Relaxing tea...

[ZenStatic]

I tried drinking chamomile for a while to help myself stay a bit more calm and relaxed, but I found that it didn't really help. I figured with the amount of knowledge we have around here, people may know of some herbs that I can use to make teas that are going to help. For what it's worth, I have an 8 yr old son with high-functioning autism, so things can be very stressful at times, and I would prefer to be calmer most of the time.

[VCraigP]

I tried drinking chamomile for a while to help myself stay a bit more calm and relaxed, but I found that it didn't really help. I figured with the amount of knowledge we have around here, people may know of some herbs that I can use to make teas that are going to help. For what it's worth, I have an 8 yr old son with high-functioning autism, so things can be very stressful at times, and I would prefer to be calmer most of the time.

 

I highly recommend L-Theanine.

 

You can look up the patent holder "Suntheanine" online for their information.

 

Very good for relaxing.

 

Craig

[picnic]

I guess that as well as the calming nature of tea, and drinking it, the particular herbs or fragrance... you should also look at caffeine content and what you add.

 

Say you drink a lot of tea, then if that was high caffeine and you added sugar, you would never be relaxed Even with not so strong tea, drinking a lot of it, is not going to relax

 

So a lower caffeine level, which may take a few days adjusting to if you depend on a lift. It is highly addictive and there is a noticeable withdrawal and craving. Drink it weaker, look for the calming herbs, such as jasmine, and then the mint ones and such which add variety and go well after food.

 

Also making tea a restful experience, take a little time to brew it, smell it, savour your time drinking it. Not just boil, tea bag, drink, and off to the next task at hand.

 

mmmm tea

[goldisheavy]

I tried drinking chamomile for a while to help myself stay a bit more calm and relaxed, but I found that it didn't really help. I figured with the amount of knowledge we have around here, people may know of some herbs that I can use to make teas that are going to help. For what it's worth, I have an 8 yr old son with high-functioning autism, so things can be very stressful at times, and I would prefer to be calmer most of the time.

 

Hi lostmonk,

 

I empathize with your difficulties a great deal. My friend likes to take valerian root. I used to drink chamomile, in two different countries. In my original country, we gathered it in the fields, and it was quite wonderful. In the West, maybe I am just too cynical, but I have a feeling that chamomile loses some of its strength through processing when you buy it commercially.

 

Finally, in my experience the organism tends to develop tolerance. This means that if you drink chamomile for the first time in 10 years, it will have full effect. But if you drink it every day, it stops having any effect at all after a while. What this "while" is depends on the person.

 

I really like the effect a single glass of wine or a single beer has on my body and mind. If you are disciplined or if you are naturally modest in your desires, it will be no trouble at all to take one glass of wine or one beer every few days. Unfortunately tolerance develops here as well. So if you do it once a week, I think it works and it doesn't get you either drunk or buzzed. But if you do it once every 3 days? Maybe it works, maybe not? I don't know.

 

There may be a way to rotate between many calming agents to keep yourself from developing tolerance.

 

However, all this chemical intervention is good in emergencies, but not good long term.

 

Long term I strongly suggest contemplation and meditation. In order for contemplation to be effective, the questions you ask yourself in it have to be somewhat radical and your willingness to explore and to change your beliefs has to be somewhat radical. If it's not, it lacks the bite necessary to accomplish change. The key word is "somewhat". It should not be TOO aggressive either, because that brings unnecessary pain of its own.

 

As a medium term solution, I really like using a good hypnotherapy tape. You can make your own tape, and there are books on how to do so. It's not hard. You can buy a tiny voice recorder that records straight to MP3. I believe Sony was the only one that made one like that. Last I checked, all other voice recorders require file conversion if you want MP3s. There are also some recordings in CD and MP3 done by professional hypnotists. It should not be hard to find a powerful relaxation recording. I've been using these myself when I had a tremendous problem in my life, and it worked better than percoset that I was taking, by far. My body would relax to the point of disappearing, the pain would go away to the point of not being there, it was pure magic. Percoset did not have nearly as strong of an effect on me.

