“Oh, everyone has anxiety.”

That is what your mom tells you when you tell her you might have anxiety. Anxiety that makes your stomach hurt when you travel. That makes you twist your hair frantically whenever a big event comes up. That makes you cry when you  get too overwhelmed because the feeling of being suffocated in your own body arises. Apparently, anxiety is so common now that having it just makes you like everyone else, and since others have found ways to get over it, you should, too. However, this is not an attainable solution for many American people who suffer with debilitating anxiety without a little help from western medicine or mother nature.

anxiety

According to the Anxiety and Depression Association of America, 18.1% of Americans suffer with Anxiety. And although it is treatable, only 36.9% get treated. [1] Various treatments exist, yet the self-perceived severity of one’s anxiety is often what determines whether or not treatment is sought. For those who believe their anxiety is not worth the medication or those that flat out don’t know where to begin, CBD may be the answer.

but how can it help me?

CBD [1] or cannabidiol, is derived from the cannabis plant and is a non-psychoactive molecule that indirectly reacts with signaling pathways inside the body. Amongst the various things CBD can do to help the body and mind, one possible benefit is its ability to lower or relieve anxiety. This property is largely postulated and still needs some testing to prove for certain its ability to treat anxiety, yet many past studies on mice models have provided positive affirmations.

to understand how cbd could treat anxiety, one must understand how cbd affects the brain. 

CBD is thought to work directly in the brain. One of its possible roles is to promote neurogenesis, meaning regrowth of neurons in the brain. [2] This is specifically important in the hippocampus, which is revealed to be smaller in patients suffering with anxiety. Regrowth of the hippocampus is important in encouraging memory formation and cognition.

Another possible role of CBD in the brain is related to a specific receptor in the brain. 5-HT1A is a receptor for serotonin in the brain. Serotonin is the molecule that acts as an inhibitory molecule in the neurons. This means that it inhibits excitatory synapses that may trigger anxiety or other feelings of alertness. A study on mice found that CBD may encourage more serotonin signaling between receptors within the brain. [3] This allows the body to more efficiently utilize serotonin when it needs it and when it doesn’t. This discovery is important in that CBD can allow serotonin to regulate anxious feelings so that the body can more often relax. Serotonin is also related to melatonin, which allows for more sleep. Thusly, efficient use of serotonin could result in better sleep, something that those with anxiety might not get much of.

In understanding how CBD can interact with your brain, human studies are necessary to see if CBD could work for you. A study done by Scott Shannon and colleagues in 2019 found that, after taking CBD, 79.2% of participants reported a decrease in anxiety. [4] Another study, performed in 2010, [5] found that CBD, when administered to people with social anxiety disorder, reduced associated symptoms. [6] Granted, these studies and many others have yet to ascertain for certain that CBD can relieve anxiety in everyone. Nevertheless, the positive results that have come from these studies could suggest a usefulness for CBD on anxiety-ridden patients.

let’s recap