Kava as Antidepressent

[KavaKrunked]

i think stone works well for depression for me. it helps that it makes me giggle for several minutes. that always puts me in a better mood.

Try to smile or think of something funny 10-15 minutes after drinking, it seems to roll into unstoppable laughter for me

 This is wild.  I used to be able to achieve this with good cannabis.  The thought of kava doing the same is totally foreign to me.  I find nothing giggly about kava effects at all.  Stone just mellows me out and puts my mind in a place where I can fall asleep.

 

[KeepOnKrunkin']

In the short term kava is great for depression or anything for that matter. I don't think kava is intended to be used 24/7 indefinitely. It can reverse its effects if used chronically for long enough. Two - three times per wk seems to be best. This also applies to numerous other natural antidepressants I think.

 

[krunkedout]

In the short term kava is great for depression or anything for that matter. I don't think kava is intended to be used 24/7 indefinitely. It can reverse its effects if used chronically for long enough. Two - three times per wk seems to be best. This also applies to numerous other natural antidepressants I think.

I'm going to have to disagree with you there. I drink kava every single night. I'm pretty sure I owe some of my sanity to kava. A lot of its antidepressant properties, I believe, are in it's intoxicating properties. I mean, who wants to be baseline sober all day everyday?

 

[mos3z]

I agree with krunkedout, I've been drinking daily for 9 months now. I rarely even think about depression any more, it completely changed my outlook on life

 

[Prince Philip]

In the short term kava is great for depression or anything for that matter. I don't think kava is intended to be used 24/7 indefinitely. It can reverse its effects if used chronically for long enough. Two - three times per wk seems to be best. This also applies to numerous other natural antidepressants I think.

As a Cargo Cultist, I must disagree with you here.

First, we have to ask ourselves... what are flowers for?  Richard Dawkins has a wonderful parable, available on Youtube, called "The Ultraviolet garden," that speaks to the idea of what the "intention" of flowers are.

Kava is a clonal mutant.  (Yes, there are reproducing cultivars out there, but those aren't intentionally cloned the way the clonal mutants are).  About three thousand years of my ancestors have turned the wild variates into the highly drinkable, Noble variates.  One could argue that the intention for these variates was originally for ritualistic usage, perhaps non-daily, but the fact is that here in the 21st century the intention of those who are reproducing kava through clone cuttings and selecting superior mutations is a Compassionate Capitalism of producing a superior product that people will buy and will drink... lots of.  This is codified into law in the Vanuatu Kava Export Laws.  The Noble cultivars are for drinking... every day, and those who are allowing the species to live (these cultivars would die without human intervention) intend for you to buy lots of it.

The actual original "intention" of kavalactones is most likely to keep the plant from being food for fungi.  But, since the plant appeals to humans and humans have applied artificial selection to the plant, the evolved forms are intended to make us happy.

 

[KeepOnKrunkin']

In the short term kava is great for depression or anything for that matter. I don't think kava is intended to be used 24/7 indefinitely. It can reverse its effects if used chronically for long enough. Two - three times per wk seems to be best. This also applies to numerous other natural antidepressants I think.

I'm going to have to disagree with you there. I drink kava every single night. I'm pretty sure I owe some of my sanity to kava. A lot of its antidepressant properties, I believe, are in it's intoxicating properties. I mean, who wants to be baseline sober all day everyday?

If your not experiencing any negatives w/ daily use...keep on krunking!   I can't do it.  Besides extract is relatively expensive anyway.

 

[mos3z]

I'm thinking Tongan Pride is the winner for anti-depression

it worked amazing on me today, the only issue for me is that is gives me a crazy energy buzz like too much caffiene, but I guess it doesnt affect everyone like this. Rex said that only some people get this effect from it

but other than that it makes me really happy and almost no drugged out feel at all, i feel pretty normal (aside from wanting to jog around the block)

 

[kl.Flank]

I'm thinking Tongan Pride is the winner for anti-depression

it worked amazing on me today, the only issue for me is that is gives me a crazy energy buzz like too much caffiene, but I guess it doesnt affect everyone like this. Rex said that only some people get this effect from it

but other than that it makes me really happy and almost no drugged out feel at all, i feel pretty normal (aside from wanting to jog around the block)

hrm so well from my experience with fu'u that makes me happy to but this one does a better job?  I ordered some stone I will have to try that one next... because that is why I am loving kava so much.

