If You Are Feeling Down...

[Kojo Douglas]

If you are feeling down in the dumps, depressed, sad, grieving, etc. then Kava might not be the best thing.

I have had a lot of ups and downs in my life. It's part of being a humanitarian worker who moves from place to place, away from my family, often alone or in the process of making new friends and then losing them. While Kava is awesome at dealing with anxiety and overdrive, it doesn't do a great job when you're stuck with your thoughts, tired, and unmotivated.

Does anyone else have this issue? I've found that even if I drink clean Nobles, I can have a next day depression that is pretty uncontrollably negative. It only happens once in awhile, but when it does it can be destabilizing and disabling. If you're going through a grieving process, or you've had a fall out with a loved one - it seems that Kava can dampen it even more.

One of the very few weaknesses of Kava.

 

[Groggy]

I agree with that, I avoid kava on days that I am feeling down, same as you I have learned from experience that kava will not always be as uplifting as I expect it to be. It relieves my anxiety, but some days it doesn't help it by much, if at all.
I shy away from heavy kavas for that reason too.

 

[24601]

I occasionally feel like that, but I haven't used kava in an extreme grief situation. Kava isn't so much of a mood lifter for me than it is a mood enhancer. If I'm already feeling ok, like I'm ready to relax and enjoy the kava, then kava is wonderful. Mild anxieties, kava is great. But I've found that while extremely anxious, drinking kava doesn't help that much and then I get even more anxious because I'm procrastinating on the things that are actually making me anxious.

I will say that kava doesn't induce nearly as much depression as alcohol did for me. I'm already prone to depression and sometimes alcohol would make me feel absolutely miserable.

 

[Groggy]

I will say that kava doesn't induce nearly as much depression as alcohol did for me. I'm already prone to depression and sometimes alcohol would make me feel absolutely miserable.

I agree with this very much, I have completely given up alcohol, kava is my replacement. I don't miss drinking. It has stabilized my mood in a noticeable way.

 

[Kojo Douglas]

Oh, alcohol is certainly a much much different story. Trust me, I wouldn't recommend booze to anyone.

 

[thewanderingwise1]

I haven't used kava in this situation but an herb that helps me in these situations tremendously is kanna its an herbal moodenhancer and gentle stimulant .i had mostly all downs for a few years and learned kanna is a godsend for depression especially extreme depression.of course do your research extensively like with any herb.

 

[verticity]

This is true. If I am really upset or depressed about something in my life, kava does little to make me feel better. Some things just need to be "lived through". It's great for taking the edge off anxiety, but it's definitely not like other substances that make you completely forget your cares. I would submit that is a good thing about it, not a negative, though.

 

[Deleted User01]

Hmmm, Kava is certainly not a cure all but I took a mildly sedating one (Nene) when I was sad and it took my mind off the problem. Of course, I was sitting at my desk working and I think the Kava allowed me to work and the working helped block out the bad news. Keep very busy when you are feeling down. But I also agree with @verticity in that it's gotta play out and there is no way around it.

 

[Zac Imiola (Herbalist)]

I think nene is a really huge exception to alot of kava side effects.

I experienced this depression from kava a few times when getting off K@. Which implies a chemical imbalance and kava dont feel to well for me. But i have not felt this feeling when dealing with basic just upset over a random event caused by a thought. I only feel it when i feel blue in the brain lol

 

[Atticus]

I do agree with you.
I have found lately that I like to let the pain do it's work. Sometimes, it can be too much. I"ve lost alot of things in the last couple of months. But, they say that power is perfected in weakness. C.S. Lewis wrote of how we have greatness within us and it's the form that has to be hammered away at to form something from the clay.
"The megaphone to a deaf world." I can say this more easily now that I've had some time to mourn the loss of many things gone now. I will say that the Kava did help to keep it on the even during the multiple deaths last month.

