Anxiety

I drink kava or Yogi Tea's Kava Stress Relief when I'm anxious.

It works wonders for me and is really the only thing that seems to do the trick when meditation, tai chi, or rowing fail. Coffee, cannabis, and alcohol have the opposite effect on me. Green tea works occasionally, but also tends to keep me awake longer than I'd like.

Unfortunately, kava seems to be banned in certain countries and the EU, and it's a criminal offense to import "any medicinal product containing kava" in the UK (maybe that means you can still import the root and make your own tea?).

The problem with cannabis are commercial growers. Consume anything that was grown with miraclegro and then laced with some other rubbish, it's bound to have serious side effects.

I use it to relax and sleep as I normally am insomniac. I have to take steroids and although I am too weak for them to make me more pissy than I normally am (I also have to cycle it to prevent too much internal damage so I'm on and off all the time), the cannabis helps me calm my heart down and get some sleep.

Personally I like aurora indica, which is grown for me with constant co2 injection (it reduces the THC and produces larger quantities) and a special flowering cycle (which is also longer than what commercial producers usually do, that's so that I get more CBD, and most importantly limit the head high which imo is what causes problems in cannabis). Aurora indica should be good for anxiety, but as I'm not treating this condition I can't really recommend it for you. If the THC is low enough you can actually grow cannabis (hemp) in the EU with CBD levels around 5-6% which is higher than you'd get from the local illegal dealers. My country (france) is one of the largest hemp producers in the world even though regular street weed is illegal.

instead of smoking it as a joint you can eat it (though be careful not to have too much, especially if you're trying to get up), or vaporize it. CBD has a higher boiling point than THC so you need to make sure your vaporizer can deliver the right temperatures. Joints are pretty inefficient when it comes to delivering health benefits, especially since they contain tobacco, which is a lot more dangerous than cannabis (also a stimulant, something you'd want to avoid when treating anxiety).


What are your dietary habits like?

Leandros Von wrote: I personally found that cannabis always exasperated my anxiety, but I suppose there are those who find it helps.

good advice on high CBD though, I do agree personally with medical useage if the person really finds it's the only thing that helps. (that's not the view of the temple though I'm speaking from my own opinions here).

Perhaps try edibles or a tincture rather than smoking however just to see how you get on.

The Order blesses the proper use of cannabis for any purpose.

While teas, exercise and mindfulness exercises are great at reducing the symptoms of the anxiety, in the long run it really is the underlying issues you need to deal with.

You mentioned some historical issues. That’s great. If you already have a “trigger point” work on resolving that. Cognitive behavior therapy and NLP are both incredibly successful in dealing with anxiety quickly and neither requires you to relive or constantly examine the historical issues as you might in therapy. If the anxiety is not debilitating you might consider working with a coach who has experience with either of these techniques.

Considering the sleep patterns I would also suggest two things. Get off any stimulants (Coffee, sugar, alcohol, any preservatives or food additives you might be sensitive to) and consider getting your hormone levels checked. If you’ve been anxious for a while your cortisol levels are probably too high and you’re probably at risk of adrenal fatigue too.

On the weed front. I wouldn’t recommend it. Legality issues of recommending a drug without being a medical professional aside, cannabis has also been shown in the studies that have been done to increase and in some people cause anxiety. For pain management its great, anxiety, not so much. Also, like with any drug, the dosage level is important, just because its natural doesn’t means it’s always safe. If you are considering trying it please do so under the guidance of a doctor or alternative medical practitioner and only if its legal in your area.

Br. John wrote: The Order blesses the proper use of cannabis for any purpose.

Thanks for letting me know, I didn't want to be quoted as misrepresenting the Temples view on cannabis, I'm glad to hear that Temple policy advocates proper use.

Brenna wrote: cannabis has also been shown in the studies that have been done to increase and in some people cause anxiety.

In all honesty I believe that Cannabis only highlights mental illness that is already in the person, if you are predisposed to schizophrenia then you will notice it slightly earlier than you normally would have due to the heightened self awareness.

If you do not have a genetic predisposition to a mental disorder then cannabis will have no negative effect on the psyche (i'd like to see this researched properly, but from what i have seen I believe this to be the case).

I would however like yourself Brenna, be weary of trying it for Anxiety if anxiety is already present in a "sober" you, as an alternative to pharmaceuticals however, if it works, use it, it's much safer.0

Perhaps a small test dose and slowly increase as you get used to and comfortable with the effects... cease using if you suffer any anxiety at all during use as it WILL make you feel worse (personal experience - and also the reason I stopped using cannabis).

I'd be carefull about self-medicating, especially with emotional issues.

I'd be careful about using anything that's psychoactive and prescribed/distributed by people with a financial interest in it. I've seen what the stuff does to people and would never take it myself.