DOSE: T+ 0:00	1 cig.	smoked	Damiana	(dried)
T+ 0:20	1 cup	oral	Damiana	(tea)

BODY WEIGHT:

136 lb

[Before I start, I want to mention I havn't smoked cigarettes in 9 months, havn't smoked weed in about 6 years, and I very rarely drink anymore. This was a first experience with Damiana, by the way. Also, I smoked the joint about 40 minutes before writing this, and drank the tea about 20 minutes ago.]

You wouldn't know it from talking to me, as I'm generally pretty outgoing, but I have a pretty bad general anxiety problem. I'm 24 now, but from ages 13-18 I used to drink a lot and smoke weed (marijuana) with friends pretty often, some months it was a daily, all-day thing.

I haven't smoked since I was about 18, mostly because at the end there, it would actually CAUSE me to become anxious, nervous, and very panicky as opposed to the calming effect it had in the beginning. I also sometimes didn't like how when I smoked weed, I did NOT want to move, the only way it was enjoyable for me is if I was sitting and talking with friends, or laying down with a movie on, etc.. I *HATED* it when everyone would get stoned and then want to go do something physical.

So with all that said, I eventually went to a doctor about my anxiety, and stressed that I wanted nothing that would mess with my sexual performance, or chemically alter my body much, etc. And they put me on a very low dose of Clonazepam (a.k.a. Klonapin). That did help, even though it was very very subtle, but after a while I felt I didn't need it, and also didn't want to be taking pills in the first place. I don't like that some of them wreck your liver and chemically mess with you, things like that.

So that brings me to why I started looking online for natural anti-anxiety cures, and over the years had come across Damiana, but I figured it was mostly just a placebo thing. I finally decided to order some online, 2 ounces for $7 and the seller had good reviews, and almost everyone in the review said it 'worked' for them.

My expectation was that Damiana would probably smell like weed, taste kinda like it, but harsher, and that it would affect me very little if at all , and that most of it would be placebo/mental. I was right about the first part. When I opened the package, it smelled like weed, but not as wreaking/potent, and with a hint of 'wild-flowery' scent, I liked it! At this stage, I was excited to try it, and my intention was to roll a joint with orange zig-zags I ordered online. My plan was to go outside on our shaded back porch and smoke the joint, relax there for a while and just enjoy the peace back there, see how it felt, then gauging from that, come inside and make tea out of it to drink afterwords, which exactly what I did.

I should mention now that I rolled the joint very poorly. I'm used to smoking out of glass pipes you get from headshops and the like. When I lit the joint, I immediately caught a whiff of what smelled just like weed only sliiightly different. In fact I was kinda worried one of my neighbors would smell it and come to see what was going on, heheh. Mentally, I was giving it a shot. I wasn't sitting there going, 'Nah, this isn't gonna work but I'll try it anyway', but I also wasn't expecting to get high either.

As far as the actual smoking went, I barely got a hit off of the first half of the joint. It was rolled so poorly that most of the first half of it burned away, some of it basically falling out. The second half of the joint went a bit smoother, and really out of the whole joint I'd say I really only got about 3-4 decent-sized puffs.

It tasted how it smelled; like weed, with a hint of 'wild-flower'. I found it to be a little less harsh than weed, and that was coming from a poorly rolled joint! I liked the taste, and it was definately very reminiscent of weed, and the joint looked like a weed-joint would. For these reasons alone I think it would be very good to someone who's trying to ween their way off of marijuana! They would still get the smell, taste, physical action of rolling/packing and smoking.

I sat there for a while waiting for it to kick in, and found that my limbs felt just slightly heavier, almost like very weak weed, but again keep in mind I only got about 3 decent-sized hits off the whole thing.

The effects were very unique! I found it to be perfect for me. It was like a weak weed buzz in a way, but without the heavy/clouded eyes. It was its own kind of buzz, comparing it to marijuana isn't quite right but it's the closest thing I think anyone would be able to compare it to. It didn't give me a 'high' feeling, but a feeling of its own. I noticed that I found myself paying much more attention to detail when looking at the rocks, plants, etc. Also, the heat didn't bother me like it normally does (I live in Las Vegas, and it's the beginning of August), though I was out at about 10am before the heat really slams us. Being from Wisconsin originally, the heat always gets to me very quickly and during the day I'm usually not outside for more than 10mins at a time if I can help it.

