Anxiety

[Summer]

Lately I've been having some heightened general anxiety, and when I'm in the middle of it I pause and wonder if some of it is the kava. Crazy, right? I don't have panic anymore, but definitely have some racing heart (have read this can be related to kava) and breath-catching (haven't read where this is related to kava). Also my thoughts have been wandering all over and life is a bit crazy right now. So I get that I'm maybe not in the right frame of mind but the body effects are real or at least psychosomatic.

I have been drinking kava pretty much daily for 18+ months, and recently because of these feelings have been taking 2-3 days off per week. I wouldn't say I feel better or worse from the breaks.

Anyone else ever have lackluster periods of kava usage, or even heightened anxiousness?

 

[Groggy]

Lately I've been having some heightened general anxiety, and when I'm in the middle of it I pause and wonder if some of it is the kava. Crazy, right? I don't have panic anymore, but definitely have some racing heart (have read this can be related to kava) and breath-catching (haven't read where this is related to kava). Also my thoughts have been wandering all over and life is a bit crazy right now. So I get that I'm maybe not in the right frame of mind but the body effects are real or at least psychosomatic.

I have been drinking kava pretty much daily for 18+ months, and recently because of these feelings have been taking 2-3 days off per week. I wouldn't say I feel better or worse from the breaks.

Anyone else ever have lackluster periods of kava usage, or even heightened anxiousness?

I can relate, I went through something similar about a month ago and have since cut back on the kava. It wasn't just the anxiety creeping back but also the constant dermo.

I have cut down on my consumption, I drink kava 4-5 days a week instead of daily and less overall, so far so good. The anxiety seems to be more or less the same, maybe a bit less, the dermo is gone.

 

[Squanch72]

I recently cut back also. I had the balance all messed up. I wanted to stay in the kava bubble all day long, and then found any distraction form relaxation annoying. Which ended up causing anxiety. I didn't follow my own rule that I really only need small amounts of kava to chase anxiety away. So I switched to kava candy for a few weeks, and just used medium grind on the weekend or a few nights a week. Seems to be a better balance for me and put me back on track. Now my life went super busy the last month so that also had an impact on the stress and anxiety creeping back, but I still trimmed back to a more medical use.

 

[Summer]

I also find that I want to stay in the kava bubble as long as possible and I have probably been overdoing it, for me. I feel like I'm often chasing that feeling.

Part of me wants to make sure I never feel the withdrawal symptoms I went through coming off Klonopin. I have been reading some stories about withdrawal and how long it actually can take, and it makes me feel better knowing a lot of these sporadic symptoms are from my benzodiazepine withdrawal.

 

[Zaphod]

I too find that my use slowly creeps up, and starts earlier and earlier in the day. If you enjoy that kava bubble, and are using it to keep the anxiety level down - it is very psychologically addicting. I don't have an addictive personalty, but when you are "chasing that feeling" you have an addiction. No two ways to look at it. Luckily it is not physically addicting so anytime I want to take a break or cut back I just need to find something else to occupy my mind to keep the mental cravings at bay.

 

[Squanch72]

I find the prep part also becomes a cathartic ritual. Like ok it is this time, so now I make the kava. And you become too regular with it. Since it was really only a psychological thing, the kava candy instead of prep seemed to break that prep cycle too. Still had enough kava with me if stress or anxiety kicked in but I wasn't krunk just de-stressed which is all I really need. I don't have any addiction problems, never have, but it was fun to have a safe way to party since I no longer drink or burn these days. So in a way I was having too much fun too often as well as living in the kava bubble. The cool thing is no withdrawals when you take a break and then you can pop a candy or drink a mild shell if the stress meter kicks in. Then when you have enough time to party then you party.

 

[The Kap'n]

I find the prep part also becomes a cathartic ritual. Like ok it is this time, so now I make the kava. And you become too regular with it. Since it was really only a psychological thing, the kava candy instead of prep seemed to break that prep cycle too. Still had enough kava with me if stress or anxiety kicked in but I wasn't krunk just de-stressed which is all I really need. I don't have any addiction problems, never have, but it was fun to have a safe way to party since I no longer drink or burn these days. So in a way I was having too much fun too often as well as living in the kava bubble. The cool thing is no withdrawals when you take a break and then you can pop a candy or drink a mild shell if the stress meter kicks in. Then when you have enough time to party then you party.

