Anyone tried Kava and is that effective for anxiety?

[Jcinny777]

THanks!

[Jcinny777]

Anyone taking Kava or other herbs that are helpful to their anxiety?Please share the info.

[Paxiled]

Depends on the person.  Depends on how severe the anxiety is.  Kava is the closest herb probably to a benzo in effect.  It comes in different forms.  The traditional way to take it is a drink, which is how they use it in the islands where it's native.  You can take it in a tea or alcohol tincture, but it tastes pretty awful.  You can take the plain herb in a capsule.  You can take the juice in a capsule.  And you can take a standardized extract in a capsule, which is how most Americans use it.  The latter form may be tied to some liver problems, but it's hard to say -- the people involved were also taking a lot of medications and illegal drugs, so blaming it on the kava seems premature (not to mention a bit biased).  But to be safe you can just avoid the standardized extract if you like.  Kava is a nice mellow relaxing herb, but will it handle a full-blown anxiety attack?  Probably not.  What makes herbs safer than medication is that they tend not be very strong and are metabolized as food, so the body's natural defense mechanisms are in effect; drugs are manufactured to bypass this and so are unnaturally consumed by the body and can be made much stronger in action but also much more likely to cause distress.  It's a trade-off.  But know that the natural approach to treating anxiety wouldn't just give you kava and say you're all set.  They would use a holistic approach that would combine a group of natural remedies targeting different areas of the body as well as recommend meditation, relaxation exercises, and therapy.  The only way you'll know is to try it.  Other relaxing herbs are passionflower, valerian, and many others.  You might want to invest in a book called Natural Highs by Hyla Cass, a psychiatrist at UCLA.  It's a basic overview of how natural remedies are used in combination for mental issues.  Good hunting.

[nursegirl6572]

A good question, hopefully Paxiled will be along to answer it, he's our "go to" person for questions like this.