Last Updated on June 3, 2020 by Maxwell Harris
Although we don’t generally imagine anxiety to be pleasant, it is actually a crucial adaptive response that can help us cope with threats to our safety and well-being. These responses help us understand and avoid potential threats; They can also help us take a step to improve our situation. However, when we don’t handle these typical responses properly, they can become maladaptive and change our actions and relationships. This can lead to clinically diagnosable and anxiety-related ailments.
Anxiety-related dysfunctions affect a large part of the population. Fortunately, Big Pharma has discovered many medications to cure anxiety disorders, from SSRIs like Prozac and Zoloft.
Although these medications may be sufficient for many patients, not all of them respond favorably. A group of patients do not notice much development or cannot bear its side effects. Still, tranquilizers like Xanax and Valium can be extremely addictive. Unquestionably, alternative medications are justified. Cannabidiol (CBD), the very famous non-intoxicating ingredient in cannabis, can offer a viable option for apparently accessible anxiety drugs.
Recently, CBD has generated a great deal of interest among consumers, scientists, and clinicians. This is because many types of animal research, in addition to incorporating evidence from epidemiological and human studies, suggest that CBD has compelling anti-anxiety qualities such as:
- Panic disorder
- Social phobia
- Mild to medium anxiety
How does CBD work against Anxiety?
CBD exercises numerous activities in the mind that describe why it can be effective in curing anxiety.
5-HT1A: This is a serotonin receptor subtype, which is critical since anxiety and depression can rarely be managed with medications that target the serotonin system. This is the reason why pharmaceutical companies developed selective SSRIs like Zoloft and Prozac. SSRIs serve by preventing the reabsorption of serotonin in the mind, which increases the availability of serotonin in the synaptic space. Therefore, this helps brain cells send additional serotonin signals, which can decrease anxiety and improve mood in specific cases.
Similarly, CBD can increase signalling by serotonin receptors. In animal research, Spanish scientists discovered that CBD improves 5-HT1A transmission and can alter serotonin faster than SSRIs.
Hippocampal neurogenesis: This is an important brain field and plays an important role in a variety of brain capacities. It is most popular for its role in memory creation and cognition. Brain scans of victims experiencing depression and anxiety generally show a tiny hippocampus, and successful medication for depression is a link to the birth of modern neurons in the hippocampus.
How can CBD help anxiety?
Human studies show how CBD reduces anxiety. Brazilian researchers conducted a small second blind investigation of concerned patients with generalized communicative anxiety. After taking CBD, participants recorded a noticeable reduction in anxiety. The researchers confirmed individual patient statements by conducting brain scans that attest to compatible blood-brain models with an anti-anxiety impact.
CBD and Post-traumatic stress syndrome
CBD oil is known to have anxiety and anti-inflammatory effects when consumers experience such symptoms. Patients with PTSD often suffer from anxiety and stress, so you will often find relief from using cannabidiol. The antipsychotic benefits provide a stable mental environment for those who need it most.
CBD and Schizophrenia
In 2012, a group of German researchers published a study in Translational Psychiatry. The powerful antipsychotic amisulpride and CBD were compared and used in 42 schizophrenia patients. The two treatments were considered effective, but the short side effect profile of CBD optimized the pharmaceutical option.
Final thoughts
The testing of animal research has begun to describe the characteristics of how CBD works in the mind, and human research of patients with and without stress ailments is beginning to approve of CBD’s effectiveness as an anti-anxiety medication. Given the enormous social and economic value of anxiety diseases in many parts of the world, CBD can play a notable role in managing a variety of anxiety-related complications.
While more research, including extensive randomized controlled trials (RCTs), is unequivocally warranted to investigate the long-term influences and potential of CBD, its enlightened efficacy and profoundly favourable safety portrait (especially when compared to currently accessible drugs) what presently accessible pharmaceutical products presented as a viable option or supplement.
Read more on what else is CBD used for.
Sources
- Blessing, Esther M., et al. “Cannabidiol as a potential treatment for anxiety disorders.” Neurotherapeutics 12.4 (2015): 825-836.
- Zieba, Jerzy, et al. “Cannabidiol (CBD) reduces anxiety-related behavior in mice via an FMRP1-independent mechanism.” Pharmacology Biochemistry and Behavior (2019).
- De Gregorio, Danilo, et al. “Cannabidiol modulates serotonergic transmission and reverses both allodynia and anxiety-like behavior in a model of neuropathic pain.” Pain 160.1 (2019): 136.
- Deiana, S. (2012). Medical use of cannabis. Cannabidiol: A new light for schizophrenia?. Drug Testing And Analysis, 5(1), 46-51. doi: 10.1002/dta.1425
Hope it will help me!