It is often said that the biggest obstacles are often not physical ones, but those that we create in our minds. For many reading this, anxiety and stress may be weighing down heavily on their lives. To feel the burden of an invisible weight on you, at all times, turns you to become unreactive to things around you. You feel time trailing and the things that made you happy and contented, no longer serve that purpose. The battle is often not a physical one but with the mental manifestation of our fears. There is medication that can help you gain mental strength, but most of the conventional medications come with a laundry list of side effects that don’t come on the labeling.
Why do that, when you can go natural? Cannabidiol can be the ray of hope that you may look forward to.
Let us first understand what anxiety is.
What Is Anxiety?
It is a natural response to stress, and being in a state of foreboding of what may go wrong. This can then manifest into feelings of depression, hopelessness, outburst of anger, dread and physical symptoms, such as heart palpations, tremors, headaches, low energy and many more. Anxiety can be acute (over a few weeks to a month) to chronic (over several months) – in the case of chronic anxiety and stress, the effects on the body are quite frightening. It can include:
- Increased risk of heart problems and stroke
- Faster Ageing
- Fatigue
- Loss of passion and willingness to try
- Depression and other mental health issues
- Gastrointestinal problems
- Skin and hair problems
- Sexual dysfunction and loss of sexual desire in both men and women
- Menstrual problems
There are several underlying causes that may be triggering anxiety in you. Along with generalised anxiety, there is anxiety as a result of stress, depression, Post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and as a side effect of a host of medication and medical conditions.
What Change Can CBD Bring?
CBD is not some hot new drug, which is making waves in the market. It is neither new nor is it a drug. As a matter of fact, humans have been cultivating its source plant, hemp for close to 9000 years. Hemp is a great source of paper, clothing and even a building material. What is most important to us is the extract that is obtained from its stalk, leaves and flower-that which is rich with the famed cannabinoid extracts. Hemp is unlike its intoxicating relative, cannabis, solely due to the lower concentration of THC in it. It is the substance that causes intoxication and delusions.
The amount of THC in hemp is 0.3%of dry weight compared to the 40% of the dry weight that is present in cannabis.
CBD is a cannabinoid, much like the 100 or so, other such compounds that can be obtained from the plant. CBD is a therapeutic substance that is known for its healing and holistic wellness properties. We shall take a look at the benefits of using CBD in the case of anxiety.
How CBD Helps Treat Anxiety
The CBD or cannabidiol works by supporting the optimal functioning of the body’s endocannabinoid system or ECS. It is a regulatory system that is linked to various other key bodily functions that include the endocrine system, the central nervous system, the cardio vascular system, the immune system and many more. The interaction of the body’s natural endocannabinoids, which are compounds that bind with the receptor sites throughout the central nervous system, the key organs including the brain help in the regulation of the functions of the respective organs and systems.
CBD is a supplement that helps in promoting the natural regulatory process, enhancing the efficacy of the systems in the process. This helps your body to better respond to its needs.
CBD does not bind itself with the receptors, but it can mimic some of the naturally present compounds in your body. CBD helps in the creation of protein which aids in the protection of the hippocampus, the part of the brain that is linked to clinical depression. This relation between the two could help in explaining why CBD helps in reducing anxiety, the way it does.
Anxiety Studies With CBD
Here are a few studies that have concluded the positive links between the two:
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Generalised Anxiety Disorder (GAD)
The effect of CBD is more in focus on overall wellbeing and managing symptoms rather than curing the disorder itself. The anti-anxiolytic effects of CBD are quite confusing in the sense that increasing the dosage does not necessarily increase the effectiveness.
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Social anxiety disorder (SAD)
There has been a promising conclusion to how CBD helps in relaxing one’s senses suffering from SAD, which otherwise affects the person’s professional, social and personal life. This enables to make SAD more manageable as a result.
CBD for anxiety is definitely a potent and effective natural medication. It has helped millions, and you can be one of them too.