Is CBD Good for Anxiety?
Everybody experiences anxiety somehow. The fear of the unknown is common to a lot of people. However, some experience anxiety more frequently than others; some people’s anxiety is also more serious.
Anxiety can be debilitating to one’s health.
You know that you have a real problem when your anxiety lasts for more than half a year. Not only that, if you can’t figure out a cause for anxiety, then you should consider looking for ways to alleviate the stress that your body is feeling.
Anxiety, if left untreated, could become a bigger problem. Some people experiencing anxiety will withdraw from their relationships. This could easily lead to depression.
What are Anxiety Disorders?
Anxiety disorders are a group of mental illnesses that can trigger extreme anxiety and fear. These can prevent the person from going to work and connecting with family and friends. This may require the help of a mental health professional to tackle those issues like difficulty in breathing and sleeping, inability to concentrate, and extreme fear and self-consciousness. This may also be associated with panic attacks that may trigger nausea, chest pain, and palpitations.
How to use CBD oil for anxiety?
Cannabidiol (CBD oil) is commonly used to alleviate the feeling of anxiety and depression.
First, what are cannabinoids? It is a chemical that is found in the cannabis plant. Marijuana and hemp are cannabis plants. These plants both contain CBD and tetrahydrocannabinol (THC). The latter is the cannabis component that gives a person that “high” feeling.
Cannabidiol, which is derived from the hemp plant, does not cause psychoactive effects and therefore does not trigger panic attacks.
Unlike THC, cannabidiol doesn’t actually give you that feeling of being intoxicated, which is what makes it a better type of treatment for anxiety without the psychoactive effects.
Medical News Today discussed a 2020 research that involved close to 400 people living in New Zealand. The subjects of the study reported various types of ailments.
Those participants were all given medical CBD prescriptions. Among the ailments were cancer-related symptoms, pain not related to cancer, neurological issues, and mental health problems.
After three weeks of CBD treatment, all groups stated that their quality of life improved.
More importantly, the group that was treated for anxiety and depression reported that they were able to perform their everyday duties well. They also said that the symptoms of anxiety or depression were either gone or greatly reduced.
About 70% of them said that they were satisfied (or somewhat satisfied) with the CBD treatment, rating it from good to excellent.
Less than 10% reported adverse side effects like vivid dreams and sedation. Less than 1% said that their symptoms actually worsened with the CBD treatment.
CBD comes in different forms. The most popular among them is CBD oil. You can take CBD orally based on the recommended dosage. One of the convenient ways to take CBD oil is sublingual, which means putting a few drops directly under your tongue.
How much CBD for anxiety?
To understand how much CBD a person with anxiety needs, it would just be proper that we explain the process thoroughly.
Our body contains a number of receptors, which are responsible for converting energy into electrical impulses. When the receptors are massed together, they form a sense organ.
These receptors accept signals from various stimuli.
So, where does CBD come in? According to various researches, CBD is believed to interact with receptors referred to as CB1 and CB2. CB1 receptors are in the central nervous system while CB2 receptors are in the peripheral nervous system.
CB1 receptors supposedly modify serotonin signals.
Serotonin is the hormone that stabilizes our mood. People with depression have low serotonin levels. In the same manner, low serotonin levels may also cause anxiety.
Anxiety is said to affect 31.1% of American adults.
How many mg of CBD should you take?
The recommended dose of CBD to treat anxiety is quite wide. It could be as small as six milligrams (mg) to as much as 400 mg. Meanwhile, the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML) advised that some commercial CBD products can replicate the therapeutic effects seen in clinical trials.
Medical doctors said that more medical studies, research, and clinical trials would be needed in order to standardize the CBD oil dose that would be recommended for patients.
There is also a need for clinical usage guidelines.
There have been previous studies on this. A 2019 one noted that about 300 to 600 mg of CBD oil was very effective in significantly reducing symptoms of anxiety among 57 men.
The issue here is this: Would a study of 57 men be enough to indicate a dose of CBD oil that would benefit all populations—people of different genders, ages, and sizes? Absolutely not!
You also have to take into consideration the different forms of CBD in the market. That would also affect the ideal dosage of CBD oil.
