CBD Oil For Anxiety – Does It Work, How To Use It & Its Benefits

Since studies began into CBD oils the benefits have slowly been uncovered. Its natural healing properties make it a go to product for thousands suffering from a range of problems including chronic pain, arthritis, stress and more recently anxiety. CBD offers a natural substance that isn’t filled with hundreds of hidden nasties typically found in other over the counter products. Studies reported that over 284 million people worldwide suffered from anxiety, making it one of the most common mental health disorders around the world. Before we can start to understand CBD’s potential benefits towards anxiety, we must first understand anxiety itself.

What Is Anxiety?

Anxiety is a natural bodily response to apprehension or stress. This could be triggered by arriving on the first day of a new job, standing up and delivering a public speech or entering a job interview. Some of these feelings may interfere with your everyday life and last for a prolonged period of time. If they last longer than 6 months it’s usually said that person is suffering from an anxiety disorder. The feeling of anxiousness comes in an array of different ways, but some common themes include an increased heart rate, rapid breathing, trouble concentrating, restlessness and even trouble sleeping.

It’s normal to feel anxiety from time to time and it can be harnessed to motivate yourself to do better or work harder at a given task, but this often becomes a problem when people start to struggle with everyday tasks for a prolonged period of time. These everyday struggles often develop to a level where people can become anxious to cross the road or enter a shop, and this can often develop to a severe case whereby individuals are too scared to leave their homes. Anxiety untreated can take over a person’s life.

There are a number of different types of anxiety disorders including, health anxiety (panic about your general health or wellbeing), panic disorder (experiencing recurring panic attacks), social anxiety (fear of being judged in social settings by others), separation anxiety (fear of being apart from someone or something), and obsessive compulsive disorder (irrational thoughts that lead a person to conduct a repeated behaviour or do something in a specific routine).

Long Term Effects of Anxiety Left Untreated

Our bodies aren’t designed to live under constant stress. Like anything placed under a prolonged period of stress or pressure, it eventually fails or breaks and the human body is no exception. Anxiety left untreated can materialise into more sinister and harmful conditions such as depression. Aswell as the mental toll it plays on your brain, anxiety can play havoc on the body creating a range of conditions including depression, heart disease, a weakened immune system, headaches, overall fatigue, digestive problems, loss in appetite, muscular tension, and even weight gain. The good news is if you have identified you are an anxious person you have the chance to tackle these problems before they materialise.

What Is CBD?

Now we have defined anxiety we need to understand what CBD is. CBD is a naturally occuring substance found in the cannabis plant. Many people may be thinking ‘Cannabis?! No way that’s not for me’. It’s important to note although CBD comes from the cannabis plant it is only a small extract of it. Typically the illegal part of the plant is the THC molecule. THC is the psychoactive substance that creates the high associated with marijuana. UK laws state that CBD products sold must contain less than 0.2% THC. Whilst many products do contain this tiny trace of THC, some products are made to contain no THC.

Is CBD Oil Good For Anxiety?

So the main thing everyone is asking is does CBD help anxiety? CBD works by interacting with the brains CB1 and CB2 receptors located in the central nervous system. Although the way CBD reacts with the receptors in the brain isn’t fully understood, its been concluded that it may alter serotonin signals which in turn can play a role in someone’s mental health. Low serotonin levels have been linked to those people who have depression and anxiety so an increase in this neurotransmitter can be helpful for those suffering. Many people using CBD often report a dramatic change in their mental help after using CBD products. Although studies are still being carried out and the extent of its benefits are still being understood, it’s clear to see CBD is effective and its support of mental health is just one of its many benefits.

Where’s The Evidence?

CBD is a new product and while many of its benefits remain undiscovered, many tests have been carried out to understand its positives and negatives. Across the internet you will find millions of personal anecdotal stories of CBD helping with depression and anxiety as well as cases of chronic pain and discomfort. There is a growing archive of studies displaying the scientific evidence that CBD works but the majority of these tests have been carried out on rodents due to the cost and complexity of human testing. Experiments involving rodents have found that CBD results in lower anxiety levels in stressful situations. One of these studies involved a mouse being placed into a cage with a snake. As a result of CBD the mice spent more time scanning its environment to choose the most strategic location to run instead of panicking. Human trials involved individuals partaking in public speaking events. Before the speech they took CBD which in turn improved their overall performance and pre-anxiousness.

How To Use CBD Oil For Anxiety

Each individual reacts differently to CBD to another, so to give specific advice would not be accurate for everyone. An individual’s weight, gender and height can all influence the dose of CBD that you should take, whilst your history of using CBD will also have an impact. However, it is possible to give rough advice and guidance which you should then tailor to your own use.

When using CBD oil for anxiety you should start with a low dose. If the CBD does not have the desired effect then you should increase the dosage the next time you use it. Slowly you will then find the correct dose for you.

Based on the severity of your symptoms we would recommend the following doses to start with.

Severe Anxiety – 30mg+
Moderate Anxiety – 15-25mg
Mild Anxiety – 5-10mg

We would recommend taking your CBD oil at two periods in the day. Usually once in the morning and once in the evening.

Summary

It’s important to remember that everyone’s bodies are different and the results of CBD can vary from person to person. This can boil down to someones height, weight, sex, and previous exposure to CBD. In the grand scheme of things CBD can be a brilliant product for those suffering from chronic anxiety. As the world changes more and more people are identifying themselves as sufferers from mental health. As we move forward it is predicted the number of those suffering from anxiety is set to grow. The idea of medication being issued by the doctor can be off putting for the majority as people have heard the side effect horror stories. CBD can offer a natural product to try before these harsher alternatives are considered. The important thing to take away is CBD is natural, legal and 100% safe.