Whenever you feel apprehensive about something that’s about to come, like the first day of school, or delivering a speech for the first time, you are experiencing a bout of anxiety, and that’s perfectly normal. Anxiety, after all, is the natural response of your body to stress. It can affect anyone, regardless of gender and age.

While most people experience anxiety in some form or another, some go through feelings of anxiety to an extreme degree, like feeling anxious about something non-stop for the better part of six months or even more. When your bouts of anxiety are this bad, you are probably suffering from an anxiety disorder, which 1 in 13 people live with, making it the most common mental disorder in the world

The standard treatment for anxiety disorders is a combination of different types of therapy and medication. Lately, however, alternative treatments for anxiety have been making waves, including the use of CBD oil.

However, before you go off and buy CBD oils online, let’s take a closer look first at CBD to see how effective it can be for the treatment of anxiety.

What is CBD?

CBD is short for cannabidiol, a cannabinoid extracted from hemp, a part of the cannabis family under which marijuana also belongs. Commonly available in oil or tincture form, CBD has been showing promise as a treatment for anxiety disorders. Aside from anxiety, CBD is also being touted as a treatment for a variety of epilepsy syndromes, insomnia, chronic pain, among others.

CBD and Anxiety

A study conducted by researchers from the New York University School of Medicine has identified cannabidiol as a potential treatment for anxiety disorders.

According to the research, CBD may provide short-term help for patients who are suffering from conditions such as generalized anxiety, social anxiety disorder, panic disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and even post-traumatic stress disorder.

There’s also a 2011 study that focused on CBD’s effects on people dealing with social anxiety disorder. Some of the subjects were given a placebo, while some were administered an oral dose of CBD. The results then showed that the overall anxiety levels of those who took CBD were reduced.

A 2016 case study also revealed that cannabidiol reduced the anxiety of a child who was showing symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and was having trouble sleeping.

How CBD Works Against Anxiety

CBD is believed to interact with our body’s endocannabinoid system, which has receptors in the brain, nervous system, and other parts of the body. These receptors are in charge of functions that include memory, sleep, behavior, mood, and immunity.

As mentioned above, CBD is a cannabinoid, and our body happens to produce cannabinoids like anandamide, which is often regarded as the body’s natural antidepressant. When you feel blissful and happy after a workout, that is the anandamide at work. CBD is believed to achieve a similar effect on humans and helps with anxiety and depression, only artificially.

No Long-Term Data for CBD Yet

However, for all the healing abilities attributed to CBD, the studies on it are still limited. There is still little data available about its long-term effects and efficacy. For now, more research still needs to be done on how effective CBD is as a treatment for anxiety in the long term.

Possible Side Effects from CBD

Like all medications that people take to treat their medical conditions, CBD may have possible side effects, although the few clinical trials that have been conducted so far have not found conclusive evidence of severe side effects.

Subjects of CBD clinical trials, however, have reported experiencing decreased appetite, tiredness, and gastrointestinal issues after being given doses of CBD.

Still, CBD has shown a lot of potential in helping with anxiety and other medical conditions. If you want to give CBD products a try, just make sure you’re getting them from reliable and reputable distributors in your area.

Author Bio: Lauren Klesser is the Content Marketing Strategist for Half Day CBD, a thoughtfully-curated brand of organic hemp-derived products like CBD oils, CBD vape and CBD gummies, which are designed to help manage pain, anxiety, stress and sleep issues. In her spare time, she plays axe throwing and escape games witwh her family and friends.