Wondering if someone could describe the "heady" feeling i am seeing people refer to on here.

[Beefybeeve]

The only problem is I have to go back to work in an hour!

Hello. New person here
I have been interested in kava for a while as i had thought it was something similar to alcohol but does not affect the mind at all.

But as i been looking at these forums i see the term heady a lot and how some people do not like it.
This is exactly why i didnt like marijuana when i tried it when i was younger. I hated that i felt dumber, or felt in ways that was not myself. I didnt like it affecting my mind and thoughts. I also dislike alcohol for making me think in ways I wouldn't when sober as well (if i drink enough).

It sounds to me that kava does affect the mind? Some people say they get an "i love everybody" feeling in the mind. While that sounds nice and all.. I am a super logical person and would not enjoy something causing me to feel things illogical. Even if they are "good" thoughts. For example i would not like something like mdma forcing me into a feeling of happy or good mood. I like having reasons for my emotions otherwise i am annoyed.

Does kava really affect the mind and thoughts? The quote i put above indicates to me kava is strongly affecting the mind if he is worried about going back to work.

Maybe kava isnt for me...
Does anyone know of something that will relax the body but leave the mind alone? That was what i initially thought kava was.
Is that what the "heavy" kava does?

 

[The Kap'n]

Hello. New person here
I have been interested in kava for a while as i had thought it was something similar to alcohol but does not affect the mind at all.

But as i been looking at these forums i see the term heady a lot and how some people do not like it.
This is exactly why i didnt like marijuana when i tried it when i was younger. I hated that i felt dumber, or felt in ways that was not myself. I didnt like it affecting my mind and thoughts. I also dislike alcohol for making me think in ways I wouldn't when sober as well (if i drink enough).

It sounds to me that kava does affect the mind? Some people say they get an "i love everybody" feeling in the mind. While that sounds nice and all.. I am a super logical person and would not enjoy something causing me to feel things illogical. Even if they are "good" thoughts. For example i would not like something like mdma forcing me into a feeling of happy or good mood. I like having reasons for my emotions otherwise i am annoyed.

Does kava really affect the mind and thoughts? The quote i put above indicates to me kava is strongly affecting the mind if he is worried about going back to work.

Maybe kava isnt for me...
Does anyone know of something that will relax the body but leave the mind alone? That was what i initially thought kava was.
Is that what the "heavy" kava does?

We're very similar in the logical feelings category. Having had my thoughts and feelings pushed around by a multitude of different chemicals over the years, I can say that feeling like Me is #1. Problem with me is, I have some pretty serious anxiety I deal with on a day to day basis. It makes it difficult to pick up the phone, do simple tasks, and even get out of bed in the mornings. In short, it sucks. Kava for me is a therapeutic cumulative experience. The original addition of kavalactones to your system may make your literal balance seem off if you take too much, but it will never put a artificial emotion in your head. It can cause you to be more open emotionally. It can cause you to take things into deeper consideration, but it will never forcibly make you think thoughts like other chemicals do. There's no "I love everyone, and everything and I can't get over how soft this fabric is". Just simple quiet. The cumulative part comes in over time. My anxiety levels reduce dramatically the next day after kava. We speculate this is due to some of the kavalactones long half-life in the body still causing the therapeutic effects the next day. Our member @Vekta has dubbed this the "Shield Effect".

It may take a a while of trial and error to find the kava that suits you best for what you're looking for. I assure you, if kava were to augment my thoughts and my emotions forcibly like other drugs have, this website wouldn't be here.

Heady: To me, this is a kava that makes the room feel bigger. I stick with the heavy blends. We can be a bit cryptic in our language, so if you need any pointers, be sure to check out the "new to kava" section.

 

[Beefybeeve]

Well ill definitally be giving it a try then. I plan on trying the borongoru since i have a strong feeling i will prefer the heavy type.

Hoping that i dont require weeks of reverse tolerance.. We will see.

 

[Zaphod]

Heady to me means: a bit of energy, euphoria, general "go get'er done" attitude, more social - you want to go chat with people. Think of the same energy and sociability as a 1-2 beer buzz without any mental slowness. Heavy means to me: deep slow relaxation, just want to sit and chill, the general feeling that a nap would feel really good right now. I take Heady kavas when I get home from work but have a ton of stuff to do but don't want the stress. I got kids to drive around, things to do, etc. I take a Heavy kava when I got nothing to do and am in for the evening and looking for the couch. Both after a bit of time will settle down to relaxation and a good night's sleep - and the next day relaxation is about the same.

