Hi! I'm someone who deals with anxiety a lot. You may have seen my post about weed/hemp. I love myself some good hemp but unfortunately it's quite expensive, and I'm also a huge fan of growing and cultivating things (though with ADHD it can be quite hard to remember to take care of it...)

Is there any plant out there that's known (scientifically proven) to have relaxing effects without being addictive and also possible to grow without getting me arrested for growing it? It sounds like something that would be way too good to be possible, but I thought I would ask.

Thanks for the help in advance!

  • ReadFanon [any, any]
    ·
    6 months ago

    Gotu kola is easy to grow, especially if you grow it under pond-like conditions. As an anxiolytic... eh, it might do something.

    Throw bacopa monneiri into that exact same pile (or bucket, I guess). Both are super easy to propagate too.

    I like smoking damiana and it had a noticeable anxiolytic effect on me. Apparently it may increase testosterone and reduce estrogen so if you're AFAB or taking hormones then I'd avoid this without further research and potentially medical advice. I've never grown it though so I can't speak to how difficult it is to grow. Also it is known for making people horny. I didn't experience this effect but it's worth mentioning.

    The last one I think is worth mentioning although it comes with a caution that it can cause addiction so if you do grow it and you are consuming it, take tolerance breaks, or if you are prone to addiction then I'd recommend healthy caution if not avoiding it entirely but kratom is a tree so once it's established then it's going to be easy enough to take care of.

    Edit: ah shoot, ADHD huh?

    That is a confounding variable. Feel free not to discuss this for your own privacy but ADHDers, as a rule, tend to be low in norepinephrine (adrenaline) and paradoxically this can cause anxiety problems. Long story. It might be better to get yourself appropriately medicated, if that's a practical option, because most ADHD meds increase norepinephrine and this often causes ADHDers to experience less anxiety. However, being the snowflake that I am, it doesn't actually work that way for me so if you are the opposite and you want advice I can point you in the right direction with things.

      • ReadFanon [any, any]
        ·
        6 months ago

        I didn't realise this - I never put any real effort into researching it so apologies because if I'd have known I would have given you a warning.

        Goes to show that getting advice from internet strangers should be the springing off point but it shouldn't be the last word on the matter and doing your due diligence is always important. I'm glad that you looked into this yourself.

        • EelBolshevikism [none/use name]
          ·
          6 months ago

          Yeah, plus I don’t really trust most herbal/apothecary medicine stuff so I basically have to verify everything actually has a non-zero amount of research behind it

    • EelBolshevikism [none/use name]
      ·
      6 months ago

      Also the suggestion about getting medicated is a good one. I am already medicated, currently on Welbutrin for it. Having something to take the edge of occasionally is helpful though.

    • EelBolshevikism [none/use name]
      ·
      6 months ago

      Damiana sounds great but unfortunately I am transfemme ish. So increasing my testosterone sounds miserable, though it wouldn’t physically hurt me