Anxiety, Stress, and Cannabis
Written by guest blogger and special guest, Margo Vesely
Cannabis for Anxiety and Stress
Anxiety and stress are among the leading reasons for which people are attracted to cannabis. This is the right behind the leading issue, pain. Common anxiety symptoms most of us can relate to include worry, rumination, fear, apprehension, and tension.
Anxiety is also a feature of other psychiatric conditions including bipolar disorder, depression and schizophrenia. Some of these conditions do require treatments and medications, sometimes even for a longer period of time.
The density of the CB1 cannabinoid receptors found in the brain’s amygdala, hippocampus, and anterior circulate cortex (the brain structures associated with anxiety) supports the idea that the Endocannabinoid System regulates anxiety.
As of the current research, it is believed that the ECS* becomes activated in anxiety disorders. What does this mean?
*Defining the ECS. The ECS, or the endocannabinoid system, is the system that connects all your other systems to your psyche. It modulates your nervous system along with your immune, digestive, reproductive, respiratory, nervous, muscular… you get the point. We all have a unique ECS. There is a bit of trial and error until you find your perfect pairing. However, the journey of testing and trialing is fun and safe!
It means that if your ECS is off-balance, things start to go whacky in your body and inflammation starts leading you down a path to serious conditions that are harder to reverse once they set in. This is why you may want to consider cannabis as a preventative to ward off inflammation, stress, and anxiety.
Taking cannabis as a vitamin is your best way of keeping all your systems in check to keep you living your best life… for a looooong time.
Specific Terpenes
Limonene (a common terpene found in cannabis) has been suggested to reduce anxiety and increase levels of both dopamine and serotonin. There is also linalool, another terpene found in many cannabis cultivars, that is an established anti-depressant and calming agent. These terpenes are basically nature’s essential oils, because they are found in everyday items. Limonene comes from citrus fruits and linalool comes from lavender scents.
Use these terpene scents in combination with your pairings to boost the effects. Even though a bit of THC is beneficial to your use, adding too much could have adverse effects. Proceed with caution, as always!
A Look at Dosing
Using up to 50 mg per dose of CBD to treat the symptoms of anxiety is generally a safe bet. But you want to get there gradually.
What this means is that you start off your CBD dose at ~10mg per dose. You can opt to take one single dose a day, in the morning or in the afternoon/evening. Or you can give yourself a CBD dose throughout the day. It all depends on how you want to use it.
10mg of CBD per dose is a great place to start, and then you can monitor the effects of how you feel for the next 2-3 weeks. If after that time frame you still feel like you are not at your optimal self, then you can increase your dose by 5-10mg. After another 2-3 weeks, you can see if that is the right dose or if you need to increase by another 5-10mg. You do this for however long it takes until you feel that the medicine has provided relief for your stress and anxiety. This is how you test and see where your unique sweet spot is… that place where you find your homeostasis.
Even though cannabis has been used to treat the symptoms of anxiety for thousands of years, caution is advised, as there is considerable evidence that large doses of cannabis can trigger anxiety and even paranoia in susceptible individuals. So use cannabis with caution and start by using low doses and SLOWLY increasing your dose to find your optimal range for your sweet spot.
Treating the Whole Body
Cannabis should be used as the vehicle to help guide us to complete the steps that are necessary to combat that anxiety. Such as exercising, which could be something as simple as a walk around your neighborhood or a 10 minute exercise from Youtube. Other things can also help, such as engaging with hobbies or sharing your thoughts in your journal to get them out of your head. These are treatments that a therapist may also suggest to you.
Dealing with trauma, depression, and anxiety starts with you. And, like many other medicines, cannabis is here to help you heal and be able to gain the courage to do the work that needs to be done.
This blog was originally published on the Margojuana blog, see the original article here.
With almost two decades of cannabis and legal experience in the public and private sectors, Margo Vesely is a passionate cannabis advocate, researcher, and entrepreneur. She writes her own blog, Margojuana.com, and serves as the Executive Director of the Illinois chapter of NORML. She is passionate about growing the cannabis community and helping people succeed as they enter the cannabis industry. To follow along with Margo’s work, visit her blog margojuana.com and follow her on Instagram @margojuana_.