 

[Chaucer]

I recently wrote in another thread about kava possibility triggering a feeling of sadness in me. It happened again today. On the advice of other forum members, I tried hitting it a little harder this morning after reporting that I felt I was getting less out of doses that previously yielded strong effects. After my first dose this morning, I felt like kava was working again (I doubled my normal dose) but after taking a second dose an hour later, a very heavy, sad feeling came over me and lasted for several hours. I'm now wondering if maybe these low feelings are the result of taking too much root. I'm also substantially dehydrated and have been chugging water all day with little relief. Perhaps the two are related?

 

[verticity]

I recently wrote in another thread about kava possibility triggering a feeling of sadness in me. It happened again today. On the advice of other forum members, I tried hitting it a little harder this morning after reporting that I felt I was getting less out of doses that previously yielded strong effects. After my first dose this morning, I felt like kava was working again (I doubled my normal dose) but after taking a second dose an hour later, a very heavy, sad feeling came over me and lasted for several hours. I'm now wondering if maybe these low feelings are the result of taking too much root. I'm also substantially dehydrated and have been chugging water all day with little relief. Perhaps the two are related?

Kava contains multiple "active ingredients" The short acting ones (kavain) cause a euphoric effect, but the longer acting ones (DHM, DHK) are more sedating. These also seem to take longer to be felt. So there is kind of a "sedating tail" effect. That's probably what you were feeling. You can mitigate this by using very heady strains such as Mo'i or Nambawan (strains with a high kavain content)

 

[Chaucer]

I was using Borongoru and Loa Waka, both of which I understand to be Heady.

 

[verticity]

I was using Borongoru and Loa Waka, both of which I understand to be Heady.

Borongoru is actually not heady (in my experience). I like to use it for anxiety, but it has very little uplifting effect. Loa Waka is very strong and broad spectrum. You could try the Ono Puoni Ono from Kalm or the Ono from Cactus, which are pretty heady.

 

[verticity]

Correction: Ono from Cactus Kava is heady. Puoni Ono from Kalm with Kava is heady also.

 

[Chaucer]

Thanks for the suggestion, I'll check it out. It's possible that I'm particularly susceptible to heavy kavalactones and so these components are having a more pronounced effect on me after the heady ones wear off. This is something that has developed over time, as initially, I had great success with both these strains.

 

[KavaCat]

This is sort of along the lines of what I was trying to say, back when there was that side-effects thread, and I mentioned that worsening of depressive moods as a potential side effect. I've found that "heavy" kava is much, much worse in this regard. I suffer from depression, and usually kava helps me with it, but if I take say, a boroguru, it's almost always going to make me feel very bad, after I start coming off of cloud 9. This is why I tend to stick with stuff that's more balanced, or to the headier side. I love melomelo, even as hard as it is to get. It has given me a problem, maybe once or twice, and I've consumed it more times than I could even estimate. Chris' mahakea has actually never, ever made me depressed afterward either, now that I think on it. So perhaps we have an argument against heavy kava for depression sufferers?

 

[Chaucer]

Most of my issues are with anxiety but I do have a small amount of depression that's usually working in the background. Right now I'm feeling pretty neutral on both fronts and so am going to have a shell of Borongoru that I prepared last night and will report the results.

 

[Capitán Bastos]

Yes and now.
If I'm already down, I soldier through it.
Eat healthy, force myself to be more active and try to notice and verbalize what the positive highlight of the day was etc...
If I have a feeling this might be a bad day, I go for a preemptive strike.
Today, I was really missing my daughter. Looking out my kitchen window on the neighbor's children playing and laughing. A couple of shells and now I'm just happy for them. I think perhaps if you KNOW what's bothering you, the right kava can help. If you're generally depressed, it might not be the way to go.

 

[Jonathan]

I've noticed a similar thing, but I also, as others have said, think this may actually be a benefit of kava. I smoked ye 'ole mari**** for 15 years, and quit because I finally realized I was using it to -control- my mood. I like that kava doesn't allow me to do that, I can experience the physical benefits of kava while still being forced to deal with my psychological state with my own tools and faculties.