Anxiety can be a positive response when it helps you to cope with threats to your welfare or safety. This emotion can also benefit a situation such as having too many bills as it can push or motivate you into getting a better paying job. Anxiety has even helped some to improve their relationships when they find themselves in one that is not working. To receive the benefits of anxiety, however; you have to manage the responses effectively, or it begins to impact your job, relationships, and life negatively. Clinically diagnosed anxiety-related disorders can have such a huge impact on your health that it becomes life-threatening. While there are many prescription drugs handed out to treat anxiety, cannabis provides a viable alternative.
Which Cannabis Strains Work Best for Anxiety
Cannabis has created an enormous amount of interest among scientists, clinicians, and consumers for its powerful anti-anxiety properties. When used as needed, this plant is safe, and well tolerated by many suffering from anxiety related disorders. Some of the disorders it has shown to help are:
- Generalized Anxiety Disorder
- Panic Disorder
- Mild to moderate depression
- Obsessive Compulsive Disorder
- Post Traumatic Stress Disorder
- Social Phobia
How Does Cannabis Help Anxiety?
Most studies were done showing how cannabis works on the brain have been limited to tests with animals. These tests provide an insight into how they will affect humans. These studies allow us a basis for understanding how cannabis will work on the human brain and our emotions. Drug companies often target a subtype of the serotonin receptor which can be treated for depression and anxiety. Prescriptions such as Prozac or Zoloft are two examples of drugs targeted to reduce anxiety, depression, and stress. They work by blocking reabsorption of serotonin into your brain. This blockage will increase the available serotonin in the synaptic space. With more serotonin, your brain cells transmit signals which can reduce your anxiety and boost your mood. With cannabis, this process follows the same path, but much quicker. Being able to handle your depression and anxiety faster would result in less need for antidepressant therapies.
Human Study on How Cannabis Helps Anxiety
Patients have been studied who are suffering from generalized social anxiety while they use cannabis. After the consumption of cannabis, there was a significant decrease in their anxiety levels. This change in mood was followed up with brain scans which showed cerebral blood flow patterns consistent with anti-anxiety effects. Another study was conducted on patients suffering from social anxiety disorder who were not comfortable with public speaking. These participants reported reduced anxiety, cognitive improvement, and were less uncomfortable getting up before a crowd to speak.
Cannabis Can Help Anxiety Symptoms
While there are a number of animal tests showing positive impacts with cannabis consumption, there are also human studies that validate those tests even further. Anxiety disorders play a huge part in social and financial costs in the United States each year. Cannabis shows a positive potential to be able to play a role in treating these disorders. More testing will be conducted, but it is showing cannabis is becoming more favorable and safer for treating anxiety.
