Ask the expert: CBD and anxiety study shows “encouraging results”

CBD expert, Dr Elisabeth Phillips, shares her thoughts on a new study that suggests the cannabinoid may reduce treatment-resistant anxiety by up to 50 per cent in young people.

The Cannabidiol Youth Anxiety Pilot Study, which was published earlier this month, found that young people with anxiety had an average 42.6 per cent reduction in their condition’s severity and impairment following 12 weeks of treatment with CBD.

The pilot study involved 31 participants aged 12–25. All participants had a diagnosed anxiety disorder and had failed to show significant improvement in anxiety severity following at least five cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) sessions.

The pilot study was led by Orygen, an Australian organisation offering support for young people’s mental health, with participants recruited from its primary care services.

What the expert says:

This small Australian pilot study provides encouraging results in significantly improving anxiety and panic attacks in teenagers.

It backs up previous studies, including the sleep and anxiety trial in 2019, that CBD acts in a number of ways to reduce anxiety when other approaches like CBT (cognitive behavioural therapy) haven’t worked.

CBD capsules, as used in this study, are a quick and safe way to take CBD and it will be interesting to see future studies looking at CBD oils, as this form of CBD is absorbed quicker and more easily into the body.

Anxiety is a really difficult condition to manage – from exams and sports performance to situations and feelings that can trigger a panic attack – so to take a daily oral dose of CBD and see significant self-reported improvements in symptoms in just 12 weeks is very promising for those teenagers looking to help and support their mental health.

Dr Elisabeth Philipps

We need to remember though that this is still a small-scale pilot study with only 31 participants. So this trial needs to be followed up with a larger study population (e.g. 200-250 teenagers).

Plus, anxiety is a multifactorial condition. I would always advise using CBD as a tool in your self-help toolkit to help with managing symptoms like anxiety and improving sleep, which always stabilises mood, but you need to combine CBD with a holistic health programme.

Switch to foods that support mood, like eggs, avocados, vegetables, nuts and seeds whilst avoiding foods high in sugar, alcohol and caffeine, as well as processed foods that knock your brain health and mood.

I also always recommend omega-3 fish oils and biotic supplements to support gut health, as the gut and brain are directly linked and both play a role in anxiety. This diet, lifestyle and food supplement approach, including CBD, can have great results in stabilising mood and anxiety-type conditions.

It’s worth noting that these studies often use a much higher dosage of CBD than is currently suggested in UK food supplement and CBD guidelines. On average, most clinical studies use around 200-800mg daily which is higher than the recommended dose of [70mg].

This goes to show how safe proper CBD products are and gives us hope that UK food and supplement guidelines will soon change to reflect that.

Dr Elisabeth Philipps is a clinical neuroscientist and leading expert on the endocannabinoid system (ECS) and cannabinoid medicine including CBD and medical cannabis. 

She is an industry thought leader and in-house expert for UK CBD company fourfive and was recently appointed as clinical advisor at The Centre For Medicinal Cannabis.