CBD (Cannabidiol), a non-psychoactive compound in cannabis, can be very helpful in those suffering from anxiety of many kinds.
One difficulty of supporting a healthy, anxiety-free mood is the fact that many of us are habituated to caffeine and this — in itself — can cause varying degrees of anxiety.
We Americans have a long history of the use of caffeine and other stimulants to obtain the clearest state of mind for creative work, group discussions, and performance in front of a group of people. The problem of anxiety arises, often unexpectedly, at the intersection of where the need for stimulation comes in conflict with our ability to stay composed. Those who have tried to become performing musicians or public speakers may have experienced this conflict.
Even without caffeine, though, our modern fast-paced lifestyle is full of stressors that may cause anxiety.
The need for a substance that allows us to be fully alert, but not anxious, has long been an unsatisfied one that has limited the performance of many who attempt success in competitive areas of life. There is even growing scientific evidence that we have a physical need for CBD supplementation, but its prohibition as a component of the cannabis plant has made it scarce. CBD occurs elsewhere in foods, but in smaller concentrations than in cannabis and hemp.
CBD Has Only Recently Become Available Again to Americans
Even though cannabis compounds, including CBD, have been in human use for at least 4,700 years, they were — until recently — outlawed for use as medicine, beginning about 1906, no doubt to protect the growing use of synthetic pharmaceuticals and petroleum-based fiber products.
The fact that our body may have a need for CBD supplementation to support the health of the important endocannabinoid system (ECS) that regulates relaxation, eating, sleeping, memory, and our immune system — and that the most abundant source of this non-psychoactive nutrient has been prohibited in our diet to protect the growth of the competing synthetic chemical and drug industries — is a fascinating topic that deserves further study.
As bans on non-psychoactive Hemp are relaxed, many are rediscovering this rich source of CBD in preference to psychoactive pharmaceutical substitutes.
Many psychoactive substances are available that help to varying degrees with anxiety and PTSD. In recent years, pharmaceutical opioids may have seemed an attractive solution until their unpleasant side-effects, especially dependence, became obvious. Then, when one tried to quit, the patient found their anxiety had become much worse.
Cannabis sativa (Marijuana) is another anxiolytic that works well for some, but comes with legal and psychological baggage that makes it an imperfect remedy for the problem of anxiety.
Alcohol is another popular way many people self-treat their anxiety in social situations, but it obviously has its limitations. Drinking at work is “frowned upon”, which limits its usefulness. In social situations, few can walk the line for long until their relaxation moves further down the spectrum into slurred speech, bad judgement, and other obvious signs of intoxication.
Alcohol is a very crude and often destructive tool with which to self-treat anxiety.
Food is another imperfect substance many use to quell anxiety. We are all too familiar with the unwanted side-effects of weight gain, which in turn contributes to the frustration that seems to be a part of the “anxiety package”. The choice of sweets as an alternative to alcohol creates further problems for the approximately 50% of Americans who are either diabetic or pre-diabetic, whether they know it or not.
The Reintroduction of CBD Into the Food Chain — after Decades of Suppression of this Important Nutrient — Offers a Healthier Way to Deal with the Problem of Anxiety without the Side-Effects of Intoxication or Weight Gain
CBD (Cannabidiol) helps one avoid the problems inherent in the commonly used, legal and illegal methods of self-medicating anxiety in its many forms: generalized anxiety disorder, panic disorder, social anxiety disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and post-traumatic stress disorder.
Some have found that CBD oil is useful for the acute anxiety that may arise during the working day, but it may cause a degree of lethargy which is counterproductive. Used only in the evening before bed, this problem can be avoided, in that only the benefits are seen the next day. Each of us will need to find our own best regimen for dosing.
Cannabidiol, when used in the evening to relax, has the advantage of producing a restful night’s sleep and allows us to bring that relaxation into our waking hours the next day, even after enjoying a wake-up cup of tea, coffee, or a nootropic “smart pill”.
There is no hangover from CBD use, as there might be from drinking alcohol in the prior evening.
The value of good quality sleep also contributes to increased productivity, personal effectiveness, and reduced anxiety — all valuable benefits of regular CBD use.
CBD consumption also relieves the pain caused by muscular tension that often accompanies stress, for whatever reason. This tension is compounded by the hard-to-stop mental monologue of worries that customarily trouble the anxious person.
Looked at from a philosophical point of view, we know these thoughts of “what if” and “if only I would have” are unproductive, but trying to stop them consciously only seems to make them worse.
Could a simple natural nutrient be what we’re lacking?
Money worries are another unproductive, but seemingly unavoidable aspect, of anxiety. Like a computer running too many unnecessary background programs, our mental capacity is hampered by worries. The best solution to these problems is to stop worrying about them and get to work doing whatever we can to produce more income!
Many find that CBD oil nightly can help relieve the anxiety that keeps us from doing our best in all areas of life — work, play, health, and personal growth. Keep in mind that it takes 10-14 days of regular nightly use for the CBD to build up to effective levels in our body.
So Stop Worrying and Start Working on those projects you’ve been putting off due to anxiety!
Worry contributes to anxiety, even while it does nothing to help us accomplish our goals. For this reason any herb like CBD or kratom, which helps us stop worrying — without affecting our thought processes — can be very useful in solving the problems that contribute to the dysfunctional symptoms of anxiety.
We can know all the teachings of personal development gurus like Tony Robbins and Denis Waitley — or a long line of distinguished spiritual teachers and prophets — but until we find a predictable way to turn off that anxiety switch and stop wasting our mental and emotional energy on worry, there isn’t enough energy left for doing our best thinking and our best work.
It is exciting to find something we’ve been lacking for decades– a supplement that, used nightly, produces sound, restful sleep and then carries over into our waking hours a feeling of peace and hope for the future that makes constructive activity possible, unhampered by anxiety.
CBD is that supplement — a natural source of Nature’s non-psychoactive help for anxiety.
Paul Kemp writes and researches how to be vibrantly healthy without the need for synthetic medical products and invasive surgical procedures.
Cannabidiol as a Potential Treatment for Anxiety Disorders
Cannabidiol, a Cannabis sativa constituent, as an anxiolytic drug.
Clinical endocannabinoid deficiency (CECD): can this concept explain therapeutic benefits of cannabis in migraine, fibromyalgia, irritable bowel syndrome and other treatment-resistant conditions?
High on Health: Cannabinoids in the Food Supply
CBD (Cannabidiol) and Anxiety Disorders, Including PTSD
