If you have feelings of unease, worry or fear, you are exhibiting signs of anxiety. No matter the intensity of these feelings, the name does not change. Linked closely to this, stress is caused by multiple competing demands that are placed upon a person. It is important to distinguish what exactly you are feeling. Even though stress and anxiety are closely linked, and share very similar physical and emotional symptoms, they are very different. Stress is what the body does when faced with a threatening circumstance whereas, anxiety is a reaction to that stress. In these uncertain times, it is easy to see how the magnitude of people can be experiencing both stress and anxiety. Let’s take a look at this.
How Can Covid-19 Play a Role in Causing Stress and Anxiety?
With the catastrophic amounts of death caused by the virus, people worry about whether they or their loved ones will be next to contract the disease. The simple fact that people are dying from this can cause feelings of unease, fear, and worry – Anxiety! With this, add in the economic repercussions of this pandemic like people losing their jobs, houses, cars, and not being able to put any food on the table or go to school and you’ve got more fear, worry, and unease. Now that there are all these worries are evident, your ordinary person is faced with multiple competing demands to stay healthy, clean everything in sight, and keep all finances in check and an ungodly amount of more concerns. These people are now dealing with copious amounts of stress. With this problem in hand, the next question that comes is how do we solve it? What if the answer is CBD oil? Have your reservations? That’s to be expected but after reading this, your concerns would have vanished. We’ve done the research so that you don’t have to.
What is CBD Oil?
CBD oil comes from the cannabis plant. Also known as cannabidiol, CBD is seen as a cannabinoid. It is one of more than 100 cannabinoids that are found in the cannabis plant. These are found in the leaves and flowers of the plant. They are extracted and separated. When they are extracted it is a crystalline structure that is colorless. It is at its purest form at room temperature. CBD is extracted from both hemp plants and marijuana plants. Both are strains from the cannabis plant however, CBD extracted from the marijuana plant is likely to be more potent and efficient than in regards to the hemp plant’s CBD. CBD has been linked to relieving people that suffer from pain, seizure disorders, anxiety, stress, and many more.
Can CBD Oil Have A Positive Effect On Stress and Anxiety?
The human body has many different receptors. CBD oil has been known to affect the CB1 and CB2 receptors. These receptors are mainly found in the peripheral nervous system and the central nervous system. CBD oil is said to cause the CB1 receptors in the brain to alter the signals for serotonin. Serotonin is a neurotransmitter that plays a vital role in your health mentally. Low serotonin levels may cause anxiety. Therefore, the use of CBD oil can stimulate the process of serotonin and decrease a person’s anxiety levels.
In 2010, a study was carried out that showed CBD not only helped reduce current anxiety but also changed the way the brain reacted to said anxiety. Made possible with brain scans, they showed that blood flow patterns had changed in the regions of the brain linked to stress and anxiety.
A study performed in 2015, an analysis showed that CBD continually reduced stress and anxiety. This put CBD in a positive light and referred to it as “a potential treatment for anxiety disorders”. In referring to anxiety disorders, some can include social anxiety disorder (SAD), obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), panic disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and generalized anxiety disorder.
What Are The Risks With CBD and Anxiety?
Because CBD oil as a treatment for anxiety is a fairly new concept, the long-term effects are unknown. CBD oil research is a new concept and information is therefore limited. However, there are no known negative side effects for the use of CBD oil thus far. This is unlike other anti-anxiety medications where symptoms include but are not limited to memory problems, loss of sex drive, blurred vision, slurred speech, vomiting, dizziness and weight changes. Some research has also been found that smoking CBD can have a negative effect on your health.
CBD is also not regulated so it can be tricky trying to determine the correct dosage or frequency in which to take the medication. The recommended dosages may also be different depending on what product is used for example, gummies, chocolate, oil, baked goods, and tablets.
Does CDB Oil Make You High?
According to an Exclusive Ann Arbor Marijuana Dispensary, CBD does not contain any THC. THC, also known as tetrahydrocannabinol is the component in the cannabis plant that gives you the euphoric ‘high’. Both CBD and THC react with the CB1 receptors in the brain. However, THC activates these receptors which cause high associated with marijuana. Whereas, CBD is a CB1 antagonist. This means that it blocks any intoxicating or ‘high’ caused by the CB1 receptors.
Can CBD Oil Actually Help With Stress Caused By The Covid-19 Pandemic?
Although, we have shown the positive effects CBD oil has on stress and anxiety, how does it fit in with Covid-19? Simply put, anxiety is still anxiety, and stress is still stress. These symptoms do not change just because we are in a pandemic. In saying that, this means that methods of regulating and alleviating both stress and anxiety do not change as well. If CBD oil has shown signs of helping people with PTSD, SAD, and generalized anxiety disorders, it will surely help those experiencing anxiety or stress as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic. It is your own personal preference as to what course of action you take in controlling your stress and anxiety. However, one must weigh out all the research and ask, could CBD oil be a better option than conventional anti-anxiety and anti-stress medication. Although, the long-term effects of using CBD oil are unknown. The short-term effects are astoundingly in favor of its use, unlike conventional anti-anxiety and anti-stress medications such as Prozac, Paxil, and Lexapro where people have exhibited feeling nauseous and dizziness among other things. Therefore, it can easily be said that CBD oil can help in reducing stress and anxiety in people due to the effects of the Covid-19 outbreak.