Kratom Capsules for Depression: How Does It Work?
Kratom can be used as a recreational drug or as a medicine. When the leaves of a kratom tree are used as a recreational drug, people usually chew them or make tea from those leaves. As a recreational drug, kratom can boost our physical endurance and elevate our mood.
When used recreationally, kratom, therefore, behaves as a euphoriant. When deciding to purchase it, people usually opt to buy kratom capsules bulk for recreational use daily. Buying in bulk is cheaper, and numerous vendors offer discounts for larger sales of kratom.
On the other hand, when people use kratom as a medicine, it can effectively alleviate diabetes, anxiety, cough, high blood pressure, pain, diarrhea, opiate withdrawal, depression, and even improve sexual performance.
So how does kratom actually work? The leaves of the kratom tree harbor a chemical called mitragynine. When mitragynine enters our body, it acts similarly to morphine and codeine opioid drugs, alleviating pain.
In the remainder of the text, we’ll take a closer look at what happens in our body when we use kratom, its potential health benefits, and how effective it is in alleviating depression symptoms. These potential health benefits are why the interest in kratom is growing in our modern world.
Kratom and depression: things you should know
Alleviating depression symptoms with kratom seems to be something worth considering. A study from 2017 showed that people who consumed kratom to treat mental health conditions like anxiety and depression themselves proved to be effective in alleviating their symptoms.
In the following year, another review on the connection between kratom and depression showed that some people improved their overall mood. For this reason, numerous scientists believe that kratom can act as a natural opioid.
What happens is that particular compounds found in kratom leaves induce pleasure, sedation, and lower brain perception by interacting with opioid receptors in our brain. Mitragynine, an active compound in kratom, causes a stimulating effect.
When taken in low doses, kratom gives the user energy, and it can produce euphoria in moderate doses. However, when taken abundantly, it can act as a sedative. Here, some negative side-effects may occur.
To name a couple – constipation, dry mouth, nausea, vomiting, urge to urinate, and tongue numbness. Therefore, even when alleviating depression symptoms with kratom, making kratom dosages small or moderate is essential.
Kratom and other potential health benefits
Since kratom can act as an aphrodisiac, it’s only logical that people use it as a supplement to enhance sexual endurance. Other than that, most people turn to kratom when they wish to alleviate acute and chronic pain.
Treating opioid withdrawal with kratom also seems possible, as kratom, with its opioid effects, can reduce the severe withdrawal symptoms. Other than being effective in reducing depression symptoms, which we’ve mentioned above, kratom has other potential positive outcomes.
It induces relaxation since the compounds in kratom attach to opioid receptors in our brain and enable relief. Kratom contains 7-hydroxy mitragynine, 13 times more potent than morphine, and is most responsible for pain alleviation.
The origin and distribution of kratom
Kratom comes from Mitragyna speciosa, a tree that grows in Southeast Asia, Thailand, and Malaysia. The tree’s leaves contain mitragynine, an active ingredient, which is why kratom became widely used as a herbal extract.
The distribution of kratom differs in Southeast Asia and Western countries. In Southeast Asia, its place of origin, day laborers primarily use it in its pure form to enhance their energy and make it through the busy working day.
In Western countries, the market of kratom is still somewhat unregulated. Since Kratom interacts with our CNS and has an opioid impact, Western countries use it as a herbal drug. You must buy kratom from reputable manufacturers in such cases to avoid contaminated kratom.
Conclusion
Even though we’ve provided an in-depth analysis of the potential health benefits, you have to take kratom with great caution. Mind that when taken in abundance and regularly, kratom can also cause dependence and withdrawal symptoms.
Though effective in reducing depression symptoms, overuse of kratom can sometimes provoke spasms in the body, muscle pain, cramps, watery eyes, anger, mood swings, tension, nervousness, hot flashes, diarrhea, and fever.
Therefore, be aware that though used as a natural remedy in Southeast Asia, kratom is a very heavy and potent opioid. Before you decide to use it in treating depression, or any other health condition for that matter, visit a doctor and make sure you understand your medical condition.