I've gotten to the point in my routine that if I don't spend the time kneading the kava, in my head I wont experience the same effects. Totally psychosomatic. I guess you could say I've been locked into traditional prep at a very base level

 

[Jonathan]

I get anxiety sometimes yeah if I have too much in a sitting, I'll notice it kind of gets on top of me. I haven't noticed it from prolonged use though, mainly if I do too much in one evening then it can have some negative side effects. It usually goes away within about 30 minutes or so though if I make a concerted effort to chill out and drink a bunch of water...

 

[Squanch72]

I've gotten to the point in my routine that if I don't spend the time kneading the kava, in my head I wont experience the same effects. Totally psychosomatic. I guess you could say I've been locked into traditional prep at a very base level

Yeah I do that with distractions too, I have my mind set to think, oh I will never hear the kava with this and that going on. Instead of just going with the flow. Over-thinking is my biggest problem in life. Kava, mindfullness, meditation, and repeat is my life lately. Kava is the easy part, sure hoping the rest takes hold with practice to lessen the duration I spend with the 'Thinker"

 

[Summer]

And I really believe that a lot of my feelings are still coming from withdrawal. Racing heart all day, heightened anxiety, sensitivity, brain fog, etc. I have felt all of these things many times in the past when I didn't even know what kava was. I wanted to see if anyone else feels these things from kava, or too much of it (individual results varying, obviously).

 

[SelfBiasResistor]

Brain fog definitely. My normal side effects would include brain fog and tiredness but that usually subsides as the day goes. I have experienced more general anxiety due to the kava effects not being as strong as they were in the past.. Did you have any of those symptoms before starting the klonopin?

 

[Summer]

Well, I was on Klonopin for anxiety and panic attacks. I definitely had all of these symptoms and more during some bad withdrawal phases. I am chocking it up to that - found some interesting material and testimonials from people like me who had symptoms years after withdrawal. These don't last long though, and I know what they're talking about. Hopefully one day they will be gone forever. Regardless, they are SO much better now. And very manageable.

 

[Groggy]

Well, I was on Klonopin for anxiety and panic attacks. I definitely had all of these symptoms and more during some bad withdrawal phases. I am chocking it up to that - found some interesting material and testimonials from people like me who had symptoms years after withdrawal. These don't last long though, and I know what they're talking about. Hopefully one day they will be gone forever. Regardless, they are SO much better now. And very manageable.

I was on klonopin for almost 10 years straight. For me it took medical intervention to stop it and lingering side effects also lasted a good 6-9 months. I haven't had a panic attack in 6-7 years.

Kava has been a game changer for me but I too tried to stay in the kava bubble indefinitely and as I now know, it didn't work out.

 

[The Kap'n]

I was on klonopin for almost 10 years straight. For me it took medical intervention to stop it and lingering side effects also lasted a good 6-9 months. I haven't had a panic attack in 6-7 years.

Kava has been a game changer for me but I too tried to stay in the kava bubble indefinitely and as I now know, it didn't work out.

Honestly, I think most of us have tried to stay in the kava bubble only to find out it can't be sustained. I see it as a way of our natural "testing the boundaries" protocol for some of us. A nice run-in with dermopathy and a good stout dose of lethargy and you start re-thinking the perpetual kava space. I've done it myself.

 

[Kava_Joe]

I also have days where I can drink a ton of Kava and not much happens. I do cycle off Kava a couple days, 1-2 x's month. I tend to go a little haywire on those days. Mostly from watching Repubs rejoicing in dismantling the USA as we know it.

 

[Zaphod]

I also have days where I can drink a ton of Kava and not much happens. I do cycle off Kava a couple days, 1-2 x's month. I tend to go a little haywire on those days. Mostly from watching Repubs rejoicing in dismantling the USA as we know it.

Definitely have to stay off of social media on non-kava days! So much harder to not comment on the crazy Uncle's racist diatribe.