Anxiety is an adaptive response to survival. However, excessive anxiety may lead to a disorder that may interfere with an individual’s way of life. It’s important to combat the negative feelings brought by anxiety to easily achieve well-being. There are a lot of medications in the market that claim to treat anxiety and its bodily effects, but the most controversial one is the use of CBD.
Cannabidiol is a compound that’s thought to cure physical and mental health disorders. It’s now widely used in the medicinal field to possibly cure different kinds of illnesses. But is it safe to say that it can manage anxiety and its symptoms?
Learn more about medical CBD and how it may manage anxiety.
How Does CBD Manage Anxiety?
Medicinal users opt to use higher levels of CBD due to its therapeutic properties that may be effective in pain management and dealing with mental health disorders, such as anxiety. There are different theories as to how CBD may treat anxiety.
Research suggests that serotonin, which is the neurotransmitter responsible for biological functions of the body, is the one to blame for mental disorders. Since this neurotransmitter is a natural mood-booster, low serotonin levels impact psychological processes that may lead to eating disorders, obsessive-compulsive disorder, panic disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder, and social anxiety disorder.
It’s believed that when Cannabidiol interacts with serotonin, there will be increased activity in the endocannabinoid system, triggering anxiolytic effects. Anxiolytics target the brain’s chemical messengers, which is Gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA), to block or slow down the feelings of anxiety.
Is CBD Medication For Anxiety Safe?
The bulk of research about the use of CBD in the medical industry is about its effectiveness and its potential effects on the body and one’s way of thinking. CBD is a phytocannabinoid that doesn’t contain psychoactive effects. However, users may still feel the side effects depending on the dosage and the quality of the CBD product used.
There are adequate safety studies regarding the consumption of CBD and its effects on patients with anxiety. That’s why this cannabinoid is already widely used in the medicinal field. Also, most CBD products found in cannabis dispensaries are mostly FDA-approved to ensure that all items have passed the safety protocols for human consumption.
As the demand for CBD increases, more products are being released in the market. As a consumer, it’s your responsibility to ensure that you’re getting from a reputable store. Additionally, cannabis products are expensive, so you want to ensure that you’re getting a quality one.
For starters, it’s best to research the best brands and products that are suitable for your usage. There are review sites online, such as Charlotte’s Web CBD product reviews, where you can get an idea about the different types of CBD products and their price.
How CBD Benefits People With Anxiety Disorders
Cannabidiol may not directly alter the person’s anxiety level, but it may deal with its symptoms. Its wide therapeutic benefits are believed to promote calmness, attain a sense of well-being, boost mental and physical relaxation, and clear-headed focus with a slight sedative feeling that doesn’t change cognitive functioning. Additionally, patients who’ve tried using CBD described their onset experience like they have extreme relaxation at the spa.
Here are some of the ways by which patients who suffer from anxiety may find relief with the use of CBD.
- CBD Relieves Physical Symptoms
Anxiety triggers a wide variety of physical symptoms, such as tiredness, increased heart rate, trembling, headache, nausea, insomnia, and diarrhea. CBD may help the patient get rid of these discomforts because when it binds with the vanilloid receptor, the pain and inflammation properties are activated.
To eliminate the psychoactive effects, it’s recommended to use CBD medications, but if you want to benefit more from the therapeutic effects that cannabis offers, opt for the ones with THC percentage.
- CBD Reduces Learned Fears
One of the causes of anxiety is the traumatic experience that you had in the past. It’s thought that CBD decreases fear and it may enhance fear extinction by disrupting memory reconsolidation.
When Cannabidiol interacts with the brain’s receptors, psychosis and anxiety due to Post Traumatic Stress Disorder are reduced because CBD may alter the hippocampus’s emotional processes, which is where memories of facts and events are formed.
- CBD Improves Mood
Aside from binding with the vanilloid receptor to help relieve the symptoms of anxiety that triggers bad mood, this compound could also protect the brain bliss molecule–anandamide. This molecule is responsible for the regulation of motivation and pleasure. The anandamide is the reason why you feel good when you eat your favorite food when you’re sad.
Final Thoughts
Some people choose to consume Cannabidiol when managing anxiety because they believe that CBD doesn’t cause side effects due to its naturality, unlike commercially-available medications that may cause side effects in the long run.
If you’re considering the use of CBD to manage your health conditions, it’s still essential to seek medical advice because its effects may be favorable to some, but it may have an adverse reaction on you.
