CBD and Mental Health

This past year has shined a spotlight on the mental health crisis we are experiencing in our world. COVID, am I right? In practice, I’ve seen more burnout, anxiety, and depression than ever, and for the most part, people are left without many answers.

In my practice, I’ve been utilizing CBD products for various reasons with my patients for years. I’ve seen how utilizing this amazing plant has helped them sleep better, experience less pain, and feel more balanced mentally. I have seen an especially large impact with introducing water soluble CBD products to my patient population. If you desire to be able to support your patients more holistically to address their mental health, keep reading! CBD has been shown in research and in numerous case studies to help people struggling with anxiety and depression.

Think your patients or clients aren’t struggling with mental health conditions? Think again. Anxiety disorders are the most prevalent mental illnesses in the world (Kessler et al., 2010) They’re also widely treated with pharmaceutical drugs, but 40-60% of patients do not get full relief from their symptoms, despite medication. This means they need additional support! Depression affects 322 million people worldwide and has a lifetime prevalence of 20%. (Hasin et al., 2018)

In this blog, it’s important to note when I reference CBD I am referencing cannabidiol supplementation (without THC) for medical use (not recreational use). CBD has been shown in clinical studies to reduce anxiety, reduce PTSD symptoms, and help promote extinction of fear memories through functional changes in the brain.(Fusar-Poli et al., 2009)  Now, from the research, it does appear that the therapeutic curve may be U shaped – meaning most effective in the middle of the curve, but not at very low or high doses. (Garcia-Gutierrez et al, 2020)

As for depression, in one clinical trial cannabis users consuming 200mg of CBD daily for 10 weeks reported decreased depressive symptoms and MRI showed a restorative effect of CBD on the hippocampus. This effect was particularly pronounced in those users with greater lifetime use of cannabis (Beale et al,. 2018). WOW!

Whether your patients are seeing you for physical or non-physical issues, I’m sure stress is contributing to their overall health picture. We can’t deny it anymore, stress can be the root cause (or at a minimum a contributing factor) to almost any disease process. And it’s up to us to arm our patients with tools to help them get through life in a more harmonious fashion. No, CBD doesn’t replace therapy or other mental healthcare modalities, however, it can be an amazing and life changing complement. 

Do you recommend CBD products to your patients or clients? What results have you seen – I love to hear success stories! Let me know in the comments below!

References:

1. Beale, C., Broyd, S. J., Chye, Y., Suo, C., Schira, M., Galettis, P., Martin, J. H., Yücel, M., & Solowij, N. (2018). Prolonged Cannabidiol Treatment Effects on Hippocampal Subfield Volumes in Current Cannabis Users. Cannabis and cannabinoid research, 3(1), 94–107. https://doi.org/10.1089/can.2017.0047
2. Fusar-Poli, P., Placentino, A., Carletti, F., Landi, P., Allen, P., Surguladze, S., Benedetti, F., Abbamonte, M., Gasparotti, R., Barale, F., Perez, J., McGuire, P., & Politi, P. (2009). Functional atlas of emotional faces processing: A voxel-based meta-analysis of 105 functional magnetic resonance imaging studies. Journal of Psychiatry & Neuroscience, 34(6), 418–432.
3. Hasin, D. S., Sarvet, A. L., Meyers, J. L., Saha, T. D., Ruan, W. J., Stohl, M., & Grant, B. F. (2018). Epidemiology of Adult DSM-5 Major Depressive Disorder and Its Specifiers in the United States. JAMA Psychiatry, 75(4), 336. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamapsychiatry.2017.4602
4. Kessler, R. C., Ruscio, A. M., Shear, K., & Wittchen, H. U. (2010). Epidemiology of anxiety disorders. Current topics in behavioral neurosciences, 2, 21–35.
5. Marco, E. M., García-Gutiérrez, M. S., Bermúdez-Silva, F. J., Moreira, F. A., Guimarães, F., Manzanares, J., & Viveros, M. P. (2011). Endocannabinoid system and psychiatry: in search of a neurobiological basis for detrimental and potential therapeutic effects. Frontiers in behavioral neuroscience, 5, 63. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnbeh.2011.00063
6. Shannon, S., Lewis, N., Lee, H., & Hughes, S. (2019). Cannabidiol in Anxiety and Sleep: A Large Case Series. The Permanente journal, 23, 18–041. https://doi.org/10.7812/TPP/18-041

The contents in this blog; such as text, content, graphics are intended for educational purposes only. The Content is not intended to substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your healthcare provider.