Cannabis for Anxiety: How this plant can help ease symptoms
Anxiety is something we’ve all experienced – whether regularly or in certain situations. It can make you feel overwhelmed and unable to complete tasks, panicky as if you are trying to keep your head above water, or limit us from engaging with others out of fear.
While there are numerous pharmaceutical medications, like antidepressants or Xanax, to treat anxiety, the side effects cause some concern. Some of the most common side effects of these pharma drugs include
Low blood pressure
Depression/suicidal thoughts
Low sex drive or sexual dysfunction
Memory loss/trouble concentrating
Headaches
Weight loss or gain
Diarrhea
Some of these side effects just give people more reasons to be anxious, leaving many stumped at where to go from there. Wanting relief from symptoms without harsh side effects have led people to look to cannabis for anxiety management.
The Power of Nature: Cannabinoids for anxiety
THC and CBD are the main cannabinoids responsible for the kind of experience you will have when using cannabis products. THC contains properties responsible for the feeling of getting “stoned”, and high concentrations of THC can make some experience increased heart rate, trouble concentrating, or paranoia. Smaller doses however tend not to have those effects and can create a euphoria that elevates and uplifts users’ moods.
CBD has been touted for its ability to help ease and calm the mind and body and has been gaining greater popularity and recognition for relieving symptoms of various ailments and conditions. This is why different products, strains and ratios matter, and why seeking experts can be the key to discovering what works best for you.
Using Cannabis for Anxiety Relief
Your body makes its own chemicals, and the reason behind cannabis’s power when used to treat various ailments, is that the chemicals in cannabis mimic those in your body! It is known that the body produces chemicals when happy, under stress, in pain, etc. When consuming marijuana, these chemicals produced by your body attach to cannabinoid receptors in the brain, essentially replacing the chemicals your body makes with cannabinoids.
More research has been done on how CBD is extremely effective for anxiety, but we can’t count THC out. Products with a 1:1 ratio of THC to CBD tend to be a perfect balance for many looking to calm their nerves without feeling sleepy or “high”. It’s a great way to introduce your body to the cannabinoids slowly, and help manage the overwhelming or anxious feelings that can creep up throughout the day.
No one deserves to go through their day with feelings of dread or panic. And while what’s out there in the pharma world can relieve those feelings, it shouldn’t come at the cost of other health concerns. Cannabis delivers on both of these issues, providing relief without sacrificing other aspects of your life. You don’t need to take on one issue in order to rid yourself of another. With cannabis, you can get the best of both worlds.