Anxiety

When you are suffering from anxiety the simplest day to day tasks can feel impossible. Even something as simple as stepping outside or going to the grocery store can leave you paralyzed by fear and indecision.

Thanks to modern medicine many people can keep their anxiety under control, although sometimes the medications used can cause side effects that can be more overwhelming than the anxiety itself.

Many people who suffer from anxiety have started seeking alternative therapy options like medical cannabis.

Our goal here at Kanteeva is to provide you with the information that you will need to make an educated decision as to whether medical cannabis may be an option to help you or a loved one with the symptoms of anxiety. 

After reading this article, you should be able to decide if medical cannabis is an option you would like to pursue and you will have a solid foundation of knowledge so you can effectively discuss your medical cannabis therapy options with your healthcare provider(s).

If you have any additional questions after reading this article, please do not hesitate to leave a comment or question below. A member of the Kanteeva team will respond back to you as soon as possible.

What is Anxiety?

Merriam Webster defines anxiety in a medical context as:

an abnormal and overwhelming sense of apprehension and fear often marked by physical signs (such as tension, sweating, and increased pulse rate), by doubt concerning the reality and nature of the threat, and by self-doubt about one's capacity to cope with it.

While this definition concisely defines anxiety, the reality of anxiety is that it can be a crippling ailment that leaves many people feeling like they can not maintain any kind of normal life. 

If you have ever suffered from anxiety or panic attacks, you know just how real and overwhelming anxiety can be.

Not only does it affect your ability to function, it can also wreak havoc on relationships with those closest to you as many friends and family members struggle to understand exactly what is wrong.

This is because anxiety is a cruel disease, often with invisible symptoms, that can not always be seen by others. This often leads to a snowball effect for people suffering from anxiety as the disbelief of those closest to you can make you feel even more anxious. This cycle continues until most people either find relief through treatment or begin to isolate themselves further. 

If you have ever isolated yourself due to anxiety, then you know how it feels to be completely alone in the world.

You can rest assured knowing that you are not alone. 

According to the Anxiety and Depression Association of America, around 40 million people have an anxiety disorder in the United States alone. Sadly, that is an estimated 18% of the entire population of the United States.

Thankfully, there are several treatment options available that can help you cope with anxiety. Before we talk about medical cannabis and anxiety, let us first look at how modern medicine approaches the treatment of anxiety. 

How is Anxiety Currently Treated?

The first step for successful therapy for anxiety is often identifying the type of anxiety disorder that you may be dealing with. There are several different classifications of anxiety and they include:

• Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder
• Panic Disorder
• Social Anxiety Disorder
• Specific Individual Phobias
• Post-traumatic Stress Disorder
• Generalized Anxiety Disorder
• Body Focused Repetitive Behaviors
• Hoarding

As you can see, there are many different anxiety disorders and most of them are typically treated with a combination of medication, anxiety management techniques and therapy.

The key to successfully handling anxiety is often to learn as much as possible about anxiety and to identify your own individual triggers. It is essential that you work closely with your healthcare provider(s) to determine the best course of action for your individual needs.

When it comes to current therapy options, many people report feeling dissatisfied with some of the medications they’re given.

Many of these medications can have severe side effects, which can result in some patients feeling more anxiety when compared to how they feel when not taking medication. 

This has led many people to explore options outside of typical medication regimens. One option that thousands of people have had success with is medical cannabis. 

Can Medical Cannabis Help Treat Anxiety?

From what patients have reported back to me, medical marijuana works and it works quite well. They say that it eases their anxiety in a way that allows them to function.  

- Dr. Rachna Patel

Just like many other ailments, there is still a considerable amount of scientific research that must be completed before we can prove cannabis can help treat the symptoms of anxiety. Preliminary studies show very promising results and many members of the medical cannabis community have shared testimonials about successfully treating their anxiety with medical cannabis therapy.

One person who has been very outspoken about using medical cannabis for anxiety is Jade Ponce. On her YouTube channel, Jade was nice enough to share with the world her story of dealing with anxiety and the positive results she had using cannabis therapy as a treatment option.

Jade stated that “the reality is anxiety is something that I suffer with daily and I’ve just learned how to cope with it and honestly weed helps me, I’m sorry, it really does.”

After making this initial statement, Jade went on to share her story about her battle against anxiety, stating “my anxiety really started to affect me in high school.” She went on to say that, “I am someone whose anxiety affects me every second of every day.”

Jade began discussing when her anxiety took a turn for the worse. She stated that, “My anxiety had at that point gotten so bad and so crippling that I couldn’t work, I couldn’t go to school. It took everything just for me to even go to the grocery store, it took my family reassuring me that all those thoughts in my head weren’t going to happen and that everything was going to be okay.” She continued by saying that she became a shut in and would not leave her bed other than to drink alcohol and that it really bothered her as she was a very social person. She also shared how she felt out of control regarding her anxiety.

Further along in the video, Jade shared her experience with cannabis and treating her anxiety by saying, “honestly, ever since I started smoking weed regularly, it’s changed my life. When I do smoke or even eat an edible or whatever it is, all of that cloudiness and that depression and scary thoughts that are always in my head, they fade away and I can be myself. I can walk into a room and talk to people.”

She did go on to say that she was not trying to convince anyone to start smoking cannabis, but that she wanted to share her story with others. If you would like to see her full story, you can play the video below.

WARNING: This video does contain some mild adult language

The Takeaways from Jade’s Story

Jade shared a lot of personal details in her story and after hearing it, it is easy to see why she had as much anxiety as she did. Thankfully, she was able to find relief through the support of friends and family, who were aware of her anxiety issues and that she was consuming medical cannabis as treatment.

Her experiences of feeling isolated and being reclusive are not unique for people suffering from anxiety. 

Like Jade, there have been thousands of people who have found relief from anxiety by using medical cannabis and there are some studies that are starting to show evidence of why these people have found success using cannabis for the treatment of anxiety.

What Does Science Have To Say?

There is still more research that needs to be conducted before we fully understand how cannabis may benefit people suffering from anxiety. However, there is some promising information already available from medical studies.

For example, one study that was recently published in the peer-reviewed journal Cannabis and Cannabinoid Research concluded that out of 146 patients initiated on medical cannabis therapy, 45.2% of patients were able to successfully discontinue benzodiazepine therapy within 6 months.

This is very exciting news as some people find they become very addicted to benzodiazepines as they can be very addictive and habit forming, especially in cases of long-term use.

While the success people have found using medical cannabis for anxiety is exciting, it is not surprising. Studies conducted in 2011 found that one of the main cannabinoids present in cannabis, cannabidiol, or CBD, is a natural anxiolytic (a substance that reduces anxiety).

Another study published in 2018, illustrates how different “chemotypes” (strains) produce varying effects for treating human anxiety. This study stated the following:

Cannabis sativa is a medicinal herb with a diverse range of chemotypes that can exert both anxiolytic and anxiogenic effects on humans. Medical cannabis patients receiving organically grown cannabis from a single source were surveyed about the effectiveness of cannabis for treating anxiety. Patients rated cannabis as highly effective overall for treating anxiety with an average score of 8.03 on a Likert scale of 0 to 10 (0 = not effective, 10 = extremely effective).

While we wait on more scientific research to be conducted, we will be focusing on the results that have been shared by medical cannabis community members.

While many patients have found great success using medical cannabis for anxiety, others have had challenges.

One of the biggest reasons for this is that proper strain selection is crucial to have the most success possible.

How to Find the Best Cannabis Strains for Anxiety?

Finding the best cannabis strains to help you reduce feelings of anxiety can be a challenge so we have created recommendations to help make everything a bit easier for you.