What is CBD oil and why is CBD oil so great for anxiety? In this post, I want to answer both of these questions. I think it is important, especially now, to find alternative, natural ways to alleviate anxiety and stress.
Anxiety problems are becoming more prevalent, or at least more talked about these days. Wellness and mental health are key areas of focus for most companies with many introducing new policies to ensure employees are being looked after and staying healthy both in the mind and body. In fact, many job seekers when searching for jobs are looking to see how companies deal with mental health and what their stance is on work / life balance seeing this as a key component when assessing their options. Many of these themes have become even more prominent due to lockdown and realising the importance of spending time with family and friends and not having to be subjected to long commutes or other circumstantial stresses.
But, irrespective of the life choices we all make to ensure we are putting ourselves in positive environments, there’s only so much we are able to control and anxiety always rears its ugly head. Our minds can’t help but focus on things that may worry us or could go wrong – what our future holds, have we made the right choices!?! So, sometimes, we need a little extra help restore balance and calm.
I have always been keen not to rely on prescriptions or synthetic medication. I am more aware than ever of the crap we put into our bodies and don’t want to become reliant on anything that isn’t natural. Consequently, I have done lots of research into plant based remedies to help with anxiety. This is when I came across and tried CBD oil for my anxiety!
CBD or cannabis-derived remedies have been around for thousands of years and used to be commonly prescribed by doctors for aches and pains before prohibition was introduced last century. However, now that CBD is legal in the UK (provided it contains less than 0.2% THC) we are beginning to see a reconnection and increased interest in this magical plant. This is because CBD has been associated with many health benefits namely in its ability to reduce anxiety (which ultimately impacts and helps us get a good night’s sleep). This is because CBD is said to interact with the receptors within our bodies that are responsible for controlling fear and anxiety – it instills calm and relaxation to counteract any activated anxiety or fear thus dealing with the underlying anxiety head on.
There are a number of ways that you can take CBD e.g CBD edibles or by vaping it, but I tend to favour formats that are more natural and healthy. This is why I went with CBD oil drops – when the CBD has been in a carrier oil most often something like coconut oil. To take it, you just use the pipette to drop some CBD under your tongue, hold it there for 30-60 seconds (so it can absorb into the artery under your tongue) and swallow. The effects of the CBD will not be instantaneous, but you should feel it working within 30 minutes or so. I have been using this brand Paso who have natural flavoured oil drops in 3 different strengths. The strongest ones though are very bitter and you can taste the hemp. They recently released some flavoured oil sprays which have been a gamechanger and much easier to carry about with me so that I can have a quick CBD dosage for my social anxiety at a moment’s notice!
In terms of the perfect CBD dosage for anxiety, it really is so personal as each of our bodies will respond differently to the CBD. So what might be a perfect CBD dosage for me, may not be for you. Most brands will have a suggested dose on the back, but, again, for me it was down to trial and error over time. This is also the case with when you should take it as for some people it makes them sleepy whilst for others it makes them more energetic!
Hopefully this has helped demystify and explain why I’ve found CBD oil to be so great for anxiety.
