Depression and anxiety are among the most commonly reported mental health conditions. Living with either involves a silent battle to maintain a balance in one’s mental well-being while navigating the stressors of daily life. CBD oil is increasingly becoming a valuable natural depression treatment.
Research into the health benefits of CBD products is moving beyond anecdotal evidence. An increasing number of scientific studies are being conducted in order to understand its effectiveness as a natural therapeutic aid. In 2020, a study from the University of Auckland sought to understand the effects of CBD being included in the treatment of participants diagnosed with depression. An audit of 400 patients showed a significant improvement of symptoms in participants who received CBD.
Anxiety and depression often exist together. A person diagnosed with depression is likely to also exhibit some symptoms of anxiety and vice-versa. In other words, they are comorbid. So, reducing symptoms of anxiety will likely have a positive impact on someone’s depression too. Although research is still at a very nascent stage, there have been several studies that showed the effectiveness of CBD in reducing the physiological symptoms of anxiety.
How Can You Start Using CBD to Treat Depression?
For non-pharmacological depression treatment, CBD oil is available in a number of different forms. There are oils and capsules to choose from depending on the strength and dosage of CBD you need. Each method of ingestion produces a different effect. For instance, if you choose to include it in your food, the effect will be milder but is likely to last longer.
CBD products are available through GPs and licenced clinics such as The Pain Clinic. We recommend that you consult a medical practitioner before including CBD in your treatment plan. A qualified practitioner will be able to assess whether CBD will help in your case and prescribe a dosage that would work for you.
CBD is processed differently by each person depending on their body composition. Although CBD has a high safety profile and is generally well-tolerated, some mild side effects have been observed.
How Can CBD Help Reduce Symptoms of Depression?
CBD is a naturally occurring chemical extracted from the cannabis plant. A common misconception is that CBD consumption comes with an accompanying ‘high’ that cannabis is infamous for. In fact, CBD or cannabidiol, does not have any psychoactive properties as it is devoid of THC which is responsible for this.
What CBD is able to do is interact and bind with various receptors in our body to create positive changes that we experience.
Serotonin, a.k.a. the happy hormone, has a big role to play in the state of your mental health. In fact, serotonin supplements are often part of the treatment plan for depression. CBD is able to activate serotonin receptors to help alleviate your state of mind.
Another hormone that plays a key part in affecting your mental health is cortisol. This ‘stress’ hormone pushes your body to stay alert. It is a crucial trigger of stress and CBD oil for anxiety. When produced in excess, it can negatively impact your mental health. CBD is able to reduce the production of cortisol and consequently, bring down its stressful effects.
Chronic pain and depression have strong links to one another. We don’t often connect alterations in our mental health to the development of fairly common issues like sciatica or lower back pain. However, chronic pain can have a debilitating effect on your mental health. CBD has been used to alleviate some of this pain and as a result, improve general mental well-being as well as sleep cycles.
CBD Oil May Help Alleviate Your Depression
There are a number of factors in play with complex mental health conditions like depression and anxiety. There is rarely one pill that can address all its facets, and therapy is key to understanding how to cope. A common misconception about mental health conditions is that they reside solely in the mind with no underlying physiological basis. When in fact, hormonal imbalances, the state of your physical health and experiences with chronic pain (among other factors) all impact mental health. As research progresses, the role that CBD is poised to play is to address several of these physiological symptoms in the hope that it will put you in a better position to create a balance in your mental well-being.
