May is Mental Health Awareness Month, making it a great time to explore different strategies that may help support psychological well-being. While the use of CBD (cannabidiol) for anxiety has gained lots of attention, exciting research shows its potential benefits could extend to other mental health conditions, too.
CBD for Mental Health: Depression
Depression affects over 300 million people worldwide, and conventional antidepressants don't work for everyone. This has led many to explore alternatives like CBD. Preclinical trials suggest CBD may produce fast-acting antidepressant-like effects by influencing the brain's serotonin and glutamate systems, which regulate mood (Linge et al., 2016). Studies also highlight CBD's anti-inflammatory and neuroprotective properties that could help alleviate depressive symptoms (Ferreira et al., 2020). However, more human clinical trials are still needed to understand CBD’s efficacy and safety in the treatment of depression.
CBD for Mental Health: Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
PTSD is a debilitating condition resulting from traumatic experiences. Preclinical research in animal models shows CBD may help extinguish traumatic memories and block their reconsolidation, possibly via the endocannabinoid system (Bitencourt & Takahashi, 2018). This finding has been demonstrated in humans, too (Das et al., 2013). Case reports also suggest adding CBD to conventional treatment may improve sleep disturbances like nightmares in people with PTSD (Shannon & Opila-Lehman, 2016; Elms et al., 2019).
CBD for Mental Health: Psychosis
One of the most intriguing areas of CBD research is its potential antipsychotic effects. Unlike THC, which may increase psychosis risk, CBD appears to have the opposite effect (Iseger & Bossong, 2015). Several clinical trials found CBD reduced psychotic symptoms when administered in doses from 300-1500 mg/day without adverse effects. However, CBD should not replace conventional antipsychotic medications without medical supervision, and the effects of long-term use are still unknown (Iseger & Bossong, 2015).
While CBD shows promise for various mental health conditions, much more clinical research is still needed to fully establish its therapeutic efficacy and appropriate dosing across different disorders and populations. As more studies are conducted, the future looks bright for CBD's potential to play a role in improving mental health and well-being.
References
Bitencourt, R. M., & Takahashi, R. N. (2018). Cannabidiol as a therapeutic alternative for post-traumatic stress disorder: From bench research to confirmation in human trials. Frontiers in Neuroscience, 12, 502.
Das, R. K., Kamboj, S. K., Ramadas, M., Curran, H. V., and Morgan, C. J. A. (2013). Cannabidiol enhances consolidation of explicit fear extinction in humans. Psychopharmacology 2, 781–792.
Elms, L., Shannon, S., Hughes, S., & Lewis, N. (2019). Cannabidiol in the Treatment of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder: A Case Series. Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine, 25(4), 392–397.
Ferreira, R. S., Santos, N. A. G., Santos, A. C., Cunha, P., Sousa, D. P., & Spanó, M. A. (2020). Cannabidiol modulation of antioxidants and anti-inflammatory signaling pathways upon neural injury. Frontiers in Immunology, 11, 1389.
Iseger, T. A., & Bossong, M. G. (2015). A systematic review of the antipsychotic properties of cannabidiol in humans. Schizophrenia Research, 162(1-3), 153–161.
Linge, R., Jiménez-Sánchez, L., Campa, L., Pilar-Cuéllar, F., Vidal, R., Pazos, A., ... & Díaz, Á. (2016). Cannabidiol induces rapid-acting antidepressant-like effects and enhances cortical 5-HT/glutamate neurotransmission: role of 5-HT1A receptors. Neuropharmacology, 103, 16-26.
Shannon, S., and Opila-Lehman, J. (2016). Effectiveness of cannabidiol oil for pediatric anxiety and insomnia as part of posttraumatic stress disorder: a case report. Permanente Journal, 20, 108–111.
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