Does CBD Help With Depression

Depression has been a common ailment for as long as mankind has been around. It seems that today, it is more rampant than ever. Many people deal with it daily, and modern medicine has dozens of medications to help people live with it and hopefully recover from it. Even if medication for depression is prescribed, it may not always work well or at all.

People spend billions of dollars every year trying to find relief from a condition that seems they have no control over. While some with depression have it because of chemical imbalances, others have it because of the circumstances life hands them. It is a horrible way to live when you wake up each day dreading to get out of bed.

What Is Depression?

According to healthline.com, depression is a mood disorder that can affect people in different ways. It can be caused by anger, loss, illness, sadness, a sense of failure, post-traumatic stress syndrome (PTSD), so many different things. Those with bipolar disorder often battle depression. When a person becomes depressed, it can be hard to deal with daily life. It can make going to work almost impossible for some. It makes it hard to focus on family, friends, or anything that is supposed to be enjoyable.

Those with depression often feel hopeless, like things will never change or get better. Many people with severe depression often think of suicide. Some attempt it, and some even go through with it. Anyone having feelings of suicide needs to seek medical and emotional treatment as soon as they realize they have a problem. Depression can last for a few weeks, a few months, or for years.

Does Depression Affect Physical Health?

Even though depression is an emotional condition that affects mood control, it can also have adverse effects on physical health. Depression can affect appetite. It can cause some people to overeat, while others may not want to eat at all. If you have a medical condition such as cancer, arthritis, asthma, cardiovascular disease, and diabetes, depression can make them worse.

When you become depressed, especially for a lengthy amount of time, it can cause new physical symptoms you may not have had before. It can cause diarrhea, constipation, nausea, chronic pain, fatigue, headache, inflammation, insomnia, and other physical symptoms.

Treatments For Depression

With so many depression medications available today, it can be trying to find one that works well. Medicine that works for one person might not work for another. Sometimes, a doctor will start with one medication. They might have to add another, or change to something new. It might takes several tries to find a treatment that is effective. Sometimes unwanted side-effects of depression medication might make you feel even worse.

According to Web MD, antidepressants are prescribed by doctors because they can help lift your mood. They can help to reduce the sadness and hopelessness that often accompanies depression. Circuitry in the brain helps to manage the moods people have.

Three main chemicals help regulate mood, and they are serotonin, dopamine, and norepinephrine. When these chemicals are out of balance and do not work correctly in the brain circuits, it causes depression. Antidepressants affect these chemicals in the brain and helps these circuits work better. It helps improve mood, even though researchers are not sure exactly how it works.

Besides medication, doctors may also suggest therapy because therapy can also be helpful to treat depression. How long a person will need to take medication to treat depression is an individual thing. It all depends on how well you respond to the medication. Some people take therapy sessions for a short time to resolve issues, while others take it long term.

Does CBD Affect Depression?

Cannabidiol (CBD) is a cannabinoid found in marijuana and in hemp. Even though there needs to be more research and study concerning how beneficial CBD actually is, many people use it daily to treat medical and mental conditions. Depression and anxiety are among those conditions. A review found on Frontiers On Immunology explains how CBD interacts with the body’s own endocannabinoid system. Unlike tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), also in hemp and marijuana, CBD does not make you high.

The review states that CBD was shown to have neuroprotective, antipsychotic, and anxiolytic properties. Clinical studies have also been carried out to determine what effect CBD might have on medical conditions like epilepsy, schizophrenia, PTSD, bipolar disorder, anxiety, and other medical and mental conditions that may also be accompanied by depression. It appeared that CBD can help create calmness in the brain that was visible on scans that doctors could actually see. However, research continues to determine the overall effectiveness of treating medical conditions with CBD.

Other Conditions CBD Could Help

There are many medical conditions that researchers think CBD could be beneficial for as treatment. Some of the physical and emotional ailments that can come with depression, like mood swings, nausea, appetite changes, sleeplessness, anxiousness, pain, and others, are all thought to be helped when using CBD. If CBD can treat depression and its symptoms, it could be helpful for many people.

If your doctor already has you taking prescription medication to battle depression, it is essential to talk them before stopping your current medicines or adding a new treatment like CBD. It can be dangerous to stop taking some antidepressants abruptly. Only your doctor should advise you whether or not CBD could be a useful addition to your medications.

If you are not taking any prescribed medications currently and feel depressed, your doctor might suggest trying CBD as a treatment first if your condition is not severe. Some doctors believe CBD holds great promise for treating certain conditions, while some doctors may not be ready to recommend it just yet until more research has been completed.