CBD and anxiety: How it works and recommended regimen of using CBD
Seven main types of anxieties are stated below:
- Generalized anxiety disorder (GAD)
- Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD)
- Panic disorder
- Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
- Social phobia (social anxiety disorder)
- Phobia (irrational fears)
- Agoraphobia
To understand how CBD helps to relieve anxiety, we will look at sets of medical studies which have taken place for the past ten years. These studies evaluated effectiveness of CBD in the treatment of those suffering from various types of anxiety. We discuss the results below.
Results of studies
A study from 2012 has reached the following conclusion: “Studies using animal models of anxiety and involving healthy volunteers clearly suggest an anxiolytic-like effect of CBD. Moreover, CBD was shown to reduce anxiety in patients with social anxiety disorder.”
For more information visit the following link: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22729452
A study from 2014 showed that CBD evinced anti-anxiety and antidepressant effects in animal models. “Most of the studies demonstrated a good interaction between CBD and the 5-HT1A neuro-receptor.” The 5-HT1A receptor is a subtype of serotonin receptor on which pharmaceutical medicines often focus, such as Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI).
For more information visit the following link: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24923339
A double-blind study from 2011 evaluated CBD use in the treatment of social anxiety disorder (SAD) in the format in which participants interrogated in simulation of public speech. The study showed that preliminary treatment using CBD significantly decreased anxiety, cognitive disorders and unpleasant feelings during patients´ speech and signally decreased alertness during their anticipatory speech. In the placebo group, in comparison to control group, increased level of anxiety, cognitive disorders, discomfort and level of excessive alertness were observed.
For more information visit the following link: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21307846
A study from 2011 examined influence of CBD on pathological anxiety and its fundamental mechanisms in brain and reached the following conclusion: “Relative to placebo, CBD was associated with significantly decreased subjective anxiety, reduced ECD uptake in the left parahippocampal gyrus, hippocampus, and inferior temporal gyrus, and increased ECD uptake in the right posterior cingulate gyrus. These results suggest that CBD reduces anxiety in SAD and that this is related to its effects on activity in limbic and paralimbic brain areas.”
For more information visit the following link: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20829306
A study from 2016 evaluated CBD effects on a 10-year-old girl with child anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder. “Pharmaceutical medications provided partial relief, but results were not long-lasting, and there were major side effects. A trial of cannabidiol oil resulted in a maintained decrease in anxiety and a steady improvement in the quality and quantity of the patient's sleep. Cannabidiol oil, an increasingly popular treatment of anxiety and sleep issues, has been documented as being an effective alternative to pharmaceutical medications. This case study provides clinical data that support the use of cannabidiol oil as a safe treatment for reducing anxiety and improving sleep in a young girl with posttraumatic stress disorder.”
For more information visit the following link: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27768570
As it is mentioned above, the connection between CBD and anxiety relief is strong and well documented. Several studies have confirmed effectivity of CBD as anxiolytic medicine.
Recommended regimen of CBD use for anxiety treatment
When determining the CBD regimen for a specific disease or illness it is important to comprehend that CBD should be used regularly in case to reach the maximal relief. First of all, it should be used as a preventive tool - it can also be used for dealing with acute conditions, but the most important is prevention! Think about it as you would with any other dietary supplement: you want to reach the basic concentration in your system.
Daily care
To deal with anxiety, we recommend using full-spectrum CBD tincture oil or gelatine capsules daily. Ingredients are the same in both products; the only difference between them is their form and method of use – pills or sublingual tinctures. We suggest to people, who suffer from anxiety, to begin with 5 – 10 mg of CBD daily. If a patient does not feel relief after this dose, we recommend increasing the dose by 5 – 10 mg, until required effects are observed. You can even start with capsules filled with 25 mg of CBD, because you cannot overdose on CBD and there are not any serious side-effects. The products provide relief for several hours – lots of people notice that they even provide relief for the whole day! The only thing to bear in mind with edible products containing CBD is delayed kick-in – it can take up to 90 minutes until the full effect of tincture or capsules arrives.
Dealing with acute symptoms
Except for the daily program of dealing with anxiety which is described above, lots of people need a safe method to handle acute symptoms. Whether it is caused by an incoming stressful event, inappropriate lifestyle, or stress, we recommend vaporizing of CBD to fight these acute anxiety outbursts. The advantage of vaporization or dabbing CBD is that relief can be noticed almost immediately. Isolated CBD is from 99 % clean CBD and provides a wave of relief which can be felt all over the body. In the fight against these outbursts you can also use more CBD in the form of tinctures or capsules, but do not forget that the time of kick-in will be significantly longer than when vaporizing.