 

If you like to hear more about my particular problem, I can type it up. I hope your life goes as smoothly as you wish.

 

EDIT: I just wanted to stress how powerful the hypnosis recording have been for me. They are POWERFUL. I wouldn't hesitate to put them on the same level as the strongest drugs like morphene derivatives or similar. Do not underestimate what can be accomplished with hypnosis. However hypnosis tends to be very specific to individual. What hypnotizes one person can have no effect on another. The only surefire way to get something that works 100% with minimum effort is to go to a qualified hypnotist. If you are willing to put effort into it, you can make something that works even better by recording your own tapes, since you know yourself better than the external hypnotist. Everyone can be hypnotized, so if you believe you cannot be, that's just prejudice that I suggest you put aside long enough to try some options.

Edited November 22, 2008 by goldisheavy

[picnic]

hmm, yes good suggestion gold. One beer or glass of wine is very relaxing once in a while.

[Desert Eagle]

less tea, coffee and caffeine. good stuff include: linden (tilio) tea, lobelia, olive leaf, beer, passiflora, valerian, coriander seed, black cohosh.

Edited November 22, 2008 by Desert Eagle

[JackSquat]

Here are the ones I can remember trying at various times, in rough order from favorite to least favorite.

 

More Potent: kava kava, Lotus blossom, wild dagga, skullcap, coltsfoot, wild lettuce, valerian root, lobelia, california poppy (does NOT contain opium), opium poppy pods or seeds (DO contain opium ), and just to state the obvious -- marijuana, alcohol, and tobacco

 

Less Potent: lemon balm, lavender, passion flower (passiflora), chamomile, hops, catnip

 

 

Use lobelia very sparingly; a little dab will do ya, and too much will make you puke your guts out. Be careful with wild dagga too because it increases the activity of other substances or prescription drugs in your system. Most poppy seeds you can buy in the US for culinary use are actually seeds of the opium poppy, and depending on how they were harvested they can be coated by varying amounts of opium. I'm not going to preach at you, but some of these herbs can be physically addictive and/or cause long term health problems if you go overboard with them.

 

I recommend using several or all of the less potent herbs in combination with each other or with ONE of the more potent herbs. My guess is that for your situation, you may want to try something like a combo of lemon balm, lavender, passion flower, and possibly skullcap. The first thing I would try though is probably Kava Kava. It is almost too disgusting for words unless you expertly mask the flavor, so I would buy the capsules or the premixed teabags. I keep these around to help me sleep or mellow out every once in awhile. It should be perfectly safe to use two, three, or even four times the recommended dose, but be careful as it is possible to get pretty intoxicated with Kava Kava. It can also be taken in smaller amounts 2 or 3 times a day as a general stress reliever and anti-depressant. I am not a doctor or an herbalist, but feel free to ask me about any of these herbs, how they taste, how they affected me, where I got them, etc.

Edited November 22, 2008 by JackSquat

[Anabhogya-Carya]

Here are the ones I can remember trying at various times, in rough order from favorite to least favorite.

 

More Potent: kava kava, Lotus blossom, wild dagga, skullcap, coltsfoot, wild lettuce, valerian root, lobelia, california poppy (does NOT contain opium), opium poppy pods or seeds (DO contain opium ), and just to state the obvious -- marijuana, alcohol, and tobacco

 

Less Potent: lemon balm, lavender, passion flower (passiflora), chamomile, hops, catnip

Use lobelia very sparingly; a little dab will do ya, and too much will make you puke your guts out. Be careful with wild dagga too because it increases the activity of other substances or prescription drugs in your system. Most poppy seeds you can buy in the US for culinary use are actually seeds of the opium poppy, and depending on how they were harvested they can be coated by varying amounts of opium. I'm not going to preach at you, but some of these herbs can be physically addictive and/or cause long term health problems if you go overboard with them.

