One of the most commonly asked questions we hear at Londonderry’s premier pure CBD brand is whether or not CBD actually works for mental health. In the interests of balance, we want to provide a fair and accurate assessment by going much deeper than simple googling of ‘how long does cannabis stay in your blood?’ ever could. You might think we’re biased because we sell CBD products, but we’re only in this business because we’ve seen the effects and improvements with our own eyes.
CBD has the power to transform the way we think about holistic health and wellness, or so say the experts. But are they really telling the full truth? What are the areas in which CBD cannot do a thing? And can you expect to see the exact same improvements in your mental state as your friends and relatives? We’re going to dive into how to answer these questions fairly and openly in the rest of this article. Enjoy!
First up, we need to say here that we’re talking exclusively about CBD, not cannabis, this means that debates about how long does cannabis stay in your system can finally be put to one side. It doesn’t matter for the purposes of this article because we’re not talking about cannabis. By focusing solely on CBD that has been third party tested to ensure only trace amounts of the psychoactive ingredient THC remain, we can eliminate any worries about addiction or miss use. We can also focus on the benefits, and any potential shortcomings, of CBD without having to continually reference cannabis and other psychoactive supplements.
Mental health benefits of CBD
Next, let’s dive right into some anecdotal evidence on the mental health benefits of CBD to get the ball rolling. One of the most commonly made claims is that CBD can help with social anxiety. Is this actually true? Look around online and you’ll find no shortage of reviews, testimonials and posts from people claiming this to be the case. But is it just clever marketing masquerading as social proof? In our experience, no!
The science is also well-established to back up these claims. To truly understand the detail would require a textbook, but we can learn a lot by recasting the way we think about the brain itself. Many of us accept the idea that the body is made up of organs that work on a cellular level, but reject this idea when it comes to the brain. Without wanting to tread too heavily into the domains of religion and philosophy, it’s useful to think of the brain as just another organ.
Take a look inside your own head and you’ll find a wide array of neuronal pathways that work like minuscule electrical circuits. They fire and misfire, just like the electrical circuits in your home or smartphone, and they’re affected by the hormones released into your body. Different hormone levels cause different moods and feelings, creating the experiences we live through in our own heads. The interesting thing that CBD does is change the chemicals, and levels of chemicals, key receptors in your brain transmit and give off. This then changes the way your mind reacts in certain situations.
The science that the active components in CBD stop the brain sending out a stress response to the same high degree in social situations is well-established. This is not some hand waving, mystical venture into spirituality here folks — this is real science firmly established by experts who are completely independent from our Londonderry CBD brand. Ideal if you want to sleep easy knowing that CBD can help you get through a social occasion without any of the unwanted side effects that drinking alcohol to loosen up will result in.
CBD for Depression
Another common area of mental health is depression, often experienced as feelings of hopelessness or listlessness. That sense of just being trapped, drowning, or useless that so many of us experience at certain parts of life is what we’re talking about here. The great thing about CBD is that it has been shown to help with the symptoms of depression in many cases. In fact, the best results were found with high doses of CBD in conjunction with low doses of THC. More proof, if any were needed, that we’re right to be focusing all our efforts on CBD rather than looking to answer commonly searched questions about how long does cannabis stay in your urine.
One thing that’s worth noting here is that CBD was also shown to have the same level of positive effect (typically a 50% reduction in strength of feeling) when used to address general anxiety. This tells us something fundamental about how CBD works: it’s not simply lowering our inhibitions like alcohol does — it can help with a much broader spectrum of mental health conditions. Alcohol may help with social anxiety (and yet cause you to get drunk and feel hungover) but it will exacerbate depression as when taken in large quantities it works as a depressant.
Others use CBD to address triggers for poor mental health, such as chronic pain and discomfort. Whether you class this as a secondary impact or not, the results are clear for all to see in the scientific literature. But while this may be the case, there’s something we urgently need to stress about the role of CBD in all of these cases…
CBD should not be used, or seen, as a miracle cure for all forms of mental health issues. The reason for this is that many mental health conditions are multi-faceted, are caused and exacerbated by numerous things, and have underlying causes. We like to think of CBD as a useful tool that allows you to function so that you can make your way in the world and ultimately get the specialist help you need. To be more precise, let’s split this into two distinct categories.
Picture yourself as someone is highly functional and yet who finds social events a struggle. In your case, taking CBD regularly, and in line with your own personally optimised dosage profile, will help you function more effectively. It will enable you to enjoy social events, network to build your career, and meet new and interesting people who are ready to introduce you to some great life experiences. Job done!
CBD For PTSD
Now imagine instead that the mental health conditions you suffer from are far more pervasive — perhaps you have PTSD as a result of an accident or altercation years ago. This results in a large amount of stress and anxiety in your life as you always feel on edge and on high alert. Taking CBD will enable you to reduce the stress and anxiety levels you have to live with on a daily basis, giving you more willpower and mental energy to direct towards other tasks. But what it won’t do is address the underlying causes and triggers that upset the balance of your mental health. While we never intend to tell anyone how they should live their lives, in these instances we feel it’s far healthier to view CBD as a pat of the recovery process, rather than a magic bullet.
Hope this helps on your quest for better mental health, and just remember; our Londonderry CBD brand is right here when you need us!
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