Coping with anxiety and stress is no walk in the park.
Anxiety disorder affects nearly 20% of adults in the US. That’s about 40 million people, and those are just the diagnosed ones. Estimates are actually much higher.
But not everyone knows to get treatment for their anxiety. Many cases go undiagnosed, resulting in millions of people going through life without the proper care for their illness.
The presence of mental illness in everyday life has come to the forefront of pop culture in recent years. Its stigma is fading away as more and more people in the public eye admit to feelings of depression and anxiety.
Treatments for anxiety range from large doses of therapy and medication to recommended self-help aids like meditation and exercise. Different things work for different people.
A new coping mechanism that’s been brought forward is vaping for anxiety.
People have been smoking cigarettes to deal with stress for decades. We now know that cigarettes are unhealthy, to say the least.
Vaping, however, acts as a healthier alternative to smoking and provides many similar therapeutic qualities.
Here, we’ll look at vaporizer benefits and ask the question, does vaping help with anxiety?
Let’s find out.
Vaping 101
For those new to the world of vaping, you’ll probably wonder how vaporizers work and what exactly you’re inhaling. It’s not as scary as it sounds.
How Do Vapes Work?
Vapes are pretty sophisticated pieces of technology. Each of the four components of a vape requires one another to function properly.
The battery powers the whole unit, the atomizer provides the heat, the tank holds the substance, and the mouthpiece funnels the vapor into your mouth.
When the battery is engaged, it activates the atomizer, which heats up the substance, creating the vapor that funnels into the mouthpiece. Simple!
Herbal Vaping
Some people love vaping but get a bit sketched out by the e-juice that’s typically used in vape pens. Dry herbal vaping is a natural alternative to traditional e-juice vaping.
Dry herbal vaping requires a different type of vaporizer but works in the same way. Instead of putting e-juice in your vape tank, you put in the pre-packaged dry-herbs, and away you go.
Common Herbs for Vaping
There are loads of different herbal combinations available for vaping, each possessing specific qualities to have specific effects on the user.
Chamomile, passion flower, damiana, and valerian are all popular herbs. Each of them has been used by different cultures for millennia to combat sleep disorder, anxiety, and depression.
Chamomile has tested positively when it comes to affecting emotions, arousal, and memory processes. Vaping it aids against anxiety and promotes restful sleep.
Valerian and damiana both act as sedatives and each has properties that provoke active dreaming. Valerian, in particular, has been used by European and Asian cultures throughout history for its therapeutic qualities.
All of these herbs provide incredible healing characteristics, the scientific extent of which, we don’t even know all of yet. Herbal vaping has just hit vape culture recently, to much fanfare. Many consider it a great treatment for mental disorders.
Vaping for Anxiety
Herbal vaping is an all-natural way to treat anxiety without the use of medication. Unlike daily medications that stagnate your brain function, herbs have great potential upside without the harmful side-effects of the traditional meds.
Here are a few of the possible advantages to herbal vaping, as opposed to prescription medications.
Sleep Effects
Anxiety can have crippling effects on sleep patterns. Most Americans report having stress-induced sleep problems. And when you don’t get the proper amount of sleep, anxiety can be amplified. It’s a vicious cycle.
Many of the herbs used in herbal vaping are proven to induce sleep. Valerian and damiana specifically help induce sleep and prevent insomnia.
It’s not guaranteed, but you have a better chance of calming your mind to the point of sleep with these herbs than anxiety medication.
Calming
An anxiety attack is like going downhill in a car with no brakes. You can’t stop the snowball from growing. Fortunately, many of the herbal remedies provide a sedative effect on the user.
Vaping blue lotus or wild lettuce will give the user an instant calming sensation, allowing you to try to gain control of that speeding car before a crash happens.
Blue lotus contains a compound called apomorphine. Apomorphine is an agonist of dopamine receptors in the brain. Basically, an agonist will stimulate the dopamine receptor in lieu of dopamine being produced.
Wild lettuce is typically used as a medication to treat a bad cough, asthma, excessively painful menstrual periods and joint pain. But it can also be used to achieve an opioid effect, creating a feeling of calm and relaxation.
Instant Acting
When you vape a herb, it goes into your lungs and gives you a nearly immediate change in mood and vibe. If you’re in the throes of a panic attack, you may not have time for your prescribed medication to kick in.
The day-stopping effects of anxiety can’t always be remedied by medication. If you’re at work or out and about, you’ll need something that can act fast to make your mood a little better.
Choose the Right Herbs for You
Take the knowledge you’ve gleaned here and conduct some of your own research to determine which type of herbs will be best for your circumstance.
The history books will show that ancient cultures have been using herbs to deal with mental health problems, basically forever.
This isn’t to say that they’ll “cure” anxiety, but our society tends to discredit anything used to treat illnesses in ancient cultures when there’s no need to do so.
While it’s important to get treated for severe stress and anxiety, herbal vaping for anxiety allows you to take matters into your own hands once in a while. Don’t become dependent on vaping, but use it circumstantially and you’ll see results.
For more articles on vaping and where to buy vaporizers, visit our blog.