 

I recommend using several or all of the less potent herbs in combination with each other or with ONE of the more potent herbs. My guess is that for your situation, you may want to try something like a combo of lemon balm, lavender, passion flower, and possibly skullcap. The first thing I would try though is probably Kava Kava. It is almost too disgusting for words unless you expertly mask the flavor, so I would buy the capsules or the premixed teabags. I keep these around to help me sleep or mellow out every once in awhile. It should be perfectly safe to use two, three, or even four times the recommended dose, but be careful as it is possible to get pretty intoxicated with Kava Kava. It can also be taken in smaller amounts 2 or 3 times a day as a general stress reliever and anti-depressant. I am not a doctor or an herbalist, but feel free to ask me about any of these herbs, how they taste, how they affected me, where I got them, etc.

 

Have you tried opium tea?

[JackSquat]

Have you tried opium tea?

 

 

Yes, a number of times, actually. Why do you ask?

[Anabhogya-Carya]

Yes, a number of times, actually. Why do you ask?

 

Because I am interested in the experience.

[ZenStatic]

Well, I have been looking around at the Kava, and it seems there is a multitude of prices and places to get it. How can I find a place where I know for sure I am getting the "good stuff"?

[Aetherous]

www.konakavafarm.com seems like a good idea.

 

Everytime I tried kava in my teens, it wasn't all that great. Then recently a friend of mine met up with some dudes from Fiji who invited him to a ceremony, and he reported that he actually did get kind of drunk and super relaxed from it. So I think that maybe I hadn't tried any good kinds of it.

 

I will order from Kona Kava Farm and try it out next week.

[JackSquat]

Because I am interested in the experience.

 

Opium is qualitatively different than any other opiate/opioid I have tried (pretty much everything except heroin). It has an almost effervescent quality, bubbling, swirling...makes you want to giggle . It has a tendency to give me the nods, though. Feels very natural, less like you ingested some foreign chemical and more like you're just so overwhelmed with joy that you can hardly believe it. Be VERY CAREFUL though; start small and work your way up on the dose because there is no way to know how much is in the seeds or the pods you bought until you try some, and then it's too late to take less. Oh, and by the way it tastes supremely awful, I mean truly disgusting.

 

http://www.erowid.org/plants/poppy/poppy.shtml

 

 

Well, I have been looking around at the Kava, and it seems there is a multitude of prices and places to get it. How can I find a place where I know for sure I am getting the "good stuff"?

 

www.konakavafarm.com seems like a good idea.

Everytime I tried kava in my teens, it wasn't all that great. Then recently a friend of mine met up with some dudes from Fiji who invited him to a ceremony, and he reported that he actually did get kind of drunk and super relaxed from it. So I think that maybe I hadn't tried any good kinds of it.

I will order from Kona Kava Farm and try it out next week.

 

Kona Kava Farm is a great place. I get mine from my local herbalist, though, and it's just fine. In general the shredded root is better than the powder or the teabags, but the capsules are also nice if you can't get past the taste. It should literally make your mouth pretty numb by the time you finish the glass if the quality is at least decent.

 

 

 

Edit: link added

Edited November 24, 2008 by JackSquat

[Desert Eagle]

:|

Edited December 5, 2008 by Desert Eagle

[Cynopterus]

The best tea I've found for staying relaxed is Silver Needle white tea.

 

I drink it frequently and it's tasty and refreshing, as well as very calming. White tea does contain caffeine, but also a good amount of theanine which balances it out.

 

Here's a better explanation:

 

http://www.amazing-green-tea.com/white-tea-caffeine.html

[Mal]

Cynopterus,

 

Thanks for the link to http://www.amazing-green-tea.com

 

Cool site

[ZenStatic]

alternatively you could try to cure your child and also use ear plugs.

 

Oh, you found a cure for autism? Well come on then, share it with the rest of the world!!! Oh, and don't forget to shove those ear plugs up your disrespectful ass too.

[joeblast]

The best tea I've found for staying relaxed is Silver Needle white tea.

 

I drink it frequently and it's tasty and refreshing, as well as very calming. White tea does contain caffeine, but also a good amount of theanine which balances it out.

 

Here's a better explanation:

 

http://www.amazing-green-tea.com/white-tea-caffeine.html

I was terribly disappointed to find out that the 'local' tea shop a few towns over closed. I bought a z of silver needle there a while back and hands down it was my favorite tea ever...now I will need to find someplace else to get it...