At this point, I felt very content. Not stoned, but it was definately more than a placebo effect. I sat outside for about 10 minutes, and when I stood up I got that familiar twinge of heaviness, again like I'd get from a really weak weed buzz.

Here was the beautiful thing about it all though. I felt at ease, but not sluggish like with marijuana. I felt no anxiety, no panic, my heart-rate didn't skyrocket like it does with weed, none of that. It didn't feel as 'calming happy' as weed, it was a mild buzz and different from Marijuana, and of its own, which is why I chose the words 'at ease'. Maybe it would've been stronger if I rolled a proper joint and got to hit it more :P. I nodded my head in approval and walked back into the house. I decided to go into my room and listen to a couple slower Regina Spektor songs, and once again I found myself noticing detail a lot more. It just sounded better! It was like my body received the notes better, I could almost picture the exact 'touch' she put on the piano keys as she played them. Again, not anything of a high feeling like 'Wow I'm pretty baked, and this music sounds great!', just more of like a 'Wow, she plays that really beautifully, never really paid attention to the subtleties in the song before!'.

Which reminds me... Damiana has a reputation for being a male aphrodesiac. For me, it didn't make me 'horny', but I can say that it did make me feel very loving. I got to thinking about my ex-fiancee, and how what I really wanted to do right then was just wrap my arms around her on the couch and kiss her neck to make her get that cute smile that would always creep up on her, heheh. Damiana probably got its reputation because I assume it makes people feel more loving, which can lead to cuddling, which can inevitably lead to sex. But it didn't make me out-right horny.

Moving on, after listening to a couple Regina Spektor songs, I figured I should make some tea with it since I barely got any hits off the joint. I don't know how you're supposed to 'make tea', so I just put two heaping spoonfuls (a normal spoon not the big ones) in the cup, and poured boiling water on it. I sat with the cup and stirred it every now and then for about 20 minutes, and it smelled nice as I did! The taste was neutral to me, I didn't put any sugar or honey or anything in it. Again it kinda tasted how it smelled, and didn't have a very strong taste. Then again I'm not a smoker anymore so maybe smoking the joint masked the taste of the tea.

The tea did just what I wanted it to, it extended the life of the joint I smoked and added a little extra kick to it, I'd say they complement each other well. It was relaxing to drink, the smell put me at ease as I sipped it even. About 10 minutes after I drank it, I felt very relaxed, and peaked I guess you'd say, and I just wanted to sit in the living-room chair and watch TV, I didn't even care what as long as it didn't totally suck, and I rarely watch TV. I just wanted to do something relaxing, and it felt great when I did sit and watch a show.

The best part about it all though, was that I felt the relaxation without the rapid heartbeat or panicky feeling in the back of my mind that weed would give me, and at the same time I felt like if someone did pop in the room and say 'Hey let's go do [whatever]', I would be totally fine with it and that wouldn't bother me at all either.

So in conclusion, it's something I'm definately going to be using often, probably daily, as I find it totally reduces my anxieties down to almost nothing (and I have alot to be stressed about right now to boot). It somehow makes me remember that most of the shit that stresses me out and makes me panic really isn't that big of a deal. In fact, twice during the experience (and even still as I write this), I TRIED to stress myself out by thinking about the stuff that makes me anxious, and it didn't really work, LoL. I just thought 'Oh well, it'll be fine', but it wasn't that careless, irresponsible kind of 'Eh, fuck it, who cares' lazy thinking from weed either. I was well aware of my responsibilities, they just, didn't make me panic/anxious.

I found this to be something that's not harmful (save for my lungs if I smoke it I'm sure), but effective. It's not a cure-all, but it definately helped with anxiety in my opinion. I love it! I'm really upset that I didn't try this earlier! I'm about to go on a camping trip with mostly strangers and will definately be having some Damiana in some form before I leave the house so I'm not all panicky when I arrive.

Sorry this is so long, but I wanted to give the full experience and where I was coming from mentally/emotionally when I did it. Most places when I have read about Damiana all I got is 'Doesn't work, move on.' or 'Weed buzz but not weed, it's ok, guess I'd do it again', with little insight, and no information on taste/feeling/smell/etc.

Exp Year: 2010	ExpID: 86724
Gender: Male
Age at time of experience: 24
Published: Jan 10, 2018	Views: 10,219
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Damiana (107) : First Times (2), Glowing Experiences (4), Therapeutic Intent or Outcome (49), Alone (16)