Five Types of Stress CBD May Be Able to Help

The heart can race at more than 200 beats per minute when someone is under stress. For context, a healthy adult should have a resting heart rate of between 60 and 100 beats per minute. 

While stress is believed to initially develop in our brains, it’s clear that it can impact much more than just what’s between the ears. In fact, other symptoms can include sweating, changes in appetite, restlessness, shortness of breath and muscle aches. But what many people have discovered in recent years is that CBD represents a well-tolerated and all-natural alternative to prescription medications that can become habit-forming.

How CBD for stress works

You may know by now that CBD’s influence on the body comes courtesy of its interaction with the endocannabinoid system (ECS) and its CB1 and CB2 receptors. However, the ECS is not the only bodily system affected by CBD. The cannabinoid also affects the serotonin system, which plays a pivotal role in our mood and how we feel. Importantly, low serotonin levels are one of the triggers that can lead to stress—and research has already confirmed that increasing those levels is an effective way to treat anxiety and depression1. But here’s where it gets really interesting. 

Medical research has also proven a positive relationship and interaction between CBD and a component of the serotonin system called the 5-HT1A neuro-receptor. In a description of what happened when CBD was used in various anxiety-related experiments, researchers definitively said that CBD encourages “anti-anxiety and antidepressant effects2.” 

Types of Stress that CBD may be able to help

According to the National Institute of Mental Health, there are a variety of different types of anxiety disorders, including generalized anxiety disorder (GAD), panic disorder (PD) and phobia-related disorders3. While we cannot say that CBD can help treat all of them, several different research studies point to a high level of efficacy with specific types.

For instance, one social anxiety disorder (SAD) study involving CBD and a placebo found that participants who received CBD felt reduced levels of anxiety4. Meanwhile, other studies have shown CBD to reduce symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) like nightmares5.

Small studies on general or event-specific anxiety issues have uncovered similar results, with one centered around subjects taking CBD before a simulated public speaking test. In that study, participants given the CBD experienced less anxiety during the speaking exercise than those who received the placebo6.

Another study had a blanket approach in its conclusion, affirming CBD’s ability to reduce anxiety behaviors for a multitude of disorders, including PTSD, GAD, PD, obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) and SAD7.

How Woven Earth Can Help

At Woven Earth, we have several different types of high-quality, all-natural CBD products—but there are two that might work best for stress: Our Daily Full-Spectrum CBD oil and our Daily Full-Spectrum CBD capsules. Both feature our premium hemp oil and are designed to reduce stress & promote relaxation.

1. A Lack of Serotonin 1B Autoreceptors Results in Decreased Anxiety and Depression-Related Behaviors
2. Antidepressant-like and anxiolytic-like effects of cannabidiol: a chemical compound of Cannabis sativa 
3. Anxiety disorders
4. Neural basis of anxiolytic effects of cannabidiol (CBD) in generalized social anxiety disorder: a preliminary report 
5. Cannabidiol as a Therapeutic Alternative for Post-traumatic Stress Disorder: From Bench Research to Confirmation in Human Trials 
6. Cannabidiol presents an inverted U-shaped dose-response curve in a simulated public speaking test 
7. Cannabidiol as a Potential Treatment for Anxiety Disorders