CBD oil has become partially popular in the mainstream not only by anecdotal evidence, but also from limited studies and research that may show its beneficial qualities — from boosting your mood, improving the quality of your skin, and also in the possibility of alleviating anxiety and depression.
As more and more people seek out natural ways to assist themselves in improving their anxiety and depression, CBD oil will continue to grow as an industry.
An issue that many people discover is that there is a ton of information on the internet about what is the correct dosage when it comes to how much CBD oil to take for anxiety.
This article aims at answering this question, with the hope of educating you more on the subject. By the end of this article, you should have a better understanding of how much CBD oil you need to take for your anxiety.
CBD Oil and Anxiety
CBD oil has been connected to assisting those with mental health issues. There has not only been anecdotal evidence to suggest that CBD oil may be able to assist people with their anxiety and depression but also a limited amount of studies conducted that show the benefits that CBD may have for the 40 million+ adults that deal with it in the United States alone.1
But how does it work?
Endocannabinoid System
Your body has something called the Endocannabinoid System (ECS), which was discovered in the mid-1990s. The ECS has three main parts, endocannabinoids, receptors, and enzymes.
The body produces endocannabinoids naturally on its own, and these are produced to help your body function properly to maintain a state of homeostasis.
Endocannabinoid receptors are all over your body, and these endocannabinoids will bind to the receptors which will in turn alert your ECS that an area of the body is in need of some assistance in getting back to or maintaining homeostasis.
Your body’s enzymes will then breakdown the endocannabinoids after they have completed their job.
CBD oil comes into the picture due to what some scientists believe is to assist the body’s endocannabinoids from meeting their fate with the body’s enzymes. CBD, supposedly, keeps the endocannabinoids healthy so that they are able to provide the benefits that they provide for the body longer.
CBD Clinical Studies
While there have been many clinical studies conducted to determine whether CBD assists with mental health issues like anxiety and depression, additional studies need to be conducted to determine the efficacy of CBD.
In 2021 as study was done with people that determined they had self-perceived issues, anxiety being one of four. The results showed that “respondents reported that CBD use was effective for stress, sleep problems, and anxiety in those who used the drug for those conditions.”2
Another study conducted in 2015 concluded that, “existing preclinical evidence strongly supports the potential of CBD as a treatment for anxiety disorders. CBD exhibits a broad range of actions, relevent to multiple symptom domains, including anxiolytic, panicolytic, and anticomplulsive actions, as well as a decrease in autonomic arousal, a decrease in conditioned fear expression, enhancement of fear extinction, reconsolidation blockade, and prevention of the long-term anxiogenic effects of stress.”3
While these clinical studies have determined that while CBD is far from a cure-all, there is something to the benefits that CBD provides many individuals.
Is CBD Oil Effective for Depression and Anxiety?
Cannabis has been used for thousands of years as a medicine, with records dating back to 2,700 B.C. in China. Irish physician William Brooke O’Shaughnessy introduced it to Western medicine in 1839, as he studied cannabis while working in India.
In 1964, cannabis was classified as a Schedule 1 drug — or having no accepted medical use — by the U.S. government’s Controlled Substances Act. Research has since shown that cannabis may have medicinal value and could possibly used to treat a variety of conditions, including pain, depression, and anxiety.
The compounds found in cannabis plants are called cannabinoids; examples include THC (tetrahydrocannabinol) and CBD (cannabidiol).
When you smoke or ingest marijuana or hemp (the two main types of cannabis), these cannabinoids enter your bloodstream, travel through your central nervous system, and bind with receptors on specific cells throughout your body and brain. This binding process influences how you feel both physically and emotionally.
Research has shown that people who suffer from depression or anxiety may benefit from using CBD oil in alleviating these conditions.
According to a 2019 study that set out to see if cannabidiol could help in modulating serotonin levels in mice, the researchers found that “CBD produces a significant increase in the mean firing rate of DRN 5-HT [serotonin] neurons.4 Depression and anxiety are associated with low serotonen levels, so it’s a positive sign that this type of study shows that CBD increases the rate of serotonin that the body is firing.
How Much CBD Oil for Anxiety
Now that CBD School has educated you a bit on why and how CBD may be beneficial for assisting people with anxiety, let’s discuss the CBD dosage that may work for you. There are a few factors to consider when deciding how much CBD oil for anxiety is needed. There is no one-size-fits-all dosage when it comes to CBD, and to find the correct amount that will work for you may be a trial and error type of situation. To get you to your goal of figuring out what is right for you let’s quickly discuss the factors needed to consider when finding what works best for you.
Body Weight
Everyone has a different physical make-up and doesn’t weigh the same as those around them. Since this is the case, those that weigh 200lbs may require more CBD oil than those that weigh 130lbs.
