Anxiety is an amalgamation of symptoms caused by the body and mind when a person experiences certain stressors in order to protect them from impending harm and keep them alert and cautious in unfamiliar situations. Everyone has felt anxiety – that sense of fear and worry creeping up just before you have to speak in front of a crowd, meet a group of strangers, or have a difficult conversation with someone close to you. Even when trying something new and exciting, or getting ready for a party, vacation, or other typically joyous event, people can experience an unease or tense restlessness, along with sweating, increased heart rate, and even difficulty sleeping leading up to the occasion. All of these anxiety symptoms are absolutely normal in situations of real danger; however, they can be experienced day-to-day in situations of perceived danger or even discomfort, and then develop into acute or chronic anxiety disorders varying in severity.
Author: Jayci DeVito
June 2022
How Can Zo CBD Help?
Sometimes, tasks that most people would consider simple or ordinary, become daunting and upsetting sources of overwhelm for those suffering from anxiety. For example, feeling a headache coming on, experiencing a change in the weather, or just knowing they have to make a phone call could induce debilitating symptoms in an anxious person, whereas a “normal” person could just make a phone call without thinking twice about it. An oncoming headache might make that same person rest or take pain relief medications, but for a person with health-based anxieties, it could mean frantically researching all potential brain disease diagnoses while having a panic attack. And an unexpected rain shower may never end in a non-anxious person hyperventilating while they worry that their child’s school bus will surely hydroplane into a ditch, if it hasn’t already; it would just mean they get their umbrella before they leave for work.
Life can be far more difficult for anxious people to navigate, but awareness of one’s triggers and finding coping methods or ways to avoid the triggers altogether, if possible, are the most readily available tools to try to combat anxiety. Prevention is typically easier than cure, so practicing stress management techniques (yoga, deep breathing exercises, meditation, etc.) can help a person to stay one step ahead of their symptoms. Treatment of anxiety, since there are so many causes, can be extremely difficult, but there are also options for different kinds of behavioral therapies, counseling, and even acupuncture that could potentially provide relief. Many studies have been (and are still being) conducted to see how CBD interacts with the body’s naturally occurring endocannabinoid system. Certain forms of cannabis have been shown to bring effective relief to patients with Social Anxiety Disorder and patients with PTSD.1 As more clinical trials are completed, hope continues to grow, and the outlook wanes positively for a widely available, plant-derived and natural, anxiety treatment, with low risks of adverse effects.
Works Cited
- Jovanovic, Tanja. “Anxiety ‘What Is Anxiety?” Signs, Causes, Symptoms.” Anxiety.org, Anxiety.org, 12 Nov. 2019, https://www.anxiety.org/what-is-anxiety.