 

[Kavashua]

Well ill definitally be giving it a try then. I plan on trying the borongoru since i have a strong feeling i will prefer the heavy type.

Hoping that i dont require weeks of reverse tolerance.. We will see.

That sounds like a good choice, based on what you have said you were looking for that's the route I would have gone

 

[Kojo Douglas]

It often feels like there are as many definitions of "heavy," "heady," or "balanced" as there are Kava drinkers.

For me:

"Heavy": Body relaxation, muscle soreness gone, more "in the limbs."
"Heady": More "behind the eyes" and "stony." A larger psychoactive effect. Some level of giddiness or emotive state change.
"Balanced": Heavy and heady combined, with one not dominating the other. In many ways the ideal Kava effect.

I've noticed that a lot of the new Tongan Kavas feel balanced, and thus really hit a sweet spot for me. Solomons from N@H always gave me a balanced effect as well, if not a bit more on the heady side. If you are wondering what a Tudei feels like, well it can be really heady with a sharp, uppity kind of feeling that tapers off into a lagging slugglishness.

 

[kavamehameha]

I like @Kavasseur 's description! Tongan kavas indeed often feel balanced. Take KWK Pouni Ono for example (however some claim this to be just heady). There are not too many strains that can be called "balanced" though. Usually it leans towards heady or heavy in a distinguished way. But as I noted, this perception has also a subjective component. I think we had a thread about more balanced varieties somewhere...?

 

[Deleted User01]

For me, headiness is like having a bee in my bonnet. I do a Heady Kava at around 3:30 and it helps wash away the doldrums that invade my brain at that time. It gives me a more uplifting attitude. I can still work and I'm nicer to our customers. It's like a pick me up. But after awhile, like all kava, it will start to bring you down and so I take a heavy kava or Nene before I quit work to start the process of decompression. One thing I like to say about Kava, it puts a wrench in your "Give a Shitter". You don't get pissy at every little thing and you gain a little patience. It's a mild drug that gives me just the right amount of relaxation and sedation to calm me down thus put years on my life.

 

[Krunkie McKrunkface]

Does kava affect the mind? In the best possible way!!!!!!!!

[Insert obligatory "at the risk of sounding weird" disclaimer here] I have been doing CBT and DBT and practicing mindfulness and mindful meditation for years now. I do not and have never suffered from any mental disorders for which these were needed as therapy, rather, I'm a great believer in "mental hygiene" despite that old Mental Hygiene Movement's (c 1910 - 1960) - bad rep from the last century, I just don't know a better term than mental hygiene, maybe "mental preventative maintenance?"

Anyway, one of the great things you learn from the stuff I've been doing is recognizing who you are. There is a "person" in your head who does a running sort of stream of consciousness, blabbering away all the time. I call him "the idiot in your head who won't shut up." Because if you ever hear him he is using your voice, and he lives in your head, it's easy to mistakenly believe he is you, that his impressions and thoughts and opinions are yours, but it isn't true. He is a product of your mind, of course, but he is not your mind, any more than your dreams are your actual experiences. Rather, they are inventions of your mind amusing itself, at play, like a couple of puppies or bear cubs wrestling. They aren't really fighting, just at play, practicing, trying things out, letting off steam, gamboling. That is what your dreams are and that is what that guy in your head is. In mindful meditation you can sometimes just sit back and observe him, and at other times you can recognize his intrusions and politely show him the door for a while. But IAE, you recognize he is this imitation of a consciousness, an artefact of your own mind's productivity.

All that being said, it is still easy to fall back into the lifelong age-old pattern of thinking he is you, and having trouble getting past him to you, unless considerable effort and consciousness is expended.

Here's where kava kicks in, for me. Kava helps to strip him away of some of his power to make you think he is you. In large part it achieves this by getting that little idiot to shut up for a while, and just let you be you without having to constantly be a bouncer at the front door of the hopping exclusive night club that is your mind.

Kava doesn't change you, it more like makes it easier to be you.

