So far out of all of the herbs I've come across, Kava Root extract has by far been the most effective for stablizing my mood and turning the "happy knob" a bit brighter. I see nothing wrong with trying to keep your cloudy mood away with a bit of Kava, it works wonders.
from my experience, kava root is an alright recreational drink. my family is brown and they regulary drink kava root powder tea, they call the tea "nagona" ive had it plenty of times, and personally i find it doesn't do much besides make me sleepy drunk with a slight stoney high. thoughts are slightly distorted (kinda like with weed) whatever positive effects i find only last until the effects of the kava wear off. after the 4-5 hour effects, i feel hungover and worse then before lol to each their own though, man. glad you found a substance that has a positive effect on your mood
i've tried kava kava drinks as well.. can't say that i love them. it does make you feel mellow and social.. to me the effects were off rather quickly, and there is some sort of after effect which is not very pleasant. wouldn't call it a hangover, but i do feel a little off.
It's just such a great thing because it lowers inhibitions without impairing you much at all. I've noticed when I have aches or tightness in my muscles that it helps me recover quicker.