CBD Improves Mental Health
Mental health has been established as one of the biggest causes of death in America today. According to the Centre for Disease Control, Suicide is the cause of some 50 thousand Americans every year, and almost 800 thousand people around the world. This means that on average, the world loses someone to suicide every 40 seconds.
The problem with mental illnesses and related issues is that nobody really takes it seriously. People who have mental health issues are ostracized by society, and many of them don’t know how to share their pains. Most of their family members don’t pay them much attention and their friends come up with quotes on Instagram about how they should be motivated to get out of the depression they face.
While the reinvention of your mind is important in combating mental illness, sometimes, mental health issues are so severe that they require medication. If it weren’t so, the DEA wouldn’t have legalized antidepressants to deal with mental illness. And the government wouldn’t have legalized cannabis.
Cannabidiol or CBD is one of the prevalent components in cannabis and can be obtained directly from the hemp plant. It does not provide the feeling of intoxication on its own, even though it is one of the major active ingredients in cannabis. Tetrahydrocannabinol (or THC) is the powerful component in cannabis that allows for intoxication when taken.
The signing of the Farm Bill of 2018 by President Donald Trump allowed for the legalization of hemp across the country for medicinal purposes, and that has given rise to research into cannabidiol and its uses in various products. However, even with the legalization of hemp, cannabidiol isn’t allowed to be added to therapeutic and dietary supplements and can only be used in cosmetic products when it has a 0.3% THC or less.
Thankfully, research done on cannabidiol as a solution to mental health challenges have yielded some good results, and scientists claim that this drug has shown promise. Before we go into some of the results gotten from the research done, let us start by understanding what mental health means and how it is an important factor in our lives.
What is Mental Health?
According to Wikipedia, mental health is “the level of psychological well-being”. Mental health is simply a state of health that has to do with the quality of your mind and emotions. Unless you are a robot, you have feelings and emotions that directly or indirectly affect the way you go about your life.
Mental illness or mental disorder is the absence of good mental health. It is usually caused by imbalances of chemicals in your brain, particularly serotonin, also called the happy chemical. However, this is not the complete reason for depressions or mental illness. Other neurotransmitter imbalances, as well as conditions like inflammation and structural changes in the brain caused by stress and trauma are also big causes of mental health issues. Also, past life events, genetics and other physical events can contribute immensely to mental illness.
How Can Mental Illnesses be Cured?
The bad news with mental illness is that since there is no single cause for it, there is no single cure. Treatments for mental illnesses include:
• Psychotherapy: Psychotherapy could include talking therapy (saying how you feel to a therapist), expressive therapy (art and creative therapies) or group therapy (talking in a group to a community of people suffering from mental illness as well)
• Pharmacotherapy: This includes the use of drugs like antidepressants, benzodiazepines to tackle mental illness. Antidepressants are extremely powerful in dealing with mental illness as they generally help improve move over time.
• Physical Activity: Physical activities like dancing, cycling, walking, etc. have proven to be key in helping mental health patients bounce out in no time.
For a lot of people, a mixture of these and many more treatments is necessary to get them off depression and back to normal. For many, their mental illness cannot be totally cured, so they have to keep up with most of these treatments for a longer period and sometimes throughout their lives.
Recently, thanks to research carried out by well-meaning scientists, CBD has been discovered to help relieve depression and anxiety, two of the most common mental illnesses in the world today. Let us study how this powerful compound does this.
How CBD Relieves Mental Stress
The millions of dollars spent on research by Ronald Reagan to discover the dangers of marijuana proved abortive, but it helped scientists discover something equally important: The Endocannabinoid system (or ECS). The ECS is a system of intricate networks of interconnections in the brain that help regulate feelings of well-being. It is responsible for maintaining homeostasis or balance in the body regardless of the state of the external environment.
The Endocannabinoid system is important in studying the effect of CBD on humans because it is this intricate system of interconnections that is stimulated to produce natural cannabinoids that help relieve tension, stress, depression and anxiety.
The full working of the endocannabinoid system has not been fully understood due to lack of solid, credible research to back it. For that reason, the interaction between CBD and the ECS is also not fully understood. Hopefully, with the release on the ban on hemp, researchers can look a little deeper and do more studies that will bring us more understanding on how the ECS works and the importance of cannabidiol in relieving depression.
Conclusion
There is a lot of gray area in the debate between those who believe CBD is the treatment for mental illness and those who don’t. However, what many cannot dispute is the fact that CBD has shown some promise, and since there is no single wonder cure for mental illness, it is worth giving it a try.
That being said, it is important that we take these compounds responsibly. The tests done by scientists and researchers were done in a controlled environment, with people taking controlled prescriptions and closely monitored. Do not attempt to take CBD irresponsibly with medical consultation.
Also, remember that there is no known shot or pill that can eradicate all your problems in one fell swoop. These problems are not totally biological, many are triggered by events or stress around your physical environment. Be sure to try other methods to reduce stress in your life without taking drugs. Things like medication, working on your relationships, doing things you enjoy in your life, resting more and talking to people about your issues contribute to general health and well-being. When you combine all these therapies with good medicines, you have a better shot at getting out of depression or any mental issue.
If you want to get the best CBD products, we got you covered. We understand that this kind of treatment can be confusing to a lot of people, and we are willing to answer all your questions related to cannabidiol and how it can be used.
We also offer the best and purest CBD, should you choose to use it. This chemical is totally legal, so you won’t have any problems using it, as long as you use it responsibly and for medical purposes. Give us a call today and get all your questions answered.
