It’s easy to become anxious when your routine gets thrown out the window. Luckily, CBD can help you reduce stress and find a new normal.
If you find yourself dealing with more stress than usual, you’re not alone. Even someone with the hardiest mental health can find themselves anxious when their routine is unexpectedly altered. And there’s no shame in that! We’re creatures of habit and we often equate “normal” with “safe.” The key is to try and master your mindset, and that’s where CBD can help.
Actually CBD can help in several ways. Like any other supplement, it helps by giving your body the tools it needs to function better. Through the ECS (endocannabinoid system), CBD can support a more balanced body and a more balanced mind.
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Why Do We Experience Anxiety?
First, anxiety is natural and it’s related to our sympathetic nervous system. More specifically, it’s related to our fight-or-flight response. This evolutionary response is what helped early humans survive in harsh environments. It taught them to run in the face of life-threatening dangers and to fight when they had the advantage.
Today, the majority of us aren’t worried about wild animal attacks. The things that make us anxious are less life-threatening (an angry email, being late to pick up kids, social anxiety, etc.) but our fight-or-flight response can’t tell the difference.
If the sympathetic nervous system detects a threat (perhaps by watching a scary news story) it tries to prepare you by boosting different chemicals. When this happens, you might notice an increased heart rate, faster breathing, dry mouth, sweating, and muscle contractions. Basically, your body is preparing to fight or run from a threat.
On the other hand, many people experience anxiety in the form of dissociation. This is when you feel disconnected from your surroundings or even from yourself. It may sound like daydreaming, but dissociation is sometimes the way the brain manages overwhelming physical or emotional trauma. When people report feeling “numb” or “frozen” it’s often due to mild dissociation. Severe dissociation, however, should be discussed with a medical professional.
Overall, the spectrum of anxiety experiences ranges from very mild to severe. On the mild end, anxiety can be managed with a healthy lifestyle and mindfulness practices. If, however, someone has severe anxiety, they may want to contact a healthcare professional for guidance. All experiences are valid, and there’s absolutely no shame in seeking help.
One way people are reducing mild stress and anxiety is with CBD.
How Can CBD Help Reduce Stress and Anxiety?
CBD (cannabidiol) is the non-psychoactive cannabinoid found in industrial hemp. So, it doesn’t get you high, but because it’s chemical structure is so similar to our own naturally occurring endocannabinoids, it’s able to interact with our bodies in some really interesting ways.
The following are just a few of the ways that CBD may help you reduce stress and anxiety. Remember though, that CBD doesn’t “cure” anxiety. It can, however, give you some incredibly helpful tools to help master your mindset and find balance.
CBD is an Anxiolytic
Ok, we know we just said that CBD doesn’t cure anxiety, but there are actually several studies that indicate it may be a valid treatment for several anxiety disorders. Specifically, it appears that the ECS has a safety measure that boosts GABA levels.
GABA is the neurotransmitter responsible for feeling calm and inhibiting neural activity. When we don’t have enough GABA we may experience racing thoughts, mania, and anxiety. The idea is that by using CBD, you’re giving your ECS more tools to do its job more effectively.
Many people use CBD Oil once a day to keep their stress and anxiety in check. However, others also use CBD Gummies as needed for times when anxiety spikes unexpectedly.
CBD Can Provide Pain-Relief
If you’re wondering what pain-relief has to do with reducing anxiety, it probably means you’ve never dealt with chronic pain. Even if your pain isn’t chronic, the pain from a minor injury can cause massive amounts of anxiety. You might find yourself wondering how you’ll get through the day, if you’ll be able to get everything done, or if you’ll even be able to get out of bed. See? Oftentimes, pain and anxiety go hand in hand.
If this is the case for you, CBD may provide some relief. A review published in Frontiers of Pharmacology indicated that CBD may reduce the chemical messengers that communicate pain in your brain. For those who live with the stress of chronic pain, CBD may make day-to-day tasks easier.
The other way that CBD provides pain-management is by reducing inflammation.
CBD is an Anti-Inflammatory
Inflammation is completely natural, but too much of it can cause a world of problems. Not only can inflammation be physically painful, it can also be a symptom of other disorders like arthritis, asthma, Crohn’s disease, multiple sclerosis, certain cancers, lupus, and more. While CBD won’t cure those disorders, it can minimize inflammation to make life less painful and stressful.
One of the main reasons people use CBD is to decrease inflammation. CBD is widely accepted as a powerful anti-inflammatory and several studies support this.
If you want to know more about how CBD may reduce inflammation, click here!
CBD May Improve Your Sleep
It’s a vicious cycle. You’re so stressed and anxious that you can’t sleep, and then the lack of sleep makes you even more stressed out the next day. This is particularly awful because sleep is how your body recovers from all those stress hormones.
In 2019, however, a study with 72 individuals (47 who had anxiety and 25 who experienced poor sleep) found that when subjects were given a 25mg CBD capsule every day, almost 80% had less anxiety and 66.7% slept better. Minimizing pain also makes it easier for the body to relax and prepare for quality sleep.
CBD May Improve Mobility
Again, you might be wondering what this has to do with reducing stress, but hear us out. When we exercise our bodies release endorphins. These hormones have several functions, but when it comes to reducing stress and anxiety we’re interested in one in particular. Endorphins activate opioid receptors which both reduce anxiety and pain.
Vigorous exercise can reduce pain and anxiety for hours, but a regular exercise routine will have an even more powerful impact. So, how does CBD come into this? When we have less pain and get good sleep, we have way more energy. Therefore, our mobility improves and allows us to exercise more.
Think of it like a giant wellness domino effect. You won’t experience all these things at once, but as your body begins to find balance, you can start to develop healthier routines to keep your physical and mental health balanced.
A CBD Routine Can Help You Develop a New Normal
It might take some time, but you can slowly develop a CBD routine to help you find balance. Remember, CBD isn’t a cure, it’s a tool. The first time you use a new tool, you might not use it perfectly. Over time though, you’ll learn how to best integrate it into your life for maximum relief.
The other important thing to remember is that everyone is different. Some people report a boost of energy from their CBD, so they like to take it in the morning. For other people, it relaxes them so much that it’s best to take it before bed. Just take your time and figure out what routine works best for you.
If your joints tend to hurt after an afternoon walk, start taking your CBD before you leave the house. If you stay awake at night thinking about all the scary things on the news, make it a point to take your CBD after dinner and to avoid screens for an hour or so before bedtime. Once you develop a good routine, you’ll develop a new sense of normalcy.
Final Thoughts
We hope this gave you some ideas for developing your own unique CBD routine. Sometimes we find ourselves feeling lost and stressed, so it’s important to find ways to ground ourselves. Maybe that means practicing yoga or maybe it just means making sure to reach out and connect with friends and family. Whatever the case may be, we truly believe CBD can help.
We want to provide you with the tools and knowledge to live your best life. That might not look the same for everyone, and that’s ok! Check out our Premium CBD Bundle options and stock up on all your favorites today.