In What Way Is CBD Oil Good for Anxiety?

Anxiety is a terrible mental infection that has affected many people globally. However, there is a scientific claim linking CBD to mitigating its effects. Find out more about what ways CBD oil deals with anxiety in this article.

Many claims have linked CBD to several therapeutic benefits in the past several years. You may have heard from anecdotal data that CBD can help deal with anxiety. CBD's availability and popularity have risen since it was legalized in more than fifty states. Nowadays, you won't miss CBD on shelves in the form of oils, gummies, infused sodas, and lotion for topical use. All these forms of CBD are meant to deal with certain effects, such as mitigating anxiety. However, not all CBD strains are of high quality. Some may be efficient and safe, while others may be harmful. This article will take you through how CBD works to curb anxiety.

What is CBD?

According to Pagano et al. (2016), CBD is hemp's main active chemical compound. CBD is the second most active organic chemical compound after THC. CBD, used for medicinal purposes, mainly comes from hemp. Sourcing CBD from hemp is legal, and high THC levels do not taint it. CBD sourced from cannabis has high levels of THC; hence it's not recommended. THC is a psychoactive compound with intoxicating effects when taken. Therefore, the impound remains under controlled substances, with only a few states legalizing it. These harmful effects are not found in CBD, thus making it have many health benefits. The United States deems illegal any CBD compound with more than 0.3 percent THC; hence CBD from hemp is usually preferred.

The proven health benefits of CBD claim that it can mitigate mental state disorders such as anxiety, although the evidence is mixed. CBD features many health benefits, most already demonstrated by scientific studies. Moreover, it is an active compound used to make epidiolex, a drug used to deal with epilepsy conditions in children. This is the only drug that the FDA has approved.

Anxiety and CBD

Anxiety is an adaptive response closely related to fear. It is experienced when the body tries to deal with the surrounding threats for survival. However, fear can escalate to dangerous levels, thus leading to disabilities and tragic mental state disorders. Symptoms of severe anxiety levels lead to several neuropsychiatric disorders. They include panic disorder, social anxiety disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, generalized anxiety disorder, and other dangerous effects of anxiety. Although post-traumatic stress disorder and obsessive-compulsive disorder are no longer regarded as anxiety disorders, they are symptoms of severe anxiety levels.

When you experience an anxiety disorder, you will lose a sense of well-being, break relationships, have high suicidal thoughts, and have high unemployment rates. This, in turn, brings social and economic burden to a state; hence anxiety should be treated faster.

Sharpe et al. (2020) explained that CBD has been linked to helping deal with anxiety and offers other therapeutic benefits. Unlike other treatment methods, using CBD to curb anxiety doesn't have side effects like using pharmacological treatment. People are looking for natural treatment methods that will leave them without negative side effects, and CBD provides the best choice for them. However, there isn't enough evidence to support it. CBD doesn't have intoxicating and psychoactive effects like THC.

According to Ibeas Bih et al. (2015), CBD has numerous health benefits, such as treating neuropsychiatric disorders that roots in the central nervous system. The central nervous system is located in the brain, and it's believed to control all the body's processes and responses. Recently, CBD has garnered great attention from scientists, cannabis experts, and clinical research as a potential treatment for anxiolytic effects.

What Ways Is CBD Good for Anxiety?

The endocannabinoid system was discovered when learning about CB1 and endocannabinoids. The CB1 receptors are proteins-based receptors mainly found in nerve endings, i.e., the gamma-aminobutyric acid-argic and glutamic neurons: Endocannabinoids and cannabinoids are produced by the body in response to calcium ion influx a neuronal depolarization. The mechanism of endocannabinoids in regulating synaptic functions is through retrograde signaling. In this process, the endocannabinoids produced due to depolarization activates the CB1 receptors, thus blocking the release of neurotransmitters.

The endocannabinoid system retaliates many essential symbological functions, such as maintaining homeostasis and regulating immune functions. Moreover, the system is also crucial in regulating emotional character, thus forming synaptic plasticity that improves learning abilities. Activating the CB1 receptors by using CBD produces anxiolytic effects, leading to multiple anxiety disorders. Milad & Quirk (2012) explained that activation of CB1 receptors reduces the expression of fear. Still, the degree depends on the location of the endocannabinoid ligands in the brain's system. When fear is dealt with, anxiety levels reduce, and that's how CBD deals with anxiolytic effects. There are some complexities in the endocannabinoid system, as studies suggest that CBD activates the CB1 receptors, thus inhibiting neurotransmitters in the brain.

Existing preclinical and scientific results show that CBD is a potential treatment for anxiety. It produces many effects that deal with several anxiolytic symptoms like pilocytic, anxiolytic, and anti-compulsive acts. It also leads to decreases in the production id antinomic arousal that leads to fear, thus preventing long-term effects of anxiety.

The Bottom Line

Anxiety is an adaptive response closely related to fear, and it's important when the body tries to deal with the surrounding threats for survival. However, fear can escalate to dangerous levels, thus leading to disabilities and tragic mental state disorders. Symptoms of severe anxiety levels lead to several neuropsychiatric disorders, such as panic disorder, social anxiety disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, generalized anxiety disorder, and other dangerous effects of anxiety. The body produces the endocannabinoids and cannabinoids in response to calcium ion influx a neuronal depolarization. The mechanism of endocannabinoids in regulating synaptic functions is through retrograde signaling. In this process, the endocannabinoids produced due to depolarization activates the CB1 receptors, thus blocking the release of neurotransmitters. Learn more about is cbd oil good for scalp psoriasis?

References

Ibeas Bih, C., Chen, T., Nunn, A. V., Bazelot, M., Dallas, M., & Whalley, B. J. (2015). Molecular targets of cannabidiol in neurological disorders. Neurotherapeutics, 12(4), 699-730.

Milad, M. R., & Quirk, G. J. (2012). Fear extinction as a model for translational neuroscience: ten years of progress. Annual review of psychology, 63, 129.

Pagano, E., Capasso, R., Piscitelli, F., Romano, B., Parisi, O. A., Finizio, S., ... & Borrelli, F. (2016). An orally active cannabis extract with high content in cannabidiol attenuates chemically-induced intestinal inflammation and hypermotility in the mouse. Frontiers in pharmacology, 7, 341.

Sharpe, L., Sinclair, J., Kramer, A., de Manincor, M., & Sarris, J. (2020). Cannabis, a cause for anxiety? A critical appraisal of the anxiogenic and anxiolytic properties. Journal of translational medicine, 18(1), 1-21.