[Aetherous]

Got powdered root from Kona Kava. Pointless, in my opinion.

Edited November 30, 2008 by Scotty

[thelerner]

'Doing' Kava kava isn't a tea you can put into hot water. Serving it authentically is time consuming.

 

I like the site. here's an interesting quote from it.

 

 

Decaffeinated by Theanine

 

This is the paradox of caffeine.

 

The higher grades have more caffeine, but it has even more of another tea compound - theanine - to make it feels less caffeinated.

 

Theanine has been known to promote relaxed awareness and calmness.

 

White Tea (%) Caffeine Theanine Caffeine to Theanine Ratio

Silver Needle

(Natural) 6.1/// 4.5// 1.36

Baimudan 5.7// 4.0/// 1.41

Gongmei 4.8 ///2.6 ///1.85

Shoumei 3.8 //2.1//// 1.81

 

Look at the table above. The highest quality white tea, Silver Needle, has 36% more caffeine than theanine.

 

The lowest quality white tea, Longevity Eyebrow, has 81% more caffeine than theanine.

 

Yes! This is natural decaffeination at its most sublime.

 

If you ever wonder again why Silver Needle and White Peony feel more calming than the lower grades, this table explains why.

[Aetherous]

I did it this way:

 

-5jnAghmlPE&feature=related

 

And it didn't seem to have any effect that way, at least.

 

What would be a better way to do it? I still have half the bag left.

[JackSquat]

Got powdered root from Kona Kava. Pointless, in my opinion.

 

Just out of curiosity, how much did you try and how did you prepare it? As I mentioned earlier, if your mouth isn't pretty numb by the time you finish your glass either you have low quality root, your preparation was inefficient, or you aren't using enough. I only tried one bag of shredded root from Kona Kava Farm, and it was of a similar good quality to what I get locally, but really that's all I can speak to as far as their products are concerned. It may behoove you to try the shredded root; some of the active constituents degrade quickly when powdered, and if you need a little more kick, so to speak, it may be worth trying. You may also want to try a somewhat more traditional preparation, as those are generally designed to maximize potency.

 

 

 

'Doing' Kava kava isn't a tea you can put into hot water. Serving it authentically is time consuming.

 

That's why it's often prepared in a blender nowadays . From what I understand, the traditional method of preparation involving chewing the whole root and then adding it to cold water (which was only traditional for some peoples, others more or less just ground it up) has fallen out of favor in many areas for tastier and/or quicker methods. I believe it is sometimes prepared commercially by blending with coconut milk in areas where its use is common because some of the alkaloids dissolve better in oil than water, but it is also simply ground and made into a sort of tea. Chewing the root allows you to absorb the fat-soluble parts directly and helps break it down to aid extraction, but it just about turned my mouth inside out the one time I tried it. What I found worked best for me in the past was to take a palm-full of shredded root and blend it up with cold water, then drink the whole sloppy mess as quickly as possible, root and all (tastes like dirty water with Novacaine in it). Anymore I really only use pre-made teabags because it is easier and tastes better, even though all it really does is even me out if I get really stressed. Sorry, I guess I should have posted preparation info a long time ago, but it's been awhile since I used the actual root itself and I forgot -- thanks for reminding me .

 

With all of the talk about white tea, though, I'm going to have to go try some .

Edited November 30, 2008 by JackSquat

[JackSquat]

I did it this way:

 

And it didn't seem to have any effect that way, at least.

 

What would be a better way to do it? I still have half the bag left.

 

 

 

I noticed your video just after I posted my last entry. Honestly, I would have thought that preparation would work. I don't know what to tell you except drink more faster or maybe try the shredded root next time. Keep in mind a cup of kava wears off within about two hours so if you're going to try to up the dosage you have to drink sort of quick.

Edited November 30, 2008 by JackSquat

[Aetherous]

It does make my tongue numb, but I don't get any relaxation from it. I will try it again, and this next time consume all of it as fast as I can.