How Does CBD Help with Anxiety?

Anxiety disorders are among the most common mental conditions in the world. According to the World Health Organization, every 13th person suffers from some form of anxiety. And, while most people take the medications the doctors prescribe, others reach out for natural remedies to soothe their anxiety.

One natural way to reduce anxiety is CBD oil. Due to its positive effect on our body, it helps reduce stress and anxiety without harming it, as some of the conventional medications do. As a result, more and more people started using this product. In fact, some of them even grow their own cannabis in an indoor grow tent in their home to ensure the quality of the CBD oil, produced from their own crops.

But how does CBD help reduce stress and anxiety? What makes it so powerful and effective? If you want to find the answer to these questions, continue reading.

What Is CBD Oil?

Cannabidiol (CBD) is one of the hundred chemical compounds of Cannabis Sativa. In order to produce CBD oil and other CBD-infused products, cannabidiol is extracted from the cannabis plant (marijuana or hemp) using CO2, olive oil, dry ice, or solvent-based extraction method. What makes CBD oil so great is the way it works in our body and its health benefits.

How Does It Work?

When it enters our body, CBD affects our endocannabinoid system. This recently-discovered system is responsible for regulating several vital functions, including mood, sleep, appetite, fertility and reproduction, and memory. The answer to why CBD works is that the endocannabinoids found in the endocannabinoid system in our body are the same as the cannabinoids found in cannabis. Therefore, the CBD attaches to the endocannabinoid receptors CB1 and CB2 and changes their function.

How Does CBD Help Reduce Anxiety?

Although stress and anxiety aren’t physical conditions but mental, they are related to certain parts of your body. Scientists believe that CBD can help reduce these conditions by changing serotonin signals. Serotonin is a neurotransmitter that plays a major role in your mental health. As it’s known, low serotonin levels are related to anxiety and depression. Although doctors usually prescribe Prozac, Zoloft, and Xanax, CBD oil can also help regulate the levels.

Another way CBD helps reduce stress and anxiety is by promoting balance in your endocannabinoid system. As it’s known, when we are stressed out and anxious, the endocannabinoid system gets out of balance, which affects the functions of our body. Due to sharing the same cannabinoids, CBD can restore the balance of the endocannabinoid system by increasing the production of endocannabinoids and preventing the overstimulation of the CB1 receptor.

Additionally, CBD can help with stress and anxiety by regenerating the neurons. These are the basic units of the nervous system, responsible for receiving information from the outside, transforming it into electrical signals, and sending motor commands to the muscles in the body. They are so sensitive that whenever you feel anxious or stressed, they get damaged. Fortunately, CBD oil helps regenerate them, thus promoting brain growth and balanced mental health.

Apart from affecting the endocannabinoid system, its receptors, and the neurons, CBD oil also helps reduce stress and anxiety by reducing their symptoms. For instance, it can reduce the increased heart rate, lower the high blood pressure, and relax your muscles. If you want to ensure, there are many studies that confirm these health benefits of CBD oil. For example, a 2011 study on people with a social anxiety disorder (SAD) showed that CBD can reduce anxiety levels. Similarly, a 2018 study showed that this product can reduce the anxiety caused by public speaking.

How Can You Use It?

When it comes to using CBD oil, there are several types of products you can choose from. There are tinctures, capsules, edibles (gummies), e-juices you can vape through a wax pen and topical creams. You can choose the one you prefer the most. However, you should also take into consideration the relevance of each product for your health condition. You cannot use topical creams to treat anxiety because they are intended to treat physical pain. Therefore, you should choose any of the above-mentioned oral products.

Apart from the product’s relevance, you should also take into consideration the absorption speed. Namely, tinctures are absorbed by the mucous glands and offer almost immediate stress and anxiety relief. Capsules and edibles, on the other hand, need to go through the digestive system before they enter the bloodstream. Hence, they need around 30 minutes to act. When it comes to vaping, it also provides you with almost immediate stress and anxiety relief because the content (CBD) is inhaled directly.

Regardless of which product you choose, make sure it’s relevant for your condition. Also, you should choose only products from trusted brands and of the highest quality. That’s the only way to ensure you are consuming a safe product that will help reduce your stress and anxiety