Anxiety affects far too many people, and chances are you won’t find any relief with pharmaceuticals. For many people living with anxiety, the only way to find relief is with a combination of pills (some of which cause serious side effects), and therapy.
The cost alone puts off many people, but the hassles of work, school, family, and other commitments often cause a spike in stress levels, and this is sometimes highlighted with random incidents of panic attacks.
Thankfully, there are holistic ways to deal with stress that don’t involve pharmaceutical drugs; and CBD, or Cannabidiol, is one such option. CBD and the Endocannabinoid System (ECS) work together to maintain homeostasis in the human body and the mechanism by which this process happens typically reduces stress levels and makes it possible to manage panic attacks. CBDCentral.Com is a good place to learn more about how CBD kills anxiety.
What type of anxiety can I treat?
The thing about anxiety is that people experience it in varying degrees, and every panic attack feels awful for every person who experiences it. It’s true that cases of anxiety are classified ranging from mild to severe, but all cases are fueled by the same process that involves overwhelming fear and loss of control.
To help deal with this, CBD can minimize the stress caused by triggers such as social events, phobias, etc.
Anxiety affects about 18% of the adult population (some estimates are higher) and the symptoms are used to classify the type of anxiety in question. Here are the main types:
- Generalized anxiety – this is when a person shows excessive displays of anxiety on most days, for a period lasting more than six months.
- Social anxiety – also known as social phobia, people with this condition show heightened anxiety during social interaction and are likely to experience elevated blood pressure, sweating, nervousness, awkwardness; and the effect may be worse in unfamiliar environments, or in the mornings (and during the day in general) compared to nighttime.
- Panic disorder – it is an isolated experience that lasts a short time and may cause profound mental and physical stress, sometimes to the point where you feel dizzy, sick, and/or paralyzed.
- Phobias – this is a specific, irrational fear. For instance, the fear of heights, spiders, or large bodies of water.
- Agoraphobia – refers to a person with two or more of these phobias: public transport, closed spaces, open spaces, going outside alone, or being in a crowd.
- Separation anxiety – it usually affects kids when they ship off to school, but the condition can affect anybody regardless of age.
Pharmaceutical treatment for anxiety
For most of these conditions the doctor will write a prescription for medication such as Valium, Xanax, Klonopin, Ativan, or some other anti-anxiety pills. In addition to this, they may prescribe an antidepressant and the most common brands are Zoloft, Prozac, Paxil, Celexa, and Lexapro. These drugs are designed to work with brain receptors to control serotonin levels in the blood; however, most anxiety medications cause long term side effects like insomnia and sexual problems. Xanax and Valium are highly addictive, which is a problem because some patients have been unable to handle the side effect and have ended up worse than they were before treatment.
Using Cannabidiol for panic attacks
CBD contains no psychoactive element, which is what makes it the best option if you’re not particularly interested in getting high. Animal studies show that CBD improves mood and reduces anxiety in mice when exposed to a threatening predator, and much of the same effects are experienced by humans as well. Evidence from human studies shows great promise for CBD as treatment for anxiety, with dosages ranging from 300-600mg.
Choosing the right CBD for your panic attacks
The long term use of CBD is likely to reduce the frequency of panic attacks as stress levels become more manageable – however, taking it before a stressful event may help keep things in order. The best type of CBD to use is pure hemp-extracted cannabidiol, though you can find plenty of products infused with cannabidiol.
Make sure you get CBD from a trusted vendor, and not any of those lo-quality strains they sell cheaply. The higher the quality, the pricier it becomes, but it’s worth it if you plan to use CBD regularly. Speak to a health expert about using cannabidiol for your anxiety, if you find that symptoms persist.
