. "So, what do you do? How interesting". Those situations could have me proned to some times drinking in advance and always drinking more than I normally would once I got there. Not so much with kava.
Kava>alcohol
I can't drink kava on a daily though, I've noticed a decline in productivity when I do lol.

 

[Capitán Bastos]

Where is @dino9832 btw?