I love this stuff. In the last few years I've had significant depression coupled with anxiety. My fuse has been very short and I am extremely bitchy when I am alone (as my pets can attest, having to listen to me). I am also subject to crying jags, where if I have one, then I will cry all day. ALL DAY. I was at the end of my rope and found Ashwagandha. I figured... for less that $10, it's a cheap experiment. Well, it works! Within just a few minutes of taking this, I no longer feel emotional extremes and this is a god send to me. No more crying, no more frustration... just blissful even feelings. I want to build a monument to Ashwagandha! This is great stuff. If you have similar issues as I do, $10 could buy you the relief you need. I won't ever be without it now. I consider this medication - that's how reliably it works for me. I haven't tried other brands and I'm kind of scared to because this works so well for me. If this has helped you, please mark it helpful. Thank you :)<br /><br />UPDATE: I've tried other brands since posting this review and I always come back to this one. The others I've tried have black pepper in them and I don't feel like those are as effective for me as this brand, which does not have black pepper. With other brands, I don't feel like I experience the noticeable &#34;smoothing out&#34; within a few mins. I feel better still, but I don't notice them kicking in. I couldn't get this brand on auto-ship before, which was why I tried other brands, but I'll stick with Swanson for as long as they keep offering Subscribe & Save.

I began using Ashwagandha a month ago and am using a different brand. Out of respect for the Marketer, I wont' mention the brand but if you look up my other reviews you can find which one I've been taking successfully. This review is about Ashwagandha in general and it's effects on me. Which are very different than many of the reviews.<br /><br />I read many reviews on Amazon and originally bought it for sleep and than found it had the opposite effect.<br /><br />So Ashwagandha is a two sided coin. For some it comes up tails and promotes rest and sleep, for others it promotes wakefulness energy and concentration.<br /><br />Herbal Supplements have different effects on different individuals. Ashwagandha is considered an Adaptogen. If you need to be calm it acts in that way, need sleep it may cause sleepiness. For me though it acts as a stimulant.<br /><br />I've waited a month to write this review to see if I develop a tolerance or a negative reaction. The answer is no.<br /><br />For me Ashwagandha has had an enervating effect. I take it in the morning and find myself much more energetic, my mood is elevated, I'm not tired and my productivity at work has increased. I find that I'm more focused and my thought processes are dead on. I also find it makes me a little more aggressive. Possibly it's the extra energy.<br /><br />Consult with your Dr if you are being treated with other medicines, it is purported to stimulate the Thyroid adn that may not be a good thing for some people<br /><br />It's your choice to accept or ignore the Dr's advise. Traditional Doctors don't understand Botanical Supplements.Web Md has a list of interactions with different medicines.<br /><br />It may upset some individuals stomachs especially if taken on and empty stomach and if this symptom materializes,try taking with food.<br /><br />I have tried Ginkgo, Rhodiola, Huperzine A. Ginkgo worked for a little while and than I developed a tolerance. I don't believe I ever had as positive an effect from Ginkgo as from Ashwaganda. Rhodiola did give energy but I found it didn't help concentration. Huperzine A I had a very bad reaction to and unbalanced my system. Remember that everyone has different metabolism and reactions, so you might try 1 or all of these 3 and your result would differ from mine.<br /><br />In summation, For me Ashwaganda has been a strong stimulant, both promoting wakefulness while enhancing mental thought processes. But according to the literature and from many reviews it will not affect everyone in this way. Good Luck!!

Let me start by saying, I was very skeptical that any natural products can heal you. I will also give a run down of my ailments.<br /><br />I have 2 ruptured disks in my back, fibromyalgia, endometriosis, anxiety and panic attacks, and I never sleep. I was on a huge list of meds that I absolutely hated taking, but had no choice. I read up on the Ashwagandha Root and decided to try it, what did I have to lose?<br /><br />I started with 2 capsules at bedtime. Now normally at bedtime, I took a Xanax, a muscle relaxer, and narcotic pain medicine just to be able to relax, keep my pain manageable, and get about an hour of sleep before I woke up. I did this every night, slept an hour, woke up an hour, slept and hour, etc. The first night I took the Ashwagandha, I didn't take the Xanax, muscle relaxer, or narcotic. I slept for 3 hours before waking. That sounds bad, but it was so much better than the usual. I repeated this every night.<br /><br />Not only am I more relaxed, my pain has somewhat subsided. Not completely, but it's tolerable. Better yet, I'm not putting those awful drugs in my system. I have not had a Xanax or narcotic in 2 weeks and counting. I have had to take a muscle relaxer now and then when the pain gets unbearable from muscle spasms, but much less frequently.<br /><br />I can't say much about the Ashwagandha root making me feel out of it or loopy like other reviews, it did not have that effect on me, I never felt drugged or out of it or loopy. I have noticed my tolerance for idiots and my patience has increased since taking it, so it does provide a calming effect without the "glassy, loopy eyes, who cares", effect Xanax has. Read the ingredients, it's all natural, why not give it a shot and just see if it makes a difference in you? It did for me and the biggest plus was getting off addictive drugs that are not good for you. As always, consult with you doctor on everything you take and never stop a medicine you take regularly abruptly. Some medications require that you be weaned off of them to prevent withdrawals and sometimes seizures or worse.<br /><br />That was my experience and I'll be purchasing more.

I don't have good health Insurance so I always research to see what alternatives I would have as far as natural herbs go. I tried this and it has helped me quite a bit. I don't feel like my heart is pounding outside of my chest! It really helps calm me, great product!

I've tried several over-the-counter remedies for chronic stress, including L-Arginine, Ginkgo, Ginseng, all without any noticeable effect at all. In comparison, Ashwagandha is amazing. I have no idea why this product is not more well-known and popular.<br /><br />For me, Ashwagandha produces a calming effect very quickly, within about 15 minutes. Not only that, it does not fade quickly at all. It seems to help the entire day. The effect was felt from the very first dose. I take the recommended dose: 2 pills twice a day.<br /><br />I don't want to overstate the case here, but Ashwagandha has literally changed my life in the last few weeks. It provides quick, long-lasting stress relief, and does so without side-effects.<br /><br />I don't take any supplement without looking at medical studies about results and side-effects. Other than slight fatigue, which may in fact be just the calming effect, I've not experienced any negative side-effects. The positive effects, however, are numerous. I can't provide a link in this review, but you can read an overview of the medical studies on Ashwagandha by searching Google for "Scientific Basis for the Therapeutic Use of Withania somnifera (Ashwagandha): A Review"

So I only write reviews when I feel it's totally worth it for both good and bad reasons. Honestly, this stuff is amazing! I have horrible anxiety, especially at work and just before going to bed. I took this as soon as I got it just before settling in for the night, and I can't remember the last time I had such a great night's sleep. I also woke up refreshed, not groggy! I take a lot of kratom which is pretty similar to ashwagandha in terms of stress relief and i must say this works slightly better. I've only had it for 2 days now, but it seriously works great for on-the-spot anxiety attacks. I can not praise this herb enough! It may not work for everyone, especially if you have a high drug tolerance to benzos and the like. I work at a pharmacy and see the effects of conventional medicine everyday. Some work well, but some, far from beneficial. I really don't think you can go wrong with this! Love it!