Americans are the most stressed out people in the world with 55% feeling stressed most of the day.
Chances are, you’re one of those people. Whether it’s because of an unappreciative boss, financial reasons or family matters, stress affects us all in different ways.
Chronic stress can affect your health causing an array of different symptoms ranging from headaches and high blood pressure to chest pain and heart palpitations, skin rashes and loss of sleep.
Sure, you can take anti-anxiety medications like Xanax or Prozac. But, wouldn’t it be awesome if your symptoms could be relieved with natural remedies?
By now, you may have heard of CBD (Cannabidiol). Although, CBD is still in its infancy, research suggests that oils containing CBD can vastly reduce stress when taken on a regular basis.
What is CBD?
In short, CBD is an oil that comes from the cannabis plant. Officially known as cannabidiol.
CBD is considered a cannabinoid. It is one of over 100 different cannabinoids found in the cannabis plant.
Cannabinoids are found in leaves and flowers of the cannabis plant. They are then extracted and separated.
Once extracted, CBD is a colorless, crystalline structure at room temperature in its purest form. CBD can be derived from either the marijuana plant or the hemp plant which are two different strains of the cannabis plant. However, the CBD that is derived from the hemp plant does not produce any psychoactive effects.
CBD is known to have benefits that alleviate pain relief, stress, anxiety, seizure disorders, and more.
Does CBD Get You High?
One of the most well-known cannabinoids is called Tetrahydrocannabinol, otherwise known as THC. THC is the chemical in the cannabis plant that offers the mind-altering high feeling, as opposed to CBD, which is 100% non-psychoactive.
Both CBD and THC bind with special receptors in your brain, however, CBD binds directly with those receptors, where THC does not. This is why you feel no fuzziness or mental slowness.
Because of the way that CBD binds with your receptors, it may take a bit longer for you to notice the effects.
When you do begin to notice the CBD, you’ll feel a wave of relaxation through your body.
Can CBD Be Used for Stress?
Being subjected to stress on a daily basis can threaten your social life, mental and physical health. CBD oil is a natural way to reduce the daily stress that is keeping you from living your best life.
But don’t take our word for it. Check out these studies performed over the last few years.
A study performed in 2010 showed that CBD helps to reduce anxiety in people with social anxiety disorder, or SAD. This study found that CBD not only helped reduce current anxiety, but it also changed the initial brain reaction to said anxiety. Brain scans showed changes in blood flow patterns in regions of the brain associated with stress and anxiety.
Similarly, a 2011 study found that CBD reduced social anxiety specifically induced by public speaking.
A 2014 research study found that appropriately dosed CBD oil had antidepressant-like and anxiolytic-like effects. This study was performed on animal models with a variety of experiments, such as the forced swimming test (FST), elevated plus maze (EPM), and Vogel conflict test (VCT).
In 2015, an analysis showed that CBD continued to reduce stress and social anxiety. The study referred to CBD as, “a potential treatment for anxiety disorders.” These disorders might include SAD, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), panic disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), and generalized anxiety disorder.
And finally, this 2016 research studied the effectiveness of CBD specifically on PTSD and insomnia. What they found was that CBD significantly reduced PTSD induced anxiety and aided in a healthy sleep pattern.
Is It Stress or Anxiety?
Before you decide which medication is right for you, it’s important to understand exactly what your body is going through.
You’ve likely heard the terms stress and anxiety used interchangeably, however, these are two very different things. Stress and anxiety share many of the same physical and emotional symptoms. Both can take a heavy toll on the body.
It can be difficult to spot the differences between the two, however, it’s pertinent that you understand and can identify which you are struggling with.
In short, stress is your body’s reaction to a trigger and is generally a short-term experience. Stress can be positive or negative. When stress kicks in and helps you pull off that deadline you thought was a lost cause, it’s positive. When stress results in insomnia, poor concentration, and impaired ability to do the things you normally do, it’s negative. Stress is a response to a threat in any given situation.
Anxiety, on the other hand, is a sustained mental health disorder that can be triggered by stress. Anxiety doesn’t fade into the distance once the threat is mediated. Anxiety hangs around for the long haul, and can cause significant impairment in social, occupational, and other important areas of functioning.
Once you’ve determined which disorder, if not both, is clouding over you, you can properly begin treatment. CBD oil works well to treat both stress and anxiety. However, some anxiety disorders may require additional medications or therapy.
Are There Risks?
Research on the long term health effects of CBD is limited due to the fact that CBD research is overall a new concept.
Some researchers do caution that CBD can have a negative health effect when smoked.
Research specifically on CBD oil has found no negative side effect thus far, unlike medications such as Xanax, which produce a multitude of negative side effects, not limited to dizziness, memory problems, slurred speech, vomiting, blurred vision, loss of sex drive, weight changes, and more.
Because CBD is not highly regulated, it can be difficult to determine the correct dosage or frequency in which it should be taken. Dosages may differ based on which product is taken, such as gummies, tablets, or oils.
Be mindful of this, and carefully follow each set of individual directions. The Golden Rule for CBD is to always start low and go slow.
Let Go of Stress Today
Stress ruins the lives of many on a daily basis. No matter how you choose to remedy the situation, don’t let stress take control of your life.
If you’re interested in giving CBD a chance, check out the online Hero Brands we have selected for you. Inside you will find a variety of oils, gummies, sprays and creams with CBD for stress and other medical conditions including pain.
If you’ve tried other treatments and had little to no relief, it might be time to give CBD a try. It just might let you go back to being you again.
Be Healthy...Be Happy...Be Natural
