Americans are growing more and more anxious every year. Studies have found that one in five adults in the USA have anxiety, and almost half of all adults have symptoms of the disease. It’s a silent illness that leaves people feeling alone and stressed.
Fortunately, there is a treatment to help.
Although no medication or treatment could fully heal a person of their anxiety, CBD is capable of easing up the symptoms that make it so hard to thrive.
Here’s how it can help you if given a chance.
The Science
CBD activates the CB1 and CB2 receptors in the human nervous system. In doing this, it’s thought to aid in the release of serotonin. This release of chemicals directly counters the serotonin-draining side effects of anxiety and stress. It’s shown to cause physiological changes that help ease anxiety as well, like slowing the heartbeat to a healthy range and removing the jitters and high body temperature some experience from the illness.
The Side Effects
Not only does it help with the actual stress of anxiety, but it can also aid in the side effects of it. Increasing appetite, and improving sleep, CBD fights back against the traits that make anxiety so hard on people’s lives.
Studies have found that sleeping more and eating better can improve anxiety in the long term. By helping these symptoms, the effects mean that using CBD can benefit you even once the medicine is no longer in your system.
How Often Is It Needed?
Due to the lack of studies, this is up for debate.
Some find that a CBD crumble in the morning, or 40 mg of CBD oil in their coffee, can help them through a full workday. For some people, this isn’t enough, or it’s far too much. The best thing to find what works for you is to take thorough notes.
Note what time of day you take it, how much you take, and if it helps your anxiety. Like any medication, it may take time to find what the perfect dosage is for you, so have patience in this.
Keep track of any changes in other behaviors like sleeping, eating, and socializing to make sure you’re keeping a full picture of things. Many people are most functional after around 40 mg of CBD. If you take more than 50 mg of CBD and you find it’s making your anxiety worse, there may be a reason for that.
Will Taking More Help More?
Surprisingly, CBD can help with anxiety regardless of how much you use. There’s one drawback, depending on how you source your CBD. If there’s THC in it, and you take more CBD than necessary, it can work to trigger anxiety further instead of helping with the symptoms of it. The best action is to take no more than needed and keep track of your reaction to it.
Since there are, unfortunately, not enough tests completed on anxiety and CBD, you’ll have to take your health into your own hands.