Best kratom strain for anxiety and depression: Dosage and side effects

Kratom offers a lot to individuals who want natural support to address their symptoms of anxiety and depression.
The effects of kratom strains are dose-dependent. The lower doses produce energizing, uplifting effects, while higher doses are empathogenic and euphoric. You can enjoy incredible mental and health benefits in both cases – provided you take other essential steps to support your mental wellness.
Learning about how it works, how much to use, and which strain to try can help you get the maximum from your kratom experience. All kratom strains boast properties that support anxiety, depression, or other mental health disorders – but some kratom strains are much better than others.
Generally, trying a strain that is not too stimulating can prove your best bet to get anxiety relief. Using strains containing high concentrations of stimulating alkaloids, such as ajmalicine and mitragynine, may result in an increase in anxiety – if used in lower doses.
The ideal dose should be rich in alkaloids 7-hydroxymitragynine and speciogynine – the primary relaxing compounds present in the herb.
If you intend to use a kratom strain for anxiety, your should try relaxing green or red vein variations and opt for the higher dosage ranges – over 5 grams of dried leaf powder per dose.
The following list of strains is the best kratom strains you can try to get relief from symptoms of anxiety and relief.
Best kratom strains for anxiety and depression
The below-listed kratom strains are the most popular strains that people often use to get relief from depression and anxiety.
Green Malay Kratom
Green Malay Kratom contains potent relaxing properties and is one of the best strains for combatting anxiety and depression. This kratom strain known as ‘social lubricant’ can make users feel calm and relaxed. For this reason, Green Malay Kratom is a popular choice among users who want to enjoy hanging out with friends. The euphoric effects of this strain make users feel connected and talkative due to connectedness.
The balancing effects of this strain provide the best anxiety relief without overbearing sedative effects associated with green or red vein kratom.
Benefits of Green Malay Kratom
You can enjoy the following benefits from using Green Malay Kratom.
- It serves as an incredible social lubricant
- Promotes a sense of wellness & peace
- Higher doses produce euphoric effects
Related: What is the Green Malay Kratom strain? Effects, Dosage, & Safety
Red Thai Kratom
Thai Kratom possesses the incredible potential to address anxiety-associated symptoms. People love them for their ability to produce a carefree, relaxed attitude. You may feel like floating on the clouds. The pure relaxation refreshes your body, and all your stresses seem to melt away.
The Red Vein Thai is particularly effective for relieving anxiety and offers numerous benefits for depression and other mood disorders. In higher doses, it provides unstoppable euphoria.
Green Thai kratom strain could be another choice if you prefer some energizing effects. Red vein kratom strains are generally considered better for anxiety and stress relief.
- Delivers benefits of Red Thai Kratom
- Sense of peace and wellness
- Produces feelings like you are floating
- Excellent anti-anxiety properties
- May help address insomnia
Related: What is Red Vein Kratom? Everything you need to know about red vein strains.
White Maeng Da Kratom Strain
Maeng Da Kratom is a popular strain due to its potent and long-lasting effects. This strain comes in white, green, and red veins. All these variations of Maeng da possess excellent euphoric and relaxing properties and provide incredible support in managing anxiety and depression.
Many users claim White Maeng Da contains the most potent anti-anxiety properties of the herb. It is more stimulating than its red version – but in a way that does not seem to trigger anxiety as other white kratom strains do.
Benefits of Maeng Da kratom
- Stimulating effects – but without triggering anxiety
- Produces potent euphoria & relaxation effects
- Promotes focus & concentration
- Relives fatigue & lethargy
Related: Is Maeng Da the best kratom strain? What are its benefits?
Kratom for anxiety
Kratom is a plant native to the Southeast Asian region and contains more than 40 pharmacologically active alkaloids – many of them are potent opioid receptor antagonists. They have the potential to bind and activate opioid receptors located in the spinal cord and brainstem.
That interaction produces most of the kratom’s painkilling benefits because opiate receptors are involved with pain control.
The opioid receptors do more than pain relief.
How does Kratom relieve anxiety and stress?
Research has shown that opioid receptors are involved with the regulation of a neurotransmitter known as GABA. The GABA produces a relaxing effect due to its neuro inhibitory potential. GABA opposes the stimulation and increases electrical activity in the brain. The rise of electrical activity makes us feel alert and focused. When it goes too high, we feel anxious.
GABA blocks the effects of glutamate and reverses the effects of anxiety to bring us back to the normal state. In the evenings, the GABA activity peaks helping the body to relax and fall asleep.
Kratom also affects anxiety by uplifting the mood and improving the sleep quality each night.
Research on effects of kratom on anxiety
There is no clinical study to this date to show the potential of kratom strains to relieve anxiety and stress in a controlled environment. But numerous survey studies in vivo and vitro research tried to explore if and how this herb helps to manage anxiety disorders.
A study analyzed 161 first-hand kratom user reports from the psychedelic forum Erowid. The study found that 30% of the respondents believe that kratom use results in a better sense of wellbeing.
Another study noted that 60% of 8049 surveyed respondents revealed they use kratom powder to relieve their mood disorders, including anxiety and depression. Of respondents, 74% reported a reduction in their anxiety level after taking regular kratom powder doses.
A recent study published by Heliyon shared the findings of a case report show kratom effectively works for self-management of stress and anxiety without causing dose escalation or addiction. This study conducted in the background of COVID-19 has found kratom has limited ability to deal with psychological stress load and relapse into major depression.
Kratom dose for anxiety
The ideal dose of kratom powder for anxiety consists of 5 to 12 grams of dried powder – taken once, twice, or three times a day. The following dosage guide can help you calculate an adequate dose to address anxiety and stress.
Low kratom dose: Anything below 5 grams can have stimulating effects. Taking a low dosage of kratom can increase your anxiety level.
High kratom dose: Anything between 5 to 12 grams of dried kratom powder is considered a high kratom dose. Your ideal kratom dose should be between 5 to 12 grams. The higher dosage of this natural herb produces highly relaxing and anxiolytic effects.
Everyone responds differently to kratom dose, so you should take kratom recommendations carefully. It is critical to listen to your body and adjust your kratom dose accordingly. If you are not getting the desired effects, increase your intake incrementally until you experience the desired benefits.
The users who experience side effects should reduce their dose to a level where they no longer appear.
Is kratom safe? What are the side effects?
Kratom is considerably safe compared to most common anti-anxiety prescription substances. The use of kratom is associated with some side effects. But these side effects are manageable and can be avoided by taking an adequate dose and listening to your body.
Kratom may cause the following side effects.
- Hyperpigmentation
- Nausea
- Insomnia
- Appetite
- Dizziness
- Lower libido
- Poor muscle coordinaiton
- Low blood pressure
- Itchiness
- Seizures
Related: What is a kratom hangover? and how to quickly recover from it?
Final thoughts
Kratom can help relieve the symptoms of anxiety and stress – but only when you take an adequate dose of kratom.
In lower doses, it may cause stimulation which may worsen your anxiety. The higher doses, more than 5 grams, produce potent stress relieving and anxiolytic effects. Kratom is a natural herb that can help users to improve sleep, alleviate social anxiety, reduce anxiety, and promotes a sense of peace and calm.