CBD Oil for Anxiety: Top 7 Benefits
Anxiety disorders affect 40 million adults in the United States alone.
They are the most common mental illness and more people suffer from their symptoms than most could probably imagine.
Not only that, but almost 37 percent of people with anxiety disorders don’t seek treatment.
While some people would be guided to other forms of treatment, a lot of people are choosing CBD oil for anxiety as their treatment.
If you’ve wanted to learn more about CBD oil and it’s usage with anxiety, read on.
What Is CBD?
First thing is first.
You may have heard of CBD, but what is it?
CBD is short for cannabidiol and it is a chemical derived from cannabis sativa.
It is used in pharmaceutical drugs and can treat a large number of issues from physical pain to mental disorders.
It is produced naturally by cannabis and hemp plants, and therefore, is often sought by people seeking more natural treatments.
CBD Oil and Anxiety
There are a number of stressors that can affect us in our lives:
- Finances
- Careers
- Relationships
- Finding self-worth
Sometimes, stressors are simply that: stress in our lives. Other times, they can build up to a tipping point and become full-on disorders. There are many forms, but they can manifest in many ways:
- Social anxiety
- General anxiety
- Obsessive-compulsive disorder
- Phobias
- Major depressive disorder
- Persistent depressive disorder
- Bi-polar disorder
- Eating disorders
In all honesty, the list could go on, but the point is that anxiety orders can often amass into seemingly insurmountable odds against you.
Common prescribed anti-anxiety medication, such as Xanax, do a number of things to fight against anxiety disorders. On one hand, they may inhibit the body from absorbing serotonin, therefore, leaving more serotonin in your body and improving good moods.
On the other hand, some medication may cause the brain to produce more neurons in the hippocampus that have anxiolytic (or antidepressant-like) effects.
Many studies have shown that CBD oil has the same, or similar, effect.
Therefore, there’s a good reason why a lot of people are turning to CBD for their anti-anxiety treatment.
You have to pay attention to strains and CBD dosage for anxiety, but the point is that it works for a lot of people.
Now, we’ll take a look at some of the specific benefits of using CBD oil for anxiety.
#1. There are Options
Usually, when you use traditional prescribed medication for anxiety disorders, you don’t have a ton of options.
You can choose between so-called name brands, but by and large, there isn’t a lot of variety.
When you use CBD oils you actually gain a lot of options, such as using CBD oil that includes hemp. Read on to discover more about the use of hemp oil in CBD.
#2. A Variety of Administration
One big benefit to using CBD oil is the variety of ways in which you can take it.
Vaping is fairly popular these days, and it’s a common way of taking CBD oil. There are a number of vaporizers out there that you can purchase that will vaporize the oil and allow you to inhale.
Making or buying edibles with CBD oil is another common form of administering cannabidiol.
Do you have a sweet tooth? Put CBD oil in a brownie or cookie.
Maybe you have a thing for the thrill of super-hot sauces. Make your own to your liking but include CBD oil in the recipe.
#3. A Variety of Doses
There are many forms of anxiety disorders out there–everything from generalized anxiety to social anxiety.
For CBD oil, there is not necessarily a “one size fits all” for dosage.
There is no sure-fire way of telling you how much or how strong of a CBD oil you should use.
All in all, the best suggestion is to start low and work your way up toward high.
Especially if you’re just interested in CBD oil’s effects on general anxiety, start lower.
If you experience serious disorders or PTSD, then a medium to higher dosage might be recommended.
You can always work your way up if your first dosage is not strong enough to achieve your desired results.
#4. No Anxiety from THC
When people smoke or consume marijuana one negative side effect that people claim is stress or anxiety.
This comes from an overabundance of Tetrahydrocannabinol or THC.
Using pure CBD oil eliminates the stress some people find when using THC.
#5. Remain Calm
As you can probably already guess, CBD oil can help calm you.
Not only can you use it to treat anxiety disorders, but it simply relaxes you and “smooths” you out.
Contrary to how most people look at drugs, this is the kind of drug you could do with your grandmother, and chances are you’d probably both enjoy it.
#6. Help With Chronic Pain
You may be seeking out help for stress and anxiety, but sometimes chronic pains come hand-in-hand.
Another great benefit to using CBD oil for anxiety is that it is also anti-inflammatory.
Inflammation, while not inherently a bad thing, can become a problem when it won’t subside and causes chronic pains. CBD helps alleviate these pains.
#7. None of the Adverse Effects of Smoking
One reason some people have stayed far away from either CBD or THC, whether it’s hemp or marijuana is the adverse effects of smoking.
Combustion in a hand-rolled cigarette and inhalation is obviously going to have negative side effects to other functions of your body, such as your lungs.
Thankfully, as we’ve discussed before, this doesn’t need to be the case. Through vaping or ingestion there are other, safer alternatives to consuming CBD.
Exploring More Ways to Fight Anxiety
Whether you only feel the tinge of general anxiety from time to time or suffer from serious disorders on a daily basis, using CBD oil for anxiety may help.
Not only does it not have certain adverse side effects associated with it, such as increased anxiety from THC consumption, but it has been proven to effectively fight against anxiety.
Hopefully, you have a better idea whether or not this is for you if various anxiety disorders are a problem in your life.
If you’re just looking for ways to fight against those sad moments in your life, check out our blog post on ways you can cope!