According to WHO (World Health Organization), 1 in 13 people globally suffers from anxiety. They report that anxiety disorders are the most common mental disorder worldwide with specific phobia, major depressive disorder and social phobia being the most common anxiety disorders. The Anxiety and Depression Association of America points out that national prevalence data indicate that nearly 40 million people in the USA (18%) experience an anxiety disorder in any given year.
CBD or cannabidiol has shown promising results in treating various anxiety disorders in specific studies, such as social anxiety disorder, panic disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and even post-traumatic stress disorder.
-A 2010 study shows that cannabidiol could lower symptoms in people with SAD (social anxiety disorder). Subjects felt better and their brains also responded to anxiety differently after using CBD. (1)
-In a 2011 study, researchers looked specifically at cannabidiol to treat anxiety associated with public speaking. Pretreatment of SAD patients with CBD preliminary results, indicate that a single dose of CBD can reduce the anxiety-enhancing effect provoked by public speaking, one of the main symptoms of the disorder. (2)
-A 2014 study using animals, found that CBD caused antidepressant and anti-anxiety effects in its subjects. (3)
-In 2015 an analysis of past studies determined that CBD could be helpful in treating post-traumatic stress disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, social anxiety disorder, generalized anxiety disorder, and panic disorder, while also concluding that more research is needed for long term use of CBD oil. (4)
-A study published in 2019 concluded that the human subjects’ anxiety scores decreased within the first month of using CBD and remained decreased during the study duration. (5)
Another positive outcome of CBD research indicates that most subjects responded with very few side effects to CBD, much less than most psychiatric drugs. While all of this points to the benefits CBD oil offers for treating anxiety, anyone suffering from severe anxiety should always consult their physician before adding CBD to their medical regime.
(1) https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0269881110379283 (2)https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20829306 (3) https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24923339 (4) https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s13311-015-0387-1 (5), https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6326553/
