There are a lot of reasons that people choose kratom because of the wide range of possible effects. While it cannot directly treat anxiety, there are plenty of benefits of kratom that may be great for someone who is anxious or stressed.
However, choosing the wrong strain can have the opposite of your desired result so it is important to know what to look for and how to choose from various options. Before looking at some of those strains, what kratom effects could have a positive impact on anxiety?
How Can Kratom Help Anxiety?
There are tons of effects of kratom and some people choose it for energy, state of mind, sleep, and more. For anxiety, different mechanisms of action will influence different aspects. We outlined the different effects that can be good for someone with anxiety, but not everyone’s anxiety is the same and it is critical to take that into account before deciding.
Calming
Kratom, particularly red strains at high doses, can offer a tranquil and calm experience. This is great for slowing down racing thoughts and excessive worry that accompanies anxiety. The sedative effects of kratom work to place you into a mental perspective that can prevent you from needlessly following a bothersome train of thought and can even eliminate those stressful feelings if you are already experiencing them.
The calming benefit can also be good for sleep. Since insomnia and sleep disturbance is a common symptom associated with anxiety, you may find this benefit to help a lot. This is particularly true when you understand that a lack of sleep can make anxiety significantly worse.
Focus
If you are like me, you probably become incredibly distracted when you are anxious or stressed. I always find that my productivity suffers because it is nearly impossible to exterminate the thoughts running through my mind. Kratom can give you focus on the task at hand and make it less likely that your thought patterns will wander aimlessly away from those uncomfortable worries.
This focus will indirectly help with stress as well because of that increase in productivity that it offers. Work can contribute to or even cause feelings of stress and anxiety. Kratom will help you get the work completed so that you do not have a pile of tasks that adds to the worries on your mind.
State of Mind
Kratom can put you into a more positive state of mind. While this effect will not reduce anxiety on its own, being in a positive state of mind can help you change your perspective so that those anxious thoughts do not bother you so much. This is also great so that you can leave those anxieties behind during the weekend or nights. In turn, you actually get to relax which, over time, can help to ease those troubling thought patterns.
This can also be good for those who suffer with social anxiety. A lot of people who become anxious during social interactions and situations worry about the perceptions of others and some have low self-esteem. Kratom allows you to live in the moment with a positive outlook that can help you socialize without worrying about every little thing.
Best Kratom Strains for Anxiety
Now that you know how kratom can help with anxiety and stress, let’s look at some of the most popular strains used for that purpose. With each strain, you will find the beneficial effects as well as potential downsides depending on the type of anxiety. Some of these options are better for general anxiety while others are better for stress or social anxiety.
Red Borneo
Red Borneo is a strain known for relaxation without sleepiness and sedation. This makes it the perfect choice for anxiety because taking this type of kratom can help to alleviate the anxious feelings without hurting productivity, causing fatigue, or limiting your ability to focus on work. While it isn’t as energetic as white and green kratom, it is still a good strain for daytime use.
While there are few downsides to Red Borneo, we have found that it is not a great strain for the morning because the energy it does provide is not potent. While it won’t make you drowsy if you take it during the afternoon, it may not be able to wake you up in the morning, which can cause you to reach for the anxiety-inducing impact of caffeine.
Yellow Gold
Yellow Gold is a fantastic choice for anxiety because it offers an optimal balance in results. It can keep you energetic and focused, but is much less likely to contribute to racing thoughts of worry than other energetic strains, particularly white options. It calms the mind some and can help you remain positive and on-task. Compared to red strains, it is a little less relaxing, but is basically as good for anxious thoughts. Compared to green strains, it is less speedy and more comfortable.
There is one potential downside to Yellow Gold kratom and that is sleep disruption. It may help sleep if you have sleep troubles caused by anxiety, but if you have a hard time getting to sleep for other reasons, then this option should only be consumed during the morning or early afternoon.
Power Green
This special blend of greens offers an extremely relaxing and mood-boosting formula for reducing anxiety and promoting positivity. It is very potent so a little can go a long way and the effects last for longer than some other strains. In fact, if you take it in the morning then you may still have lessened anxiety levels 6 to 8 hours later! Power Green can help you feel relaxed and comfortable both mentally and physically and this, maybe more so than any other strain, is a very dose-dependent strain because it can offer a burst of energy with small doses, but is more likely to offer calming results at mid to high doses.
The one thing to consider with this blend is that it may be much stronger than strains you are already used to. Because of this, you need to be careful not to overdo it because doing so can cause uncomfortable symptoms like nausea or headaches.
Red Elephant
This large-leafed strain is not one of the most popular strains, but it should not be overlooked if you have anxiety. It is sedating and great for relaxing the mind with moderate sedative effects as well. It doesn’t have much of an energy boost, but that can be good if the energetic properties of other strains tend to contribute to worsened anxiety. Red Elephant is also a good choice to mix with other strains, especially white and green types.
The main concern with this strain is the taste. While some people like them, the larger, more mature leaves do not taste good to many kratom users. If this is not an issue for you, then it is a good option to try to see how you like the effects.
Super Green Malay
This is one of the most popular of all kratom strains for any purpose and should be considered as one that offers qualities beneficial for anxiety. It offers potent, but balanced results for energy and relaxation. A lot of users find that Super Green Malay offers different results depending on their current state of mind and physical condition. For example, someone who is anxious and fatigued may find that it balances their mood, reduces worries, and causes energetic feelings while someone who is calm with high energy may find that it balances out that mood and contributes to tranquility.
Since this strain is super popular, it is important to find a vendor that you trust. Some low-quality vendors, particularly options found in gas stations or smoke shops, just label anything they want to as Super Green Malay even if the effects are not balanced and potent like they should be.
Conclusion
Anxiety is common and prescription anxiolytics can cause some detrimental side effects like drowsiness, poor memory, and even addiction. Because of this, a lot of people turn to kratom to offer beneficial effects with significantly less downside. Just be sure to choose a strain for your own type of anxiety and personality so that you can obtain the results you desire.
