Mental Health and CBD

It’s Mental Health Awareness Month!

When it comes to your health, knowledge is power. Learn more about how CBD may be beneficial for your mental health here!

Did You Know? 1 in 5 Americans experiences mental illness in a given year (1).

That makes mental health one of the most widespread health concerns in the US. Unfortunately, the resources available to people dealing with mental illness aren’t always sufficient. It can be very challenging to control the symptoms of mental illness, and while medications are available, they may not be as effective as one would hope, can come with serious side effects, and often leave people wanting a better option.

Enter CBD.

CBD, or cannabidiol, is the much-talked-about component in hemp & marijuana plants (these components are called cannabinoids) known for holding a lot of potential benefits, without any intoxicating properties. That’s right, since there’s little-to-no (less than .3%) THC in CBD, it can’t get you stoned. Instead, this little compound’s popularity has spread like wildfire as people discover how beneficial CBD can be.

Is CBD Legal?

Thanks to the 2018 Farm Bill, passed in December of last year, industrial hemp products are federally legal. Industrial hemp is classified as a cannabis plant that contains less than .3% THC. Therefore, CBD extracted from industrial hemp would be considered legal at the federal level, while CBD extracted from marijuana (a cannabis plant with over .3% THC) is still federally illegal.

CBD For Mental Health

If you’re wondering whether or not CBD may actually help improve mental health, the long story short is: YES.

The World Health Organization has long recognized the potential power of CBD, and they have a list of conditions they think CBD may be beneficial for- even mental health conditions.

But, if WHO’s support doesn’t convince you, there’s plenty of research to back up the benefits of CBD for mental health, too.

The number of studies on CBD has risen steadily, including studies on how CBD can impact mental health. The results? Overwhelmingly positive.

To be clear, we don’t recommend using CBD instead of traditional medication for mental health, nor do we claim that CBD is a treatment for mental health issues.

Let’s take a more in-depth look at how CBD may be beneficial for anxiety:

CBD For Stress/Anxiety

The National Institute of Mental Health has released reports showing 18% of Americans are affected by an anxiety disorder, so it’s not surprising stress and/or anxiety is one of the top reasons why people are flocking to CBD. Many, many people tout the natural calming abilities of CBD, which is important, as stress & anxiety are at the root of a lot of mental health issues, and clearly impact a large portion of the population.

CBD plays a role in the endocannabinoid system, which is responsible for a lot of things in the body, one of which is regulating fight-or-flight responses in the brain. CBD has an indirect interaction with the endocannabinoid system- it can’t bind to endocannabinoid receptors, but it does interact with them. THC, on the other hand, has a direct reaction with the same receptors and binds to them fully- this is what allows THC to be psychoactive. Basically, because THC binds fully, it can get you stoned. Because CBD doesn’t bind fully to these receptors, it can’t get you stoned. Instead, CBD may be helpful in keeping things regulated. That fight-or-flight response we mentioned earlier? CBD may be able to help calm that response at times it’s unnecessary. Having a heightened fight-or-flight response can be a major part of anxiety, so this is one major way CBD could possibly be beneficial for anxiety sufferers.

A double-blind, placebo-controlled study (considered by professionals to be the most reliable type of research study) published in 2011 in the Journal of Psychopharmacology (2) found that, when compared to the placebo, CBD was associated with “significantly decreased subjective anxiety,” and the research team concluded that CBD was, in fact, capable of reducing anxiety.

And that’s not the only study with those results, there are dozens of others (3)! Almost every study released on CBD + anxiety shows a high percentage of efficacy, with few, if any, side effects reported.

Overwhelmingly, the evidence points to CBD being very effective at reducing anxiety.

Anxiety isn’t the only thing CBD may be beneficial for, there are a lot of reasons to try CBD for your mental health- people have reported success when using CBD for things like sleep disorders, depression, and scattered thinking.

From the widespread support of medical officials, like those at WHO, to the overwhelming number of studies being released every year that show the promise of CBD, the evidence is undeniable. CBD is here, and it helps.

Of course, it’s important to purchase high-quality CBD- our CBD is third-party tested, produced from organic hemp, and made in small batches in our Austin, Texas lab.

Try Grassroots Harvest CBD today, and see the difference it makes in your life.

Sources:

1. “Mental Health By The Numbers.”  National Alliance on Mental Illness. www.nami.org/Learn-More/Mental-Health-By-the-Numbers. Date Accessed 5.15.2019.
2. Crippa, JA, et. al. “Neural basis of anxiolytic effects of cannabidiol (CBD) in generalized social anxiety disorder: a preliminary report.” Journal of Psychopharmacology. 25(1). Jan. 2011. Pp. 121-130. www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20829306. Date Accessed 5.15.2019. Accessed via PubMed.
3. Blessing, Esther, et. al. “Cannabidiol as a Potential Treatment for Anxiety Disorders.” Neurotherapeutics. 12(4). Oct. 2015. Pp. 825-836. link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s13311-015-0387-1. Date Accessed: 5.15.2019. Accessed via SpringerLink.