 

[Prince Philip]

I fucked up and drank so much kava it gave me insight into the cause of my depression.

 

[kl.Flank]

I fucked up and drank so much kava it gave me insight into the cause of my depression.

So what was the cause and did that insight help at all?

 

[kl.Flank]

I ordered and am currently krunked on stone... I feel great although my wife was nagging at me and it gave me a bit more stress then I normally would have in that situation... has anyone noticed kava amplifying things like anxiety?

 

[kavadude]

I have certainly noticed that Stone can increase anxiety a little bit. I think the more kavain-heavy kavas are generally thought to be more anxiolytic.

 

[KeepOnKrunkin']

Anxiety is a highly subjective thing meaning each situation is different. What causes anxiety in one person may not cause it in another and how one person responds to anxiety may manifest itself completely differently in another person. Overall though kava is the best non-narcotic supplement anti-anxiety I've ever found.

 

[kl.terminvate]

Kava does wonders for my anxiety. I agree that certain strains seem to be more useful for me. I've yet to have a kava experience that increased anxiety, if it did I would stay away from that strain.

 

[KavaKrunked]

There seems to be some credence to the possibility of a paradoxical effect on anxiety in certain people. From reading here and in other message boards, most reports of increased anxiety tend to occur early on in one's usage. I would attribute this to a natural anxiety caused by taking a substance where the effects aren't fully known/understood. Once one becomes accustomed to kava, this tends to decrease or disappear and the anxiolytic properties become apparent.

 

[kl.Flank]

There seems to be some credence to the possibility of a paradoxical effect on anxiety in certain people. From reading here and in other message boards, most reports of increased anxiety tend to occur early on in one's usage. I would attribute this to a natural anxiety caused by taking a substance where the effects aren't fully known/understood. Once one becomes accustomed to kava, this tends to decrease or disappear and the anxiolytic properties become apparent.

That could well be true... I normally don't have to much anxiety just time to time... but perhaps not totally knowing the effects unlike alcohol where I am an expert

 

[KavaKrunked]

Content Removed Due to Privacy Request

 I forgot to mention these situational instances.  I think if there is anything unexpected about the effects, increased anxiety can and does happen.  I'm with you Deleted User, I'm primarily using kava to counteract GAD.  The fruit bar was probably a good choice.  Watch what you eat though, as fatty foods nearly double my krunk most of the time.  It is awesome for anxiety, I find.  Much better/safer than any benzo that is commonly prescribed for this purpose.

 

[Vekta]

Anxiety is a highly subjective thing meaning each situation is different. What causes anxiety in one person may not cause it in another and how one person responds to anxiety may manifest itself completely differently in another person. Overall though kava is the best non-narcotic supplement anti-anxiety I've ever found.

I'd be a prime example of this. For the most part my social anxiety is not really an issue anymore as it was before. Kava also helps with the panic attacks and sensory overload that I can still get. Those are certainly still a problem. They contribute to the anxiety I already have/had and it snowballs from there. It's happens a tad different for me, especially now, since the panic attacks and sensory overload aren't by definition social anxiety although they're closely related. It all started with social anxiety. Now that I have that much more under control it has made daily life much easier to navigate.
I'm lucky though since kava also works for helping to control and cope with both the panic attacks and sensory overload. NDG's explained to me how kava works which explains a lot why it helps me with both of those. 
In a nutshell... calcium channel inhibition- blocks "pulses" into the cells which makes it harder to excite the brain.

 

[kl.Manneokoko]

I would like to know if you feel that Kava also helps to fight depressions, and other mental problems also after one stopped using it. I mean, the danger of depression and other negative states of mind is that it becomes a habit that you start rolling in and soon it becomes chronic.

Is Kava useful to break this viscous circle, to break the habit of depression?

If a depressed person uses Kava for a couple of months, will it help him in the long run also after he stops or does it works merely by covering up the symptoms and not helping to cure the cause?