A common ratio to consider when taking CBD is that for every pound a person may need between .15-.30mg CBD per pound of body weight.
This means that is you weigh 200lbs you may need to consume between 30mg – 60mg CBD for you to feel the desired effects.
If you weigh 130lbs than you may need between 19.5mg – 39mg CBD.
While this ratio is not an exact science to determine how much CBD makes sense for your body weight, it is a good place to start when trying to determine what works for you.
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Metabolism Rate
Our metabolism begins to slow down as we age, meaning that the food we consume processes at a slower rate as we get older.
Someone that is in their 20s may find that CBD is processed by the body faster than someone who is in their 60s. While this may not be a reason to consume more or less CBD when attemtping to assist yourself with anxiety, it is a factor to keep in mind when you are finding the quantity of CBD that works best for you.
A good rule of thumb is to start low and slowly add more should you find yourself not feeling the effects you desire.
Body Tolerance
Most people have different experience when it comes to consuming CBD. Someone who has a regular regimen may find that the effects they once felt no longer are felt by the amount of CBD that they consume currently.
While someone that is entirely new to the world of CBD may discover that they are a “lightweight” when it comes to feeling the relaxing feelings of CBD.
As with most substances that we add to our body, we build up a tolerance that doesn’t allow for a lower amount to work the way it once did.
You should keep this factor in mind as you attempt to figure out what dosage of CBD works for you.
Keep CBD Notes
Because there is not a one-size-fits-all dosage for CBD oil for anxiety, many people find it useful to begin with the commonly accepted rate (.15-.30mg per pound) for a few days to a week. During this time it is good to take notes on how quickly you may be feeling the CBD effects on the body and your overall mood.
You may decide to consume the CBD at different times of the day to discover what works for you and how the calming effects show up in your daily life.
If you find that the effects are not what you intended them to be, you can adjust the amount of CBD, either increasing or decreasing, depending on what’s best for you.
Other Things to Consider
You need to know that CBD oil is not a cure for anxiety and depression. It is meant to be used as a way to help alleviate the symptoms and give you temporary relief, but it will not cure your anxiety or depression.
There are many other things that you should do for yourself, including seeking professional help if your anxiety or depression is starting to take over your life.
CBD and Drug Interaction
READ: CBD and Drugs Interactions
While CBD may provide many health benefits and provide some relief for those that suffer from anxiety, CBD oil should not be considered a replacement for medications that your doctor has prescribed to you. In fact, you should speak with your doctor prior to taking CBD for the first time, especially if you take medications.
While CBD has some minor side effects, these side effects aren’t life threatening. Although, this is the case, some medications can have a negative reaction if taken while you’re also consuming CBD.
This occurs due to CBD influencing how a medication works by interacting with the endocannabinoid receptors throughout your body’s endocannabinoid system.
High-Quality CBD
Lastly, ensure that you get your CBD oil from a reputable source. Some companies sell fake or low-quality CBD oil, so you need to ensure that you are getting it from a trusted source. An excellent way to do this is to look for reviews online from others who have used the product.
Reputable brands try to use as much organic ingridients as possible, including organically grown hemp. They also will provide you with a Certificate of Analysis (COA) that will be created by a third-party lab test which confirms that a product is safe.
Conclusion
The amount of CBD oil used to assist people that are dealing with anxiety or depression varies from person to person. Start with a small dosage and increase gradually as needed. Always consult a doctor before using any new medication or supplement, including CBD oil.
references
1Anxiety disorders. NAMI. (2017, December). Retrieved June 11, 2022, from https://www.nami.org/About-Mental-Illness/Mental-Health-Conditions/Anxiety-Disorders#:~:text=Anxiety%20disorders%20are%20the%20most,develop%20symptoms%20before%20age%2021.
2Moltke, J., & Hindocha, C. (2021). Reasons for cannabidiol use: a cross-sectional study of CBD users, focusing on self-perceived stress, anxiety, and sleep problems. Journal of cannabis research, 3(1), 5. https://doi.org/10.1186/s42238-021-00061-5.
3Blessing, E. M., Steenkamp, M. M., Manzanares, J., & Marmar, C. R. (2015). Cannabidiol as a Potential Treatment for Anxiety Disorders. Neurotherapeutics : the journal of the American Society for Experimental NeuroTherapeutics, 12(4), 825–836. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13311-015-0387-1
4De Gregorio, D., McLaughlin, R. J., Posa, L., Ochoa-Sanchez, R., Enns, J., Lopez-Canul, M., Aboud, M., Maione, S., Comai, S., & Gobbi, G. (2019). Cannabidiol modulates serotonergic transmission and reverses both allodynia and anxiety-like behavior in a model of neuropathic pain. Pain, 160(1), 136–150. https://doi.org/10.1097/j.pain.0000000000001386
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