As the use of CBD continues to grow in popularity, the amount of health claims being made by producers, sellers, and users have increased as well. As a result, CBD has become a common alternative in the pursuit of health and wellness. In terms of anxiety, it isn’t uncommon to hear claims about how CBD can help manage symptoms and calm you down. A quick search on Google will provide you with enough anecdotal evidence to support this, and you might even have friends, coworkers, or family members who swear by its effects.

With such an influx of information, however, how do you distinguish factual evidence from unsubstantiated claims? As of now, while we do have some evidence to support the use of CBD as a legitimate treatment for anxiety, the science is still limited. There’s a lot we don’t know.

Defining Anxiety

In order to assess whether or not CBD is an effective treatment for anxiety, we first need to understand what anxiety actually is. Throughout our lives, we experience stress. This is a normal biological response and has acted as a survival mechanism throughout our collective history. Even if we’re no longer trying to survive in the natural world due to the development of cities and technology, we still experience stress in our day-to-day lives.

Anxiety, however, tends to be more internally caused, not reliant upon external stressors and triggers in order to escalate unpleasant emotional and physiological responses. While there are many kinds of anxiety disorders, they’re all similar in the sense that the stress experienced doesn’t go away over time. In fact, symptoms of anxiety can even escalate. Over long periods of time, anxiety is linked to a weaker immune system and increased health challenges. In the moment, however, anxiety can get in the way of socialization, relationships, work, and other daily responsibilities to the detriment of the individual. Not only that, but experiencing anxiety doesn’t feel good to anyone, increasing our heart rate, triggering panic, and activating our fight/flight/freeze response.

With all this in mind, it’s understandable to want to decrease anxiety symptoms as much as possible. At-home remedies and solutions are becoming more popular, especially due to the expense of therapy and other traditional care methods. The use of CBD has rapidly become one of these alternative approaches.

The Endocannabinoid System

What we do know is that the body has something called an endocannabinoid system, or the ECS for short. The ECS is responsible for making sure our body remains in homeostasis, or balance. When things like our sleep, hormones, mood, or energy levels start acting up, the ECS works to return us back to our baseline. In order to do this, it operates through a series of receptors and neurotransmitters. Put simply, when a neurotransmitter (a chemical produced by the body), locks into a receptor, our body is then able to feed off these chemicals and produce results. These neurotransmitters affect everything from sleep and appetitive to the amount of stress we experience.

One of the receptors apart of the ECS is referred to as CB1, which is largely found in the brain and nervous system. It’s associated with promoting feelings of calm through a chemical called anandamide. When the anandamide is able to lock into a receptor, it sends calming signals through our body. However, when we experience anxiety over a long periods of time, the anandamide begins to break down. This means there’s less available to combat anxiety and keep us balanced.

Cannabis, full of chemicals called phytocannabiniods, interacts with the ECS. These chemicals help prevent the breakdown of anandamide by blocking its journey into our body’s cells. There has also been evidence to support that the chemicals within CBD can stimulate the creation of anandamide in order to ensure more is available for use.

To summarize, when our body struggles to regulate itself, CBD has been shown to interact with the ECS in order to provide us with the boost we need to return to homeostasis.

Terpenes, Flavonoids, and Other Cannabinoids

Although the science is still new, cannabinoids, terpenes, and flavonoids are said to work together in what’s called the entourage effect. Put simply, this means that when all these components are present, they’re able to produce an effect greater than the sum of their individual parts. This is one reason why it’s common to see people recommending Full Spectrum CBD more regularly.

As well as this, there’s some research to suggest that different kinds of cannabinoids, terpenes, and flavonoids produce unique effects. For example, the cannabinoid CBDA may have anti-anxiety properties, while CBN may be able to contribute to sleep. In terms of terpenes, there’s been some research to suggest that mycrene, limonene, and linalool may be able to help with anxiety. Paying attention to the chemical composition of the products you’re purchasing by checking out certificates of analysis (COAs), is often a good way to develop a deeper understanding of these compounds and how they affect your body specifically.

That said, as the research into these various compounds is still new and emerging, we can’t really say anything for certain yet, especially when it comes to any anti-anxiety properties.

Missing Research

That being said, the research into the effects of CBD on anxiety is still limited. We’ve only just begun to understand the ECS, and our knowledge of how the system works is still minimal. Although there have been initial trials conducted that have shown CBD can be used as an anxiety treatment, more clinical research needs to be done before we can make any substantial claims. Many of these trials have been conducted with participants who don’t suffer from an anxiety disorder, which means the effectiveness of treatment isn’t yet known. The current available research has also largely focused on social anxiety specifically, so other types of anxiety, including general, panic, and post-traumatic, haven’t been properly considered.

Several challenges still exist when it comes to understanding how effective CBD can be when treating anxiety. For starters, with so many products being sold outside the regulated market, quality can vary significantly depending on who made it. To make matters worse, the products being tested in clinical trials are not the ones available to average consumers. Furthermore, we have yet to establish what a functional dose is. The measurement of CBD needed in order to mitigate anxiety symptoms isn’t well understood, and can vary depending on the person, the product, and the symptoms.

Ultimately, CBD is only one potential tool in the anxiety management toolbox. While we’re happy to hear so many people reporting success with it, it’s also important to consider other anti-anxiety treatments as well, such as therapy, medications, or lifestyle changes. At the end of the day, CBD certainly isn’t a cure all, and when it comes to things as serious as anxiety, it’s always important to discuss your mental health and any potential treatments with a professional.

TL;DR

While there is research to suggest that CBD can be an effective treatment for anxiety, more research is needed. What we do know is that CBD interacts positively with our endocannabinoid system, helping to maintain our body’s balance and promote feelings of calm. Until we know more, however, we can’t make a recommendation as to whether or not CBD is an anxiety treatment that will work for you. What we can say is that the initial trials sound positive, and as the science continues to evolve, we’ll know a lot more in the future.