CBD has become popular in recent years because although it is one of the most active ingredients in marijuana, it doesn’t get you high and it’s actually legal so it is easily obtainable. CBD, the full name being cannabidiol, comes in many forms and has shown to help many health ailments such as seizures, insomnia, chronic pain, and anxiety.
In this article, we will look at how CBD works for anxiety by talking about what anxiety is before moving on to look at what CBD is, how it works, and what it does to counteract anxiety. Read on to learn more.
What Is Anxiety?
At one point or another in the past, you have most likely felt anxious. That feeling you get before big events like the first day of school or making a speech in front of a sizeable crowd; feeling a little more sweaty than usual, your heart racing a bit, your stomach feeling like it’s in your throat.
All of this is completely normal, almost everyone experiences anxiety in their life; it can even help you in situations to better prepare you and motivate you to do better.
Some people have anxiety disorders and find it hard to get relief from the symptoms, which can be unbearable. Anxiety disorders can debilitate the people who suffer from them, ranging from stopping them to enjoy doing what they used to do to extreme cases where everyday things like crossing the street become impossible to do.
Unfortunately, anxiety disorders are the most common form of emotional disorders and are more likely to occur in females than males.
Different Anxiety Disorders
Almost every mental illness has anxiety as a symptom, but there are a few where anxiety is the main pillar of the disorder. There is a broad range of anxiety disorders that affect many people daily.
Below, we take a closer look at the more common anxiety disorders.
Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD)
GAD is the most common anxiety disorder, as it can be a very broad diagnosis since there are a lot of different symptoms. This means that most people who have GAD don’t experience the same type of symptoms as one another. This anxiety disorder is when someone has regular and uncontrollable distress about a lot of different things that occur in everyday life.
GAD can range from being very mild to being extreme and disruptive in one’s everyday life.
Social Anxiety Disorder
Social anxiety disorder is another common anxiety disorder that we see affecting people. Social anxiety is usually a more extreme type of anxiety disorder that affects people’s experience with others and their social life. This anxiety is triggered by social situations such as going to work, which can cause a lot of distress in this person’s life.
Having social anxiety usually snowballs itself into more anxiety from the wondering of how others perceive the person and how it affects their life in major ways.
Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD)
OCD is an anxiety disorder that causes recurring thoughts in someone’s mind that are irrational, leading the person to do very specific, repeated behaviors. You might have heard people joke about having OCD because they have to check they locked their door 5 times before they believe it is locked; although this is a common joke, that is exactly what OCD looks like. However, when a person suffers from OCD, it is more than just making sure the door is locked.
When OCD manifests in a person, they do a behavior because they have extremely irrational thoughts that drive them to do the behavior. An example of this is that a person will need to flick a light switch 4 times in a row because they think if they don’t, they are putting their family in danger. These two things have no correlation, but in the brain of someone with OCD, it makes sense.
Symptoms of Anxiety
Although everyone experiences anxiety differently, there are some major symptoms that are common among all anxiety disorders. This is how a doctor can diagnosis anxiety disorders.
The main symptoms of anxiety include:
- Restlessness
- Trouble with concentrating
- Difficulty falling asleep and staying asleep
- Faster heart rate
- Needing to go to the bathroom more often (or less)
- Body aches (including headaches)
- Light-headedness
- Feeling sick to your stomach
- Having a sense of dread
- Feeling tense and nervous
What Is CBD?
Cannabidiol, also known as CBD, is found in the marijuana plant Sativa. However, although it shares its origin with cannabis, CBD is void of THC, which is what gives the sensation of being high.
After various scientific studies have been done, it has been gaining a lot of ground in the health and wellness sectors because it is a natural way that has been confirmed to help with chronic pain and anxiety.
Apart from being a great, natural way to manage your anxiety, it is also legal, which makes it easily accessible.
How CBD Works for Anxiety
CBD works by interacting with receptors in our brain and central nervous system by altering serotonin levels. Serotonin is a neurotransmitter in our body that scientists associate with our mental health; with depression and anxiety. Many people decide to take medication to help with their anxiety, however, now more people are leaning towards using CBD as it has fewer side effects.
After many studies, we see that the best CBD for anxiety is CBD oil. This is due to how concentrated CBD oil is and that you can easily increase or decrease the dosage. So, you may wonder how to use CBD oil for anxiety and it is actually quite easy.
You will want to find the right type of CBD product for you, shop here for some great options, and then you will want to understand how much you will need to take. The best thing to do is to talk to a naturopath doctor who will help you with this. Otherwise, read the label well and stick to what it suggests; never go over the recommended highest dose.
If you find that oil does not work for you, then you should look into CBD gummies, which is a great option if you don’t like the taste of the oil. CBD gummies for anxiety, however, take longer to release in your system so be sure to only take the recommended dose and wait for it to kick-in instead of taking more when you don’t feel anything after 5 minutes.
Take Advantage of CBD for Anxiety
As you can tell from reading this article, there is a lot of information to take in about anxiety, CBD, and how CBD works for anxiety.
However, we hope from reading this you will understand both anxiety and CBD more, and if you suffer from anxiety, then maybe you will try out some CBD to help your symptoms. All studies that have been done have shown that CBD helps a range of different anxiety types, so it’s time you try it for yourself.
If you enjoyed reading this article and want to learn more about CBD, then be sure to check out the other articles we offer on our blog!