It also makes me see lovely colours and feel waves of pleasure wash over me and have awesome dreams. And go to bed at a decent hour, get a full night's sleep, wake up at a decent hour, be productive at work and good company to those I like and love. It gives me me as a present, and kisses me on the forehead. It also soothes my aches and pains and comforts me in other ways and I'm about to find out if it will cure athlete's foot any better than apple cider vinegar.

Of course, one doesn't have to engage in any of this spiritual mumbo-jumbo to enjoy kava. One could simply party on it, in a mellow way and never think twice upon't.

 

[The Kap'n]

Does kava affect the mind? In the best possible way!!!!!!!!

[Insert obligatory "at the risk of sounding weird" disclaimer here] I have been doing CBT and DBT and practicing mindfulness and mindful meditation for years now. I do not and have never suffered from any mental disorders for which these were needed as therapy, rather, I'm a great believer in "mental hygiene" despite that old Mental Hygiene Movement's (c 1910 - 1960) - bad rep from the last century, I just don't know a better term than mental hygiene, maybe "mental preventative maintenance?"

Anyway, one of the great things you learn from the stuff I've been doing is recognizing who you are. There is a "person" in your head who does a running sort of stream of consciousness, blabbering away all the time. I call him "the idiot in your head who won't shut up." Because if you ever hear him he is using your voice, and he lives in your head, it's easy to mistakenly believe he is you, that his impressions and thoughts and opinions are yours, but it isn't true. He is a product of your mind, of course, but he is not your mind, any more than your dreams are your actual experiences. Rather, they are inventions of your mind amusing itself, at play, like a couple of puppies or bear cubs wrestling. They aren't really fighting, just at play, practicing, trying things out, letting off steam, gamboling. That is what your dreams are and that is what that guy in your head is. In mindful meditation you can sometimes just sit back and observe him, and at other times you can recognize his intrusions and politely show him the door for a while. But IAE, you recognize he is this imitation of a consciousness, an artefact of your own mind's productivity.

All that being said, it is still easy to fall back into the lifelong age-old pattern of thinking he is you, and having trouble getting past him to you, unless considerable effort and consciousness is expended.

Here's where kava kicks in, for me. Kava helps to strip him away of some of his power to make you think he is you. In large part it achieves this by getting that little idiot to shut up for a while, and just let you be you without having to constantly be a bouncer at the front door of the hopping exclusive night club that is your mind.

Kava doesn't change you, it more like makes it easier to be you.

It also makes me see lovely colours and feel waves of pleasure wash over me and have awesome dreams. And go to bed at a decent hour, get a full night's sleep, wake up at a decent hour, be productive at work and good company to those I like and love. It gives me me as a present, and kisses me on the forehead. It also soothes my aches and pains and comforts me in other ways and I'm about to find out if it will cure athlete's foot any better than apple cider vinegar.

Of course, one doesn't have to engage in any of this spiritual mumbo-jumbo to enjoy kava. One could simply party on it, in a mellow way and never think twice upon't.

That's probably one of the best descriptions of kava I've ever read. Bookmarked.

 

[Krunkie McKrunkface]

And now, of course, for some people I know who have had kava systematically isolate every single one of their problems and zap them into oblivion (anxiety, stress, pessimism, insomnia, etc etc) and then give them the gift of getting themselves back, along with a loving kiss on the forehead from the kava goddess, they face this interesting question: what do I do now?

What do you do when you've been a stranger to yourself and you are suddenly the original you who you had lost contact with ages ago? When not being happy is such a big part of your life how do you handle the apparently relentless endless boredom of being happy all the time? Are you supposed to be an idiot now? What do you do? Does anyone else face or see this problem in others? Have you successfully handled this and if so how? Is this a thing? Is it worthy of a thread? Or is it all an illusion and we're really miserable but too krunk to notice? And why does everything have to seem to be a question? What if we rethought it without using questions? What if it just is? OK, let's try that: it just is. We're just happy. End of story.

Hmm, not bad. I'll have to try that some more.

 

[Vekta]

Kava doesn't change you, it more like makes it easier to be you.

.

