One of the predisposing factors of many diseases is undoubtedly stress and for many of us it becomes daily, especially for people who have a large amount of duties in their daily routine, they come home tired, to take care of your family, which at the end of the day is exhausting, you sit down and think about everything you have to do tomorrow and the few hours of sleep you have, then you can't fall asleep immediately, further reducing your hours of rest.
This creates a vicious cycle, which transforms into a high level of social stress that is often unavoidable, but thanks to science and its research this major problem can be solved. This is where CBD comes in, a compound of cannabis that offers countless benefits in the treatment of the symptoms of many diseases , one of them being to considerably reduce stress, which, however harmless it may seem, can develop into serious psychological conditions over time.
In this article dedicated to the action of cannabidiol against stress, we will talk a little about how this compound works to reduce this condition, its advantages, some studies that have demonstrated its effectiveness, its action against various types of stress and more.
Stress and its impact on society
This is a form of response used by the organism to react to different types of events; an example of this is when we experience an overload of situations that exceed the person's coping capacity, and they feel overwhelmed, to which the organism responds with a feeling of physical and emotional tension.
Its incidence in society is remarkably high, since, without the need to carry out a study, we can know that every person in this world, at least once in their life, experiences some type of stress, especially work-related, however , this is not all bad, since stress often helps us deal with complicated situations.
The negative side of stress appears once it becomes permanent in a person, which could cause damage at both a physical and mental level ; as noted at the beginning of the article, stress is probably the cause of a large number of diseases, most of which are mental.
This condition is usually classified into two types, the first called acute stress, which is what we all experience at some point, after an overload of work or a dangerous situation, among others, the second is known as chronic stress and this is when the situation It becomes delicate, has a notable psychological condition and requires medical treatment.
The symptoms caused by stress are quite broad and will be organized according to your mood (such as restlessness, anxiety, irritability or anger, sadness or depression, lack of motivation or decreased concentration), your behavior (outbursts of anger, smoking, high or very low food consumption, alcoholism) and physically (such as headache, fatigue, changes in sexual desire, sleep disorders, muscle tension or pain, and others).
When we talk about treatments to reduce or control stress, we find a wide range of medications and mental therapies, which help considerably to eradicate this condition; however, many times when stress is chronic, the patient must consume conventional medications that often cause side effects and can even create addiction.
CBD is studied along with stress to evaluate their interaction.
Like any new medicine, it needs a research process and tests to demonstrate its effectiveness against the disease. Below, we name some of the studies carried out on CBD and its benefits against stress.
A study conducted in 2011, involving a very small group of just 24 people, verified the effectiveness of CBD on the reaction of these participants when speaking in public. It was observed that they appeared quite calm when delivering their speeches, leading to the conclusion that CBD significantly reduced nervousness in stressful situations.
A study conducted on healthy patients and patients with seasonal anxiety, a disease that undoubtedly carries stress in its structure, was specifically carried out on 60 patients who were administered CBD on different dates, which allowed it to be concluded that, the intake of cannabidiol or CBD before performing any type of task, helped to considerably reduce feelings of anxiety and stress in most patients , including both healthy and pathological ones.
In 2015, a report published in Neurotherapeutis, which aimed to demonstrate the benefits of CBD for anxiety-related disorders, concluded that " CBD has considerable potential as a treatment for multiple anxiety disorders given its anxiolytic, panicolytic, and anticompulsive properties, as well as a decrease in the conditioned expression of fear, an increase in the extinction of fear, the blocking of reconsolidation, and the prevention of the long-term anxiolytic effects of stress ."
A 2013 study conducted in Brazil focused on the effect of CBD on cortisol, showing a decrease in cortisol levels in the body while consuming CBD . That same year, Ganon-Eleazar in Israel demonstrated that CBD consumption significantly regulated the emotional response to trauma, thus preventing higher stress levels. This is because CBD reduces stress receptors in the amygdala and hippocampus, which together regulate the processing of senses and emotions.
A latest study published in the Journal of Affective Disorders tells us how patients who suffered from anxiety, depression and stress used cannabis to observe its effects on these conditions, resulting in a 50% decrease in depression and a 58% in anxiety and stress.
