Anxiety is a common emotional behavior that millions of Canadians suffer from everyday, with the World Health Organization (WHO) suggesting nearly 264 million people live with anxiety worldwide. In a nutshell, anxiety is classified as a feeling of restlessness and excessive worrying, which can result in such things like speaking in public, accepting criticism or making hard decisions. We’ve all experienced what anxiety can do to the human body, from sleepless nights before a big presentation to feeling nausea waiting for the results of a test. It can also be harder for others who suffer from things such as PTSD or depression. Here enters cannabis oil and the natural effects it can have on your mind opposed to taking anti depressants and the harmful chemicals that come with it.
Let’s start with CBD oil and the multiple benefits it has when dealing with anxiety. When you consume CBD it is trying to reach 65 targets throughout the body, studies suggest that CBD counters anxiety by stimulating neurotransmitter systems and neural regeneration, this is similar to the approach anti-anxiety medication and antidepressants take when consumes. A double-blind study was conducted by Brazilian researchers on individuals who are effected by social anxiety, after those individuals consumed CBD, the individuals reported a huge decrease in anxiety. Brain scans were done on each individual and it showed the cerebral blood flow patterns were the same with an anti-anxiety effect, which means your brain blood flow is circulating properly and getting the oxygen and nutrients it needs to function properly, which helps reduce anxiety significantly. CBD has also been tested on those with social anxiety where they were asked to speak publicly, those who participated in the study found significantly less anxiety which was showed through decreased heart rate and blood pressure. This concluded that CBD reduced anxiety, cognitive impairment and discomfort in their speech performance, where the placebo group experienced high anxiety, and cognitive impairment. CBD has a huge role to play in the world of anxiety, but more research is clearly needed to understand and examine the long term effects and potential for CBD and anxiety.
THC oil offers similar benefits to helping deal with anxiety, but with a few caveats. It has been found that when you consume THC you can significantly reduce self reported levels of anxiety, depression and overall stress in the short term. The key word is short-term as it’s shown that THC does not reduce the symptoms of anxiety over the long term and can actually have the opposite effects leading an increase in things such as depressions. It is possible to become dependent on THC which can become a psychological dependence. THC can also increase things like heart rate, which if you already are feeling anxiety it may make you feel even more anxious, scared or paranoid. THC is great for a short-term solution when you feel overly stressed, but may not be the solution for dealing with long-term anxiety.