Clinical Answer
Does kratom help with depression?
What the human studies show
The short answer
Some people say kratom lifts their mood, but the human studies reviewed here do not show that it treats depression, and almost none of the detailed research involves teenagers. The same studies also do not show that kratom causes lasting depression, so both reported relief and reported problems deserve an honest conversation with a clinician.
Read the full Evidence Review →
Direct Answer
Depression is a treatable condition, and established depression care is built on studies that follow patients over time with proper comparisons. Kratom has not been studied that way.
The human reports reviewed here — surveys, a 15-day mood-tracking study, comparisons between people who did and did not use kratom, and individual case histories — show that some people feel better after using it, and that others run into dependence, difficult withdrawal, or worsening symptoms. None of these studies establishes that kratom effectively treats a depressive disorder, and none establishes that it causes persistent depression.
For families, the age question matters. Most of the detailed mood research involves adults. One national survey included people aged 12 and older, but it did not report the link between kratom and depression separately for adolescents. Nothing in this evidence supports kratom as a depression treatment for children or teens.
What earlier understanding suggested
Much of what people have heard about kratom and mood comes from the experiences of people who use it. In large online surveys, many respondents with depressive symptoms said kratom made their mood better, and those reports are real and worth listening to. Based on that kind of information, it was reasonable for people to wonder whether kratom might be a natural mood treatment.
At the same time, clinicians have long recognized that surveys of current users cannot answer a treatment question on their own. People who feel helped are more likely to keep using a substance and to answer a survey about it, and a survey cannot show what would have happened without kratom. The question of whether feeling better is the same as recovering from depression has always needed a different kind of study.
What recent evidence suggests
The more careful studies paint a mixed and cautious picture.
Short-term mood around use
A study that asked 357 adults who use kratom to rate their mood several times a day for 15 days found that sadness was slightly lower in the few hours after a single use — about 1.6 points on a 0–100 scale. That difference is small, and its clinical importance is uncertain.
Using kratom more than once in that window was not linked to lower sadness. This study tracked momentary feelings in people already using kratom; it did not test recovery from depression.
People who use kratom compared with people who do not
These comparisons point in different directions. In one study of men in rehabilitation for methamphetamine use, some depression symptoms first looked lower among those with a kratom history, but none of those differences held up after the researchers corrected for the many comparisons they made.
In U.S. surveys, people who had used kratom reported more depressive symptoms, or higher odds of major depression, than people who never had. Studies like these cannot tell whether depression came first, whether kratom came first, or whether other differences — other substance use, pain, life circumstances — explain both.
Stopping kratom
A study of regular users in Malaysia described mostly mild low mood and anxiety during stopping, with more noticeable depressive symptoms among heavier users. That is low mood around withdrawal; it does not show a lasting depressive illness caused by kratom.
Case histories
Individual reports describe both years of perceived relief followed by a later crisis, and dependence alongside worsening depression. Single cases show why the course over time matters, but they cannot tell anyone how often a problem happens.
Safety goes beyond mood. Survey respondents mostly described side effects as mild, but some reported withdrawal or needed medical care, and a case of severe liver injury has been reported. Interactions with other medicines remain uncertain. Products also differ: findings about kratom leaf or tea should not be assumed to apply to concentrated products sold as "7-OH."
Several sources in this review could be assessed only as abstracts, and the review was a targeted check of selected human reports rather than a new search of all published studies. The overall evidence on this question is limited.
What this means in practice
This evidence does not support using kratom to treat depression in young people. It also does not mean that someone's reported relief is imaginary, or that everyone who has used kratom has caused themselves permanent harm. When mood seems to improve with kratom, or to drop without it, several explanations are possible — relief of an existing condition, relief of withdrawal, a side effect, or a change in the underlying illness — and the studies cannot sort these out for a particular person.
A helpful conversation with a clinician usually covers:
- the symptoms that led to using kratom, and whether they started before it;
- the actual product, how often it is used, and any change in the amount;
- what happens to mood, sleep, and daily functioning between doses or when use stops;
- prescription medicines, alcohol, and other substances used alongside it.
Because withdrawal can complicate the picture, changes in regular use are worth discussing with a clinician rather than made alone. Depressive symptoms that persist or get worse deserve a proper assessment and a treatment plan.
In my own practice, when a teen, a young adult, or a parent tells me about kratom, I try to start with curiosity rather than judgment. I want to understand what the person was hoping it would help with, when the low mood began, and what happens on the days they don't use it. Those answers usually tell me more than the substance itself. From there, we can talk about the depression directly — with treatments that have been studied for it — and plan any change in kratom use carefully and together, so withdrawal doesn't get mistaken for the illness.
What this is and isn't
This is general educational information based on a structured review of recent medical evidence. It is not a substitute for personalized medical advice. Every person and family is different; please talk with your own or your child's physician for guidance specific to you.
This review examined selected human reports, not every published study; several sources were available only as abstracts, and most of the research involved adults rather than adolescents.
Last reviewed by Dr. Van Krasnov, M.D. on October 19, 2026. Full review and source list: Evidence Review: Kratom and Depression.
This summary covers research published from 2018–2026. Methods, references, and limitations are in the linked Evidence Review.
If you'd like to talk about how this might apply to your child, that is a conversation worth having with a physician who knows your family.
Dr. Van Krasnov provides anxiety and depression care for children and teens in Santa Monica, in person and by secure telehealth across California.
Read the full Evidence Review → How these reviews are made (Methodology)