Staying Calm During Stressful Times

The war in Ukraine is escalating, gas prices are still rising and the pandemic is gaining steam again. If you’re not experiencing anxiety or tension, we’d like to know your secret. Every day on social media, around dinner tables, in offices and on the street, the current climate is divisive and angst ridden. It’s hard to relax. It’s hard to sleep. And it’s hard to find a yoga class or a gym that’s still not taking place in your living room.

So what to do when you just can’t calm down?

According to the World Health Organization, one in 13 people around the world live with an anxiety disorder and anti-anxiety prescription drugs, taken for the long term, can be addictive. We know – we have xanax on hand for emergencies! But our anti-anxiety remedy of choice is CBD, which numerous studies have shown decreases anxiety in most people.

In a 2019 double blind study published in Frontiers in Psychology, 37 18 to 19-year-old Japanese teenagers with Social Anxiety Disorder (SAD) were given 300 mg of CBD oil or a placebo every day for a month and the anti-anxiety properties of CBD “significantly decreased” symptoms associated with SAD. The relief provided was similar to Paroxetine, a drug used to treat the disorder.

But like most issues in the cannabis world, it’s all about the dosing. And 300 mg of CBD can be too much for some people. The Endocannabinoid System, a vast system of receptors found throughout the brains, organs, guts and skin, play an important role in ensuring that the body is operating in healthy balance. Our bodies naturally produce endocannabinoids—cannabis-like compounds that regulate anxiety and stress responses. “But everybody’s brain is different,” says Suzanne DeCarion, Chief Alchemist at Earth Alchemy Holistic Care, a medical cannabis caregiving service in Orange County, CA. “One person’s anxiety may respond to 10 mg of CBD while someone else may need 300 mg. Too much CBD can have the opposite effect in some people so it’s important to start at a low dose and work your way up to the perfect dose for you.”