Plus, the legality of CBD varies from state to state. Federally, CBD products are legal. However, since each state is autonomous, some are not very open to public acceptance of CBD. You can only buy CBD oils from states where medical marijuana is legal.
The legality would also be factored in when quantifying dosage. Some states have a limit to the quantity of CBD oil allowed for purchase.
For now, people experiencing anxiety would have to depend on their doctor to provide the appropriate dosage for them.
There is a chance that different doctors would recommend different dosages for the same patient since there are no guidelines set for standard doses.
But that’s not an excuse for you to just take the amount of CBD you want. It’s still best to listen to the doctor.
Besides, the doctor will be there to monitor your experience with CBD. If the prescribed dose isn’t working, then the doctor can increase the dosage. On the other hand, if it has adverse effects on you, the doctor can decrease the dosage or stop it altogether.
There is proof that CBD works in treating anxiety. But always seek medical advice before trying on any of the CBD products available in the market.
Do CBD products really work for anxiety?
So the question goes: Is CBD an effective treatment for anxiety?
There is insufficient scientific evidence on the effects of CBD fo anxiety. However, researchers link the interaction between CBD oil and CB1, a brain receptor. Anxiety is triggered by low serotonin —a neurotransmitter responsible for mood and well-being. According to Dr. Yasmin Hurd, CBD activates the serotonin receptors, which can help alleviate anxiety.
Currently, there’s no FDA-approved CBD oil for the treatment of anxiety or depressive disorder. The only one approved by the FDA so far is the treatment for 2 rare forms of epilepsy – Dravet syndrome and Lennox-Gastaut Syndrome.
Specialists, though, would not recommend using CBD alone to treat anxiety. However, many recommend CBD as a complementary treatment for generalized anxiety disorders, social anxiety disorder, depression, and post-traumatic stress disorder.
Generalized Anxiety Disorder
The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) conducted a research on rats and found that CBD helped reduce stress. Researchers observed that those subjects have lowered their physiological symptoms, such as increased heart rate.
Social Anxiety Disorder
A 2010 research found that CBD may help reduce the symptoms of social anxiety disorder. In this study, some participants had their brains scanned which showed some changes in blood flow to parts of the brain that trigger anxiety. The use of CBD oil helped calm those participants by improving blood flow patterns in the brain
In 2011 study, participants with anxiety were administered with 400 milligrams (mg) of CBD or a placebo. They experienced a reduced anxiety level.
Post Traumatic Stress Disorder
There are recent studies about Cannabidiol as a Therapeutic Alternative for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder. The reviewed study found that CBD can help address PTSD symptoms under two conditions: CBD as a standalone treatment and as a supplement to traditional treatments.
Pros
One of the benefits of CBD is that it can be a natural way of treating and managing anxiety.
For those who want to use and experience the benefits of CBD for anxiety and/or other mental health issues, you can take other products in the form of capsules, edibles, cannabis flowers, and vaporized oil. Click here to shop for a variety of our CBD products to help you manage anxiety.
The fastest way to feel the effects of CBD oil is through inhalation. You can smoke cannabis flowers or buds or vape the vaporized oil in order to feel better immediately.
For those taken orally—CBD oil, capsule, edible—the effects of CBD could be felt within 30 minutes to two hours. It would also last the entire day, or at least, for most of the day. There are also CBD lotions that can help ease the pain caused by anxiety and depression.
This means that if you are facing a really stressful situation like going to a job interview or making a speech in front of a lot of people, you might want to smoke or vape for faster relief.
However, if you just want something to take you through the day and alleviate the anxiety that creeps in at any time, you could use any of the orally administered CBD.
Cons
Using CBD oil may have very few side effects.
It’s important to note that there may be dangerous interactions between CBD oil and other medications, especially antidepressants and blood thinners that have a “grapefruit” content. It’s best to consult your doctor if you’re taking medications and/or dietary supplements to prevent any unlikely side effects and unwanted interactions with CBD that may harm your health.
The side effects that could be experienced are drowsiness, dry mouth, fatigue, sleeping problems, and reduced appetite.
Another risk when taking CBD oils is you will test positive for marijuana on a drug test. This happens even though most CBD oils contain a minimal amount of THC.