CBD and Anxiety: How it Can Help*

Even if you don’t have a medically diagnosed anxiety disorder, this is an anxious time for the world. It’s well worth investigating different options for calming that anxiety, because that can help your mental health and your physical health and improve your ability to make clear decisions and take the actions you need to at times of crisis.

One of the much lauded ‘magic bullets’ that is claimed to help soothe anxiety fast is CBD. And, although regulators remain a few steps behind when it comes to THC and marijuana legislation, the benefits of using CBD to help with a number of conditions, anxiety included, are commonly known now, and it is legal in all 50 states (albeit with slightly different regulations from state to state). If you’re interested in wellness, or have simply looked at the window of a health food shop recently then you well have become aware of the world conquering popularity of CBD products and with good reason as it comes with several benefits. Today we’re here to ask can CBD help with anxiety? And how does it work?

What is CBD?

Let’s start with the basics. CBD is a naturally occurring compound extracted from the leaves and buds of the Cannabis or Hemp plant. Oil is extracted from the plant and filtered for impurities and other compounds, leaving only the CBD behind. This is important, because CBD is only legal to sell if it’s free of (or, more specifically, contains no more than .2% traces of) THC. This is another compound found in cannabis: the one that causes the distinct intoxicating effects that make it so popular. If CBD products contain too much THC they become controlled substances and can’t be sold!

CBD (which stands for cannabidiol) is a cannabinoid: a class of compounds that are made up of lipids (fat based molecules), and act on the body’s endocannabinoid system: a collection of receptors concentrated in the central nervous system (with more spread throughout the body). Different cannabinoids has different effects when they bind on to these receptors.

What Does CBD Do?

CBD has lots of different effects on the body – it’s been called by some a ‘promiscuous molecule’ for the sheer number of biochemical reactions it has. Scientific consensus on the effects of CBD has not yet emerged, as research is in its early stages. This means we can’t say with authority what CBD does, and it absolutely shouldn’t replace a visit to the doctor, but we can look at early research and anecdotal evidence to see the emerging situation.

It does appear that the science backs up the claims that CBD soothes anxiety. It appears to affect the brain (via the endocannabinoid system) in a similar way to some clinical anti-depressant and anti-anxiety drugs. It also lacks many of the side effects that make prescription drugs a struggle for so many.