Anxiety is one of the most commonly debilitating mental health conditions. According to studies on the condition, one in four Americans will deal with anxiety in their lifetime, and it's the 6th leading cause of disability in the world. It's characterized by fears, worries, stress, and general unhappiness typically surrounding an event or situation. General anxiety disorder, however, can pop up at any time, and those suffering from it will stop at nothing to find relief.
For many patients with anxiety, CBD seems to be the answer. There are dozens of claims about how CBD can improve a person's life, but none are so prevalent as claims about CBD and anxiety. It's by far the most common use of CBD, and individuals who have suffered from anxiety for years claim to find massive relief when under the influence of CBD.
But you can't believe everything you read on the internet. It's important to make sure these claims are substantiated, and that research has backed it up. If you're looking into CBD oil as a treatment for anxiety, use the following information to help you understand just how effective it really is.
CBD's Impact on Your Body
Before diving into the benefits of using CBD to treat anxiety, it's important to understand where CBD comes from and how it interacts with your body. It's a derivative of the organic hemp plant, a cash crop that's high in CBD and low in THC. The chemical THC is completely removed from CBD isolate and broad-spectrum CBD and must be less than 0.3 percent of full-spectrum CBD. This means that you can relieve anxiety without getting high.
It's believed that the body is full of endocannabinoids and cannabinoids that send and receive signals relating to hormone regulation and immune responses. Anxiety is often a product of an overproduction of hormones like cortisol, the stress hormone.
Taking CBD regularly re-introduces cannabinoids and endocannabinoids into your body to help your hormones reach homeostasis and introduce a feeling called the entourage effect. The entourage effect is a complete sense of relaxation and wellness.
Clinical Research on CBD and Anxiety
There's a shocking lack of research on CBD thanks to restrictive legislation and lack of government funding in the past. While things are improving in the research sector, it will be some time before CBD is fully researched and deemed a medical wonder for anxiety and other ailments.
That being said, you can find preliminary research to indicate that CBD has stress-relieving and anti-anxiety effects on those who take it regularly. This is one of the most common claims regarding CBD, and it's one of the few that we have some proof for.
A Brazilian study examined the effects of CBD on 57 men who suffered from anxiety. Ninety minutes before they performed in a simulated speaking test, half were given a placebo and the other half were given oral CBD. Researchers noted that 300-mg of CBD was highly effective at minimizing test anxiety while the placebo had basically no effect.
There have also been animal studies to show that CBD can reduce cortisol production (the stress hormone) and promote serotonin and dopamine. The animals in the study responded favorably with better moods and less stress when they were given CBD.
Anecdotal Research on CBD and Anxiety
The studies will continue to show how CBD has an effect on anxiety, but for now, the most compelling evidence is from the experience of others. There are countless stories across the internet of individuals proclaiming that CBD is the best antidote for their anxiety.
Professional athletes and celebrities are among the loudest speakers. Whoopi Goldberg, Nate Diaz, Oliver Stone, Montel Williams, and others have been strongly in favor of the anxiety-relieving effects of CBD among other benefits.
Carlene Thomas RDN, dietitian and author of the brand new recipe book CBD Drinks for Health explains that her drive behind writing the book was to help relieve her anxiety and make the CBD taste good while doing it.
"Of all the wellness tools in my toolbox, CBD oil has been the best addition to my life for anxiety," she said. "It worked immediately, effectively and effortlessly in a way that adaptogens and years of meditation hadn't."
Perhaps the most compelling anecdotal evidence comes from a survey by HelloMD and Brightfield Group. The survey asked CBD users to share a number of answers to questions. One of the most compelling questions asked CBD users with anxiety if they found the medications to be as effective or more effective as their prescription medications.
More than half of study participants with anxiety said that CBD was as or more helpful than their prescription medications at treating their anxiety. They've thrown out their prescription meds (or planned to) and would like to replace them with CBD.
The Best Way to Take CBD for Anxiety
With all this compelling information about CBD's anti-anxiety effects, you might feel it's time to try the best CBD oil for your own anxiety. If that's the case, it might be hard to choose among sprays, tinctures, vape juice, gummies, topicals, inhalers, and more. There are some methods that seem to work a little better than others to calm anxiety.
The highest recommended method is sublingual. This means that the CBD comes in contact with your mouth and is absorbed through the thin skin there. Holding a few drops of an oil tincture beneath your tongue will give you the strongest dosage, but there are sprays as well if you prefer.
You can also take CBD more inconspicuously using gummies or capsules. These can be consumed at any time, and they have a slow-release, so you're likely to feel the effects throughout the day.
Most importantly, research the CBD company you choose to buy from very carefully. Online CBD companies have made the purchase and consumption of CBD so much easier, but not all are created equally. Avoid over-inflated pricing and low-quality CBD by reading reviews and going with a brand that has had their products tested by a third-party lab to ensure quality and potency.
