While many people don’t like experiencing anxiety, the feeling is actually a critical adaptive response that help us deal with threats to our safety and welfare. An anxious response helps us to both recognize and avert potential threats, as well as motivate us to take action. When we don’t manage these feelings, they can negatively impact our lives, which leads to anxiety-related disorders that may be clinically diagnosed.
Recently, CBD Explorer Cannabidiol has gained a lot of popularity and interest due to numerous studies and evidence suggesting that CBD has powerful anti-anxiety properties. When administered correctly, CBD, or cannabidiol, is a compound from the hemp plant that is safe, well-tolerated, and is beneficial for treating anxiety-related disorders, including: panic disorder, social phobia, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), generalized anxiety disorder (GAD), obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD), and depression.
How Does CBD Work?
Similar to many anti-anxiety medications, CBD may boost signaling through serotonin receptors, especially the 5-HT1A receptor. Anxiety and depression can be treated with medications that target the serotonin system; these medications help the brain transmit more serotonin signals, which reduces anxiety and boosts mood.
The hippocampus is a brain area that plays a critical role in a variety of brain functions. People who suffer from anxiety often have a smaller hippocampus, and successful treatment helps create new neurons in this area of the brain. A study using mice found that repeated administration of CBD may help this region regenerate neurons.
How Does CBD Help with Anxiety?
Starting with the foundation of animal studies, clinical human studies are starting to show evidence that demonstrates that CBD can improve many anxiety-disorder symptoms, including acute stress. In Brazil, researchers conducted a double-blind study of patients who had general social anxiety. After consuming CBD, participants reported a significant decrease in their anxiety. Research was able to validate the patients’ reports with brain scans that showed cerebral blood flow patterns to be consistent with an anti-anxiety effect.
In another study, patients suffering from social anxiety disorder had a simulated public speaking test. Those who ingested CBD before speaking reported significantly less anxiety, and these findings were supported by objective indicators such as measured heart rate and blood pressure. Researchers concluded that CBD significantly reduced cognitive impairment, anxiety, and discomfort in speech performance.
Conclusion
CBD and CBD tea is becoming very well known for its medicinal properties, and in fact has already been in use for centuries when it comes to relieving the symptoms of a variety of ailments. Scientists are beginning to back these claims as evidence from animal studies have begun to show the details of how CBD impacts the brain.
Moving on from animal studies, human studies that involve patients with and without anxiety disorders are beginning to validate CBD’s efficacy as well. The compound is beginning to become an effective anti-anxiety treatment, and has the potential to play a significant role in managing a wide range of anxiety-related disorders in the future. With more research, it may become a viable and safe alternative to the pharmaceuticals that are currently available.