Have you ever felt numb or emotionally blank? Well, I did, and this is not something I will ever experience anymore. And I am sure you won’t want to face it either.
But what if a particular trusted supplement makes you feel emotionally numb instead of distressing your mind? Herbal supplements like ashwagandha, chamomile, valerian, or lavender are supposed to relieve anxiety and stress, but what if they do the opposite?
As one of the most popular supplements, people focus more on ashwagandha. The user often asks, does ashwagandha kill emotions?
Ashwagandha does not kill emotions or make you numb, even with overdosing. Contrarily, ashwagandha relieves stress and anxiety and improves sleep patterns by lowering cortisol levels. The overall effect improves physical activities, mental focus, and sexual desire giving you holistic health benefits.
If you are still worried about the adverse impact of ashwagandha on your emotional well-being, this blog will surprise you while answering all the relevant queries.
How Does Being Emotionally Numb Feels Like?
At first. Let’s look at what being emotionally numb feels like.
Emotional numbness, sometimes called emotional blunting, can be hard to understand if you haven’t gone through it yourself.
People may describe it in various ways, such as feeling empty or down, while others might feel disconnected.
Some individuals may even feel like they have no future or believe the numb sensation will never disappear. Experiencing emotional numbness can also make a person feel out of focus or unanchored.
What Makes You Feel Emotionally Numb?
- Stress and stress hormones
- Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
- Medication like Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs)
- Depersonalization-derealization disorder
- Fatigue
Does Ashwagandha Make You Emotionally Numb?
Ashwagandha does not trigger any emotional numbness factors, so it won’t make you feel your emotion has been killed. Contrarily, sitoindosides and acylsterylglucosides in ashwagandha work as anti-stress agents.
A lab study found sitoindosides improve memory and learning in albino mice and rats. The effect is consistent with the impact of ashwagandha on the elderly population suffering from cerebral function deficits.
Such improvement in memory and learning improves focus and makes you feel emotionally sound.
Insomnia is another factor that can lead to an emotionless and stressful life. However, ashwagandha significantly improves this sleep disorder and prevents any psychological impact of insomnia on emotions.
Does Ashwagandha Make You Sleepy?
Helping with insomnia doesn’t mean ashwagandha will make you sleepy. You can take up to 300 mg of extract twice daily for sound sleep. However, anything over the limit may cause digestive issues but won’t make you feel sleepy or emotionally numb.
Ashwagandha significantly reduces morning cortisol and DHEA-S (dehydroepiandrosterone-sulphate) and relaxes your brain. This makes your sleep better than any synthetic sleep medication.
Does Ashwagandha Kill Emotions? Latest Social Media Buzz
Recently, millions of people using ashwagandha started saying the supplement makes them feel empty, numb, emotionless, and unreachable to anybody.
A health enthusiast named Jackson Adams from Australia shared in TikTok how he felt “emotionally blunted” after taking ashwagandha for months.
He said in the video, “Your heart wants you to feel emotions, but your mind won’t let you. You can’t seem to cry no matter what it’s like, your brains telling you no.”
Sounds depressive, huh? Seems so when around 2.3 million say the same thing.
However, experts like Amala Soumyanath, Director Botanical Dietary Supplements Research Center at Oregon Health & Science University, found that most complaints are from people taking ashwagandha with steroids while going to the gym.
It is not unlikely that they may have high cortisol levels that interfere with the herb and cause “euphoria.”
Final Words
Does ashwagandha cause gastrointestinal problems like nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, or skin rashes?
Yes, it does.
But does Ashwagandha make you emotionless?
No, it’s not. Feeling emotionless or emotionally numb or empty is connected with several factors, and ashwagandha is not one of them. This ancient herb helps you lead a low-stress life with a relaxed mind and sound sleep. It also allows you to feel more connected to your partner emotionally and physically.
But, till now, nothing has proved that this magic herb or other dietary supplements can make you detached from everything you love. No way!
I am a health and wellness enthusiast working in a Pittsburgh-based wellness clinic. My primary role as a consultant is to tailor a balanced lifestyle for my patients, where positive steps and potent supplements play a synergistic role.
