CBD Oil
CBD oil has been tested in a variety of mental health disorders but not as thoroughly as cannabis (with THC) has. These including bipolar disorder, anxiety disorder, depression, and schizophrenia. Managing these psychiatric disorders can be tough especially because there are so many side effects to common psychiatric medications, so people are always looking for more natural alternatives.
CBD oil has grown in popularity over the last couple of years and has recently been showing neuro-protective properties helping the brain development and prevention of mental health disorders.
What is CBD oil? — It’s not THC (what gets you high).
CBD (which stands for cannabidiol) and THC (which stand for tetrahydrocannabinol) are derivative of cannabis plants or hemp plants. These two things are considered what’s known as cannabinoids which bind to receptors in the brain. But THC is what causes the feeling of “high” including light headedness, numbness, tingling, and other similar symptoms. Meaning CBD doesn’t cause the “high feeling” but they both are cannabinoids.
CBD has been shown to impact multiple biological systems and has a high concentration of phytocannabinoids that impact the central nervous system. CBD from cannabis isn’t legal yet in the US but CBD products from hemp are legal. Please understand that they may still have small levels of THC in it, not enough to cause a “high” feeling but enough to test positive on a drug test.
More research…
There has been a lot of research done on cannabis but not a lot done specifically on CBD oil (cannabidiol). Long term effects haven’t been studied as well as cannabis so please remember this. I will go into more detail about the research of cannabis (THC) later in this article but for now, lets focus on CBD oil.
There have been small studies that show benefit of CBD oil on social anxiety, PTSD, sleep, and panic disorders. Long term though is not studied as well.
Impact of CBD oil
1. Relieves stress
Stress increases the sympathetic nervous system which triggers the “fight or flight” response. This increase blood pressure and increases in the stress hormone cortisol and over time this high level of stress can wreak havoc on the body. This results in even more dysfunction in people who struggle with mental illness.
CBD has been shown to interact with the body’s endocannabinoid system which regulates mood, sleep, appetite, etc. It also has been shown to help balance hormones that can increase calmness.
In mice, it’s been shown to increase neural processing to help create new neural networks. Also, it’s been shown that weed higher in CBD than THC has less episodes of psychosis.
Quite a few people who have used CBD oil for anxiety and panic attacks have reported feelings of relief when incorporating CBD oil into their diet.
2. CBD can help promote cognitive functioning
As mentioned before, CBD oil interacts with the central nervous system which increases healthy nerve functioning and helps with neuron interactions. People who struggle with mental illness may feel more clarity and a decrease in brain fog.
3. Helps with Sleep
Dysfunction in sleep cycles can be detrimental to those with mental illness. Dysfunctional sleep exacerbations and the inability to sleep can cause mental health issues because it doesn’t allow the brain to rest. Disrupted sleep impairs cognitive function which results in dysfunction in every day life. CBD oil can help with sleep patterns and there have been studies that show increased sleep patterns.
4. Helping with triggers
CBD oil can help with triggers as it can calm the mind and the body.
People who struggle with mental illness understand how detrimental it can be on their social habits, careers, and every facet of their lives. Talk to your doctor about trying CBD oil.
The Fine Line between THC and CBD Oil
Some CBD oil products still contains THC and this is really tricky when it comes to buying products especially in the US. CBD products aren’t fully tested or regulated here in the United States and more studies need to be completed.
The Hard Look at Cannabis and THC Components
Current studies are being done to examine the long-term effects of cannabis oil use at younger ages compared to when people start using cannabis later in life and judging from the research so far, it’s not positive. In regards to CBD oil, longitudinal studies are necessary to see the full impact and are currently being worked on but will take several years to complete.
I have a lot of patients who come to me and tell me that cannabis helps them with the symptoms of their anxiety and depression. Cannabis (containing THC) can help short term, while it also decreases memories, cause more “numbness”, and can damage cognition. There have been multiple studies recently that show cannabis can be helpful for immediate symptoms but long term use shows WORSENING long-term symptoms of mood and anxiety symptoms.
Research Already Done…
Unfortunately, Cannabis use is generally higher in people with psychiatric conditions, co-usage of alcohol, opioids, and tobacco. Reports show a dramatic decrease in functionality with people who experience psychosis.
The THC in cannabis has been shown to decrease IQ, lower motivation, decrease attention and processing functions, and can rewire the brain causing long term effects. Unfortunately, the brain does a lot of fine tuning and maturing during the younger years especially teenage years and THC prevents the brain from maturing appropriately.
Using a functional and structural MRI’s show the difference in blood flow to the brain and differing brain sizes of people who smoked marijuana during childhood and adolescence. THC changes the way to brain prunes and wires itself which leads to long term impact.
Overall, my thoughts are…
I’m not a big fan of marijuana especially in children and adolescents. But CBD oil needs more research and has been shown to offer more benefits in regards to mental health. Talk to your doctor about trying CBD oil.
I know it can overwhelming looking at different products for CBD oil. I thought I’d give you my favorite recommendation from amazon. (Yes, I would get a little back for recommending it at no fee to you!)
It’s a hemp oil and a lot of my patient’s have loved it! Click here 😀
References
- Blessing, E. M., Steenkamp, M. M., Manzanares, J., & Marmar, C. R. (2015, September 04). Cannabidiol as a Potential Treatment for Anxiety Disorders. Retrieved from https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s13311-015-0387-1
- Bergamaschi, M. M., Queiroz, R. H., Chagas, M. H., Oliveira, D. C., Martinis, B. S., Kapczinski, F., . . . Crippa, J. A. (2011, February 09). Cannabidiol Reduces the Anxiety Induced by Simulated Public Speaking in Treatment-Naïve Social Phobia Patients. Retrieved from https://www.nature.com/articles/npp20116?foxtrotcallback
- Crippa, J. A., Derenusson, G. N., Ferrari, T. B., Wichert-Ana, L., Duran, F. L., Martin-Santos, R., . . . Hallak, J. E. (2010). Neural basis of anxiolytic effects of cannabidiol (CBD) in generalized social anxiety disorder: A preliminary report. Journal of Psychopharmacology, 25(1), 121-130. doi:10.1177/0269881110379283
- De, A. R., De, N. P., Coutinho, D. S., Machado, S., Arias-Carrión, O., Crippa, J. A., . . . Silva, A. C. (2014). Antidepressant-like and anxiolytic-like effects of cannabidiol: A chemical compound of Cannabis sativa. Retrieved from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24923339
- George, T. P., Hill, K. P., & Vaccarino, F. J. (2018). Cannabis Legalization and Psychiatric Disorders: Caveat “Hemp-tor”. The Canadian Journal of Psychiatry, 63(7), 447-450. doi:10.1177/0706743718762387
- Mammen, G., Rueda, S., Roerecke, M., Bonato, S., Lev-Ran, S., & Rehm, J. (2018, June 05). Association of Cannabis With Long-Term Clinical Symptoms in Anxiety and Mood Disorders: A Systematic Review of Prospective Studies. Retrieved from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29877641
- Canada also released a pretty wonderful handout regarding cannabis and here’s the link! It’s free!
- http://www.ccsa.ca/Resource%20Library/CCSA-Effects-of-Cannabis-Use-during-Adolescence-Report-2015-en.pdf
