Can CBD Help Anxiety?
What is Anxiety?
Anxiety is known as a common emotional disorder that is characterised by feelings of worry, unease, nervousness, panic or fear. It can be a normal response to stress or a sign of other underlying medical conditions, such as certain anxiety disorders.
What can cause Anxiety?
There are many potential causes of anxiety, including genetics, environmental factors, life experiences or significant traumatic events triggering such feelings. Some people may be more prone to anxiety due to their genetic makeup, while others may develop anxiety in response to stressors such as financial problems, relationship issues, or trauma. All have been shown to impact people and bring about feelings of anxiety or worry.
What are the treatments for Anxiety?
There are several ways to treat anxiety, including therapy, medication, and lifestyle changes. Cognitive-behavioural therapy (CBT) is a common form of therapy that involves identifying and changing negative thought patterns and behaviours that contribute to anxiety. Medications such as antidepressants and anti-anxiety drugs can also be effective in reducing anxiety symptoms, although they may have side effects.
How may CBD help anxiety?
CBD, or cannabidiol, is a chemical compound found in hemp and marijuana plants. It is often used to treat anxiety and other mental health conditions, and is thought to work by interacting with the endocannabinoid system (ECS). The ECS is a network of receptors and chemicals that helps regulate various functions in the body, including mood, appetite, and pain sensation.
What do the clinical studies on CBD for anxiety say?
A number of studies have found that CBD may help reduce anxiety by increasing levels of serotonin, a chemical messenger in the brain that plays a role in mood regulation. Other research suggests that CBD may help reduce anxiety by decreasing activity in the amygdala, a part of the brain involved in the processing of fear and other emotions. Please check out our other blogs on CBD and the impressive clinical studies written by our scientific adviser Dr Eric Le Fevre, which has references to each and every study. We would strongly recommend you take a look if you are looking for a scientific approach with referenced study data included. But we’ve given a snapshot of clinical studies below specifically relating to how CBD may aid anxiety disorders:
In 2011 a study published in the Journal of Psychopharmacology found that CBD was effective in reducing anxiety in individuals with social anxiety disorder.
In 2014 a study published in the Journal of Clinical Psychology found that CBD was effective in reducing anxiety in patients with anxiety disorders.
A 2015 review published in the Journal of Clinical Psychology found that CBD was effective in reducing anxiety and improving sleep in patients with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). PTSD being an anxiety disorder caused by stressful, frightening or distressing events.
In late 2016 a study published in the Journal of Psychopharmacology found that CBD was effective in reducing anxiety and improving sleep in patients with anxiety disorders, similar to that from 2014.
So a number of promising studies exist for CBD and anxiety but there is still much to learn about how CBD interacts with the ECS and how it may be used to treat anxiety and other conditions. Our other blog on the ECS covers off the endocannabinoid system in a lot more detail, so please check that out if you wish to learn more!
Anxiety ultimately is a common emotional disorder that is characterised by feelings of worry, fear, or unease. It can have many different causes and can be treated with a variety of approaches, including therapy, medication, and lifestyle changes. CBD, a chemical compound found in hemp and marijuana plants, may help reduce anxiety by interacting with the endocannabinoid system, although more research is needed to understand how it works and who may benefit from its use. So now we’ve pointed out how CBD could be useful, we are here to help with any of your questions, so please do reach out if you think we can offer you some solutions to any anxiety based issues.
How to use CBD oil for anxiety uk
The type of CBD oil you use will have slightly different effects on everyone as no human has the same ECS and body composition. Finding the sweet spot for CBD oil should be the aim, and for most people that requires trial and error and moving up through strengths, spectrum types and product types. It is one reason why we are so passionate about having a wide range of all things CBD as we know every product will impact consumers in different ways. Once you have found the product that works well for you, you can then experiment with increased dosages or spectrums to get even more your CBD.
FAQs
What CBD oils are best for anxiety?
This is a question which will depend very much on the user. We find just as many of our customers opting for a cbd isolate based oil as we do for those looking at full spectrum or even broad spectrum oils. It is very much a question that is best tested by each person to find which CBD oils work best for them. The common advantage to CBD full spectrum oils are in regards to the well known combination of CBD with other cannabinoids called the entourage effect. The combination of other cannabinoids with CBD are said to interact with one another to have a more profound impact. However on the flip side, we find many customers who want the purest form of CBD with no further cannabinoids and for these users a CBD isolate remains their best bet.
How much CBD oil should I take?
So this brings us full circle to the heading of the blog post. Well to be honest, ultimately it depends. If you are a new user, we would typically suggest trying a CBD isolate oil and going for a small dosage in the region of 10mgs. You can then build this up over the following days and weeks to test your tolerance and see how your body reacts up to a limit of 70mg. We always remind people that you can dose far higher than this, and there are studies that have supported its safety profile as high as 1500mg per day, but we would certainly not suggest anyone to do that!
I’ve taken CBD in small doses before but now I want to try CBD for anxiety, so what do you suggest?
For a more seasoned CBD user, we might suggest trying a broad spectrum of full spectrum CBD oil but would still look to start small with a dosage in the 10-25mg category. This allows any user to build up overtime and to really test how the CBD interacts with your body and if it really aids your sleep.
Can I take CBD everyday?
Yes, you can take CBD everyday and in fact building up CBD in your system overtime can give some of the greatest benefits as opposed to one-off dosages.
Which CBD Oil is best?
We like to think variety is an important factor, and that is one reason at Associated CBD we try to hold a wide variety of CBD strengths, types and products! There is no best CBD out there, it is about what works best for you and your body.
Are there studies that can support CBD helping with anxiety?
Yes, there are plenty of studies that support CBD having effects on anxiety and many of our customers have left positive reviews for how it has supported them in this way. Some of our blogs look in more detail at these studies.
How much CBD oil should I take?
Well to be honest, ultimately it depends. If you are a new user, we would typically suggest trying a CBD isolate oil and going for a small dosage in the region of 10mgs. You can then build this up over the following days and weeks to test your tolerance and see how your body reacts up to a limit of 70mg. We always remind people that you can dose far higher than this, and there are studies that have supported its safety profile as high as 1500mg per day, but we would certainly not suggest anyone to do that!
Is CBD oil safe?
Yes, it is perfectly safe and legal to consume and all our products have a legal limit of THC below 0.2% and lab reports are available for all our CBD products.
Will CBD get me high?
No, CBD will not get you high as CBD is not the psychoactive element of Cannabis Sativa group of plants that gives the “high”. This is the THC element and all our CBD products for pain relief contain less than 0.2% THC as legally permitted in the UK.
Thanks for reading, and reach out to us via chat or email for further questions, or direct here.