Although research is not yet sufficient to describe CBD's action on stress more deeply, scientists like Dr. Esther Blessing, a psychiatrist at New York University, noted that the data presented to date is quite promising.
“I think there is evidence that CBD could be an effective treatment for anxiety, addiction, and other disorders.”
Dr. Esther Blessing
CBD against various types of stress
As mentioned before, stress can be divided into two types, one being more serious than the other, however, the use of CBD can be applied in both cases, since it has been shown that the cannabis compound can act on the regulators. of processes such as moods, anger, depression, etc.
In this way, we position cannabidiol as an effective treatment for all types of stress, being able to effectively regulate the symptoms of post-traumatic stress , a clear example of chronic stress, helping the patient to improve their quality of life, without causing any type of side effect that further compromises their physical and mental health.
To explain a little more about how CBD works in the treatment of all types of stress, we can mention how this cannabis compound acts within the body to combat this condition. When CBD enters the body, it communicates with the endocannabinoid system through certain receptors, causing the neurons of the central amygdala, the place where anxiety and stress are controlled, to become hypoactive, resulting in stress regulation for the patient.
Several investigations also demonstrate this great action, as is the case of 2 studies based on a type of acute stress, one of them took place in 2012 where the effect of cannabis on cognitive processes affected by stress was observed and the other was carried out parallel to the first, demonstrating the long-term antidepressant effect produced by regular consumption of cannabinoids.
Advantages of using CBD to treat stress
There are many advantages that this cannabis compound provides to considerably reduce stress and its consequences, here we mention some of them that you should take into account when choosing CBD:
- Reduces anxiety: This action is important since anxiety and stress usually go hand in hand, so by reducing anxiety you reduce the stress caused.
- Relax: Cannabidiol or CBD has an essential function in the treatment of stress, which helps in some consequences of this condition, sedation, this effect promotes reducing the levels of hyperactivity caused by stress, at the same time that it helps the patient to recover sleep, this will improve your response to the daily routine.
- No side effects: This point is of great importance, since many conventional medications cause side effects that are reflected in the cognitive system, causing alterations in it, which prevent maintaining a correct quality of life.
- Goodbye to oxidative damage: This is one of the ways in which stress acts in the body to damage the mental and physical health of people, since having high levels of stress produces an oxidative response in the cells, which can result in more serious conditions. serious like Alzheimer's. Thanks to the antioxidant action of CBD, it helps neutralize free radicals, protecting cells from the damage they could cause.
- Regulates eating problems: One of the consequences of stress is usually a change in appetite, either in an excessive increase in it or in a radical decrease in it, so CBD acts on specific receptors regulating this action, stabilizing the patient's appetite.
- Muscle tension: Another of the very common symptoms of stress is usually muscle tension, which becomes very annoying and incapacitating to perform certain actions, such as going to the gym to de-stress a little, this is when the relaxing effect of CBD returns. to be useful, completely reducing muscle tension and returning the patient's full mobility capacity.
- Acts on the hypothalamus: CBD enters the body and provides support to the hypothalamus, thus allowing it to improve its response to stress, naturally helping the body to get rid of it.
Consult your doctor!
If you're considering using CBD to treat your stress, it's recommended that you consult a doctor. They can help you choose the CBD oil that best suits your needs, as well as the correct dosage. The doctor will assess your response to CBD, especially if it's your first time using it, and will inform you about some mild side effects that CBD can cause in beginners. These will cease once your body adjusts.
It will also carry out exhaustive monitoring of the progress that CBD has in your body in the treatment of stress, recommending a higher or lower dose, depending on the severity of your illness, the consumption of CBD along with other medications must be governed. by the doctor's decision, since he or she will be able to inform you about the interaction between different medications.
Conclusion…
We can say that although the studies are not complete, it has been shown that the use of CBD in the treatment of stress is quite beneficial, giving the patient an improvement in their lifestyle and without any type of consequences. We can treat various types of stress with CBD regardless of their severity, by correctly adjusting the dose and choosing the best product we can ensure good results.
It is important to keep in mind that the use of CBD will only help reduce stress levels, it is up to us to reduce the causative agents of said condition, this would be the best way to completely eradicate stress from our lives.
