Anxiety and depression. The two walk hand-in-hand. For the most part, if you have one of these conditions, the other is likely to follow. They’re two of the most debilitating mental health illnesses. It’s a comorbidity that can devastate and ruin your life if you don’t seek treatment.
According to the CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention), almost one-half of people in the United States diagnosed with depression are also diagnosed with an anxiety disorder. According to a study published in 2002, 61.2 percent of people who experience a generalized anxiety disorder during their lifetimes also experience a major depressive disorder.
Doctors are seeing a high prevalence of depressive and anxiety disorders in primary care settings. During any given 12-month period, approximately 10 percent to 20 percent of adults will visit their primary care physician during a mental illness episode. Anxiety and depressive disorders are the cause of most of those visits.
Here’s the good news. CBD, or cannabidiol, has taken long leaps into being an alternative treatment for anxiety and depression. Rather than taking prescription anti-anxiety and anti-depression pharmaceutical medications, people choose to treat their anxiety and depression with CBD and weed pen, a more holistic and natural approach.
What Is CBD?
CBD is one of the hundreds of cannabinoids found in the Sativa marijuana plant known for its healing powers. Research indicates that the cannabis plant produces about 80 to 100 cannabinoids, including CBD and THC, or delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol. Additionally, there are approximately 300 non-cannabinoid chemicals found in the marijuana plant.
CBD and its counterpart THC are totally different. CBD can not get you high and is purely medicinal, offering health benefits that include anti-anxiety and anti-depression.
CBD comes in three compounds. They are the following:
- Full-spectrum: Includes every part of the marijuana plant. CBD Full-spectrum products have less than <0.3 percent THC.
- Broad-spectrum: This contains most of the marijuana plant compounds, including both CBD and THC.
- Isolates: Only has CBD. This is CBD in pure form.
Now that more and more research is being conducted on cannabis, there are also three types of THC. They are:
- Delta-8: Less potent than Delta-9 THC.
- Delta-9: Highest potency of THC. This is the fun stuff.
- Delta-10: Less potent than Delta-9, but it can make you high.
You can buy CBD products almost anywhere, including dispensaries, pharmacies, gas stations, convenience stores, and online. Since Delta-10 contains THC, you can only get it where it’s legal. And because Delta-10 THC has less than <0.03 percent Delta-9 THC, it’s federally legal under the Farm Act of 2018. The Mary Jane Whispers is online or a dispensary to ensure you’re getting quality articles.
How CBD Helps Treat Anxiety and Depression
While THC is the star of the weed world, the buzz today is all about CBD. That’s because CBD can help treat a plethora of health conditions. Aside from pain, anxiety and depression are the major disorders that are being treated.
But, how does CBD work? It is a complex process that the body undergoes when CBD is consumed. It all starts with the endocannabinoid system in the body.
The Endocannabinoid System
A complex biological system in the human body, the endocannabinoid system, was discovered by researchers in the 1990s, but there’s still more to learn about its interactions and how it works. Experts know that the design influences various significant processes, including memory, sleep, mood, and appetite, and maintains homeostasis, or balance, in the body. The endocannabinoid system has three components: receptors, enzymes, and endocannabinoids, which function regardless of whether you use CBD. When CBD is added to the body, the cannabinoid impacts the receptors and endocannabinoids after the enzymes break down CBD.
There are two receptors, called CB1 and CB2. CB1 is responsible for coordination, movement, pain, appetite, memory, mood, and other functions. CB1 is the receptor that helps with anxiety and depression when CBD is consumed. CB2, on the other hand, helps with pain and inflammation.
The Effect of CBD On Anxiety and Depression
If you suffer from anxiety and depression, the effect that CBD produces may help you. CBD is known for its healing properties to make you relax, maintain calmness, and keep you happy and healthy. CBD eases anxiety, giving you relief from chest pressure, rapid breathing, and panic. CBD also reduces depression, offering you mood elevation and restorative sleep to keep your mood balanced.