This x 200,555,999

 

[Yianni]

Heady to me means: a bit of energy, euphoria, general "go get'er done" attitude, more social - you want to go chat with people. Think of the same energy and sociability as a 1-2 beer buzz without any mental slowness. Heavy means to me: deep slow relaxation, just want to sit and chill, the general feeling that a nap would feel really good right now. I take Heady kavas when I get home from work but have a ton of stuff to do but don't want the stress. I got kids to drive around, things to do, etc. I take a Heavy kava when I got nothing to do and am in for the evening and looking for the couch. Both after a bit of time will settle down to relaxation and a good night's sleep - and the next day relaxation is about the same.

Is heady good for work? Would balanced be ok for work? Or for job interviews?

 

[verticity]

Is heady good for work? Would balanced be ok for work? Or for job interviews?

Heady, in moderation, is not incompatible with working. Balanced in very small amounts can be OK too, but too much can make you feel tired. And, obviously heavy is generally not good for work.

 

[verticity]

Does kava affect the mind? In the best possible way!!!!!!!!

[Insert obligatory "at the risk of sounding weird" disclaimer here] I have been doing CBT and DBT and practicing mindfulness and mindful meditation for years now. I do not and have never suffered from any mental disorders for which these were needed as therapy, rather, I'm a great believer in "mental hygiene" despite that old Mental Hygiene Movement's (c 1910 - 1960) - bad rep from the last century, I just don't know a better term than mental hygiene, maybe "mental preventative maintenance?"

Anyway, one of the great things you learn from the stuff I've been doing is recognizing who you are. There is a "person" in your head who does a running sort of stream of consciousness, blabbering away all the time. I call him "the idiot in your head who won't shut up." Because if you ever hear him he is using your voice, and he lives in your head, it's easy to mistakenly believe he is you, that his impressions and thoughts and opinions are yours, but it isn't true. He is a product of your mind, of course, but he is not your mind, any more than your dreams are your actual experiences. Rather, they are inventions of your mind amusing itself, at play, like a couple of puppies or bear cubs wrestling. They aren't really fighting, just at play, practicing, trying things out, letting off steam, gamboling. That is what your dreams are and that is what that guy in your head is. In mindful meditation you can sometimes just sit back and observe him, and at other times you can recognize his intrusions and politely show him the door for a while. But IAE, you recognize he is this imitation of a consciousness, an artefact of your own mind's productivity.

All that being said, it is still easy to fall back into the lifelong age-old pattern of thinking he is you, and having trouble getting past him to you, unless considerable effort and consciousness is expended.

Here's where kava kicks in, for me. Kava helps to strip him away of some of his power to make you think he is you. In large part it achieves this by getting that little idiot to shut up for a while, and just let you be you without having to constantly be a bouncer at the front door of the hopping exclusive night club that is your mind.

Kava doesn't change you, it more like makes it easier to be you.

It also makes me see lovely colours and feel waves of pleasure wash over me and have awesome dreams. And go to bed at a decent hour, get a full night's sleep, wake up at a decent hour, be productive at work and good company to those I like and love. It gives me me as a present, and kisses me on the forehead. It also soothes my aches and pains and comforts me in other ways and I'm about to find out if it will cure athlete's foot any better than apple cider vinegar.

Of course, one doesn't have to engage in any of this spiritual mumbo-jumbo to enjoy kava. One could simply party on it, in a mellow way and never think twice upon't.

That is a great description. And people really should use the word 'gamboling' more often...

 

[Deleted User01]

Yup, I was gamboling when I bought a lottery ticket yesterday. At last somebody spells the way that I do.
Heady kavas are great for socializing. I use them as a pick me up in the middle of the afternoon to cure the doldrums. So a Job Interview would be ok and especially if you get nervous. I would not take any heavy kava and try to go to work or do an interview.

 

[Krunkie McKrunkface]

fwiw I've found that when I drink kava I tend to be much quieter and people just assume I am really smart and am thinking. But really neither is true, I'm just krunk.

 

[HeadHodge]

From our kavapedia:

Heady (Brain Load)
Heady Kava describes a Kava that produces more effects on your mind than on your body. It can be, euphoria, spaciness or just a gentle uplifting to your outlook and sense of well-being. It gives you a light, clean, whimsical contentment that has a lot of cognitive, psychological and emotional effects (mental relaxation, motivation, empathy, mood uplift, etc.) An energizing, cerebral side effect often used to describe a specific strain of kava kava.