{"id":13387,"date":"2021-01-29T11:07:49","date_gmt":"2021-01-29T11:07:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cannabishealthnews.co.uk\/?p=13387"},"modified":"2021-01-29T11:07:49","modified_gmt":"2021-01-29T11:07:49","slug":"five-ways-cbd-can-help-your-mental-health","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cannabishealthnews.co.uk\/2021\/01\/29\/five-ways-cbd-can-help-your-mental-health\/","title":{"rendered":"Five ways CBD can help your mental health"},"content":{"rendered":"
Cannabis Health looks at some of the ways CBD can help with five mental health issues, including depression, OCD and anxiety.<\/span><\/p>\n Depression<\/b><\/p>\n According to the World Health Organisation, depression affects more than 264 million people worldwide.<\/span><\/p>\n There are numerous different approaches to treating low mood, all generally focused around medication and talking therapy, or a combination of the two.<\/span><\/p>\n However, such therapies don\u2019t work for <\/span>everyone<\/span><\/a>; as many as 40 per cent of people do not feel any improvement with antidepressant medications.<\/span><\/p>\n Many are now turning to CBD, which interacts with the body\u2019s endocannabinoid system to regulate appetite, body temperature, blood pressure, metabolism, pain and mood.<\/span><\/p>\n Researchers believe that CBD relieves symptoms of depression by binding to the CB1 receptor within the endocannabinoid system, reducing nervous system inflammation and regulating the body\u2019s response to serotonin, the \u2018happy hormone\u2019.<\/span><\/p>\n Furthermore, CBD comes without the side effects that often accompany prescription anti-depressants, such as insomnia, fatigue and sexual issues.<\/span><\/p>\n Anxiety<\/b><\/p>\n Anxiety is one of the most common mental health disorders, with an estimated four per cent of the population suffering from some form of the condition.<\/span><\/p>\n Increasing numbers are turning to CBD to help; a 2019 poll found that 37 per cent of users take the supplement to relieve anxiety.<\/span><\/p>\n While research is ongoing, preliminary <\/span>findings<\/span><\/a> from the National Institute on Drug Abuse suggest that CBD may reduce stress in animals such as rats.<\/span><\/p>\n Study subjects were observed to have lower behavioural signs of anxiety, and physiological symptoms, such as increased heart rate, also improved.<\/span><\/p>\n OCD<\/b><\/p>\n Last year, a <\/span>study<\/span><\/a> by Washington State University found that the severity of symptoms for people with obsessive-compulsive disorder, or OCD, was reduced by about half within just four hours of smoking cannabis.<\/span><\/p>\n The study, published in the Journal of Affective Disorders, also found that higher doses and cannabis with higher concentrations of CBD, or cannabidiol, were associated with larger reductions in compulsions.<\/span><\/p>\n However, researchers were careful to point out that the effects were short-term, saying further research was needed to truly assess CBD\u2019s usefulness.<\/span><\/p>\n Stress<\/b><\/p>\n Anecdotally, many people say that one of their primary reasons for using CBD is for stress relief.<\/span><\/p>\n