CBD expert Dr. Elisabeth Phillips shares her thoughts on a new study that suggests the cannabinoid can reduce treatment-resistant anxiety by up to 50% in young people.
The Cannabidiol Youth Anxiety Pilot Study, which was published earlier this month, found that youth with anxiety had an average reduction of 42.6% in the severity and deterioration of their condition after 12 weeks of CBD treatment.
The pilot study included 31 participants between the ages of 12 and 25. All participants had a diagnosed anxiety disorder and had not demonstrated significant improvement in anxiety severity after at least five sessions of cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT).
The pilot study was run by Orygen, an Australian organization providing youth mental health support, with participants recruited from their primary care services.
What the expert says:
This small Australian pilot study provides encouraging results for significantly improving anxiety and panic attacks in adolescents.
It backs up previous studies including the sleep and anxiety essay in 2019that CBD works in several ways to reduce anxiety when other approaches such as CBT (cognitive behavioral therapy) have not worked.
CBD capsules, as used in this study, are a quick and safe way to take CBD and it will be interesting to see future studies on CBD oils, as this form of CBD is more quickly and easily absorbed into the body .
Anxiety is a really difficult condition to manage, from exams and sports performance to situations and feelings that can trigger a panic attack, so take a daily oral dose of CBD and see significant improvements in self-reported symptoms in just 12 weeks is very promising. for those teenagers looking for help and support with their mental health.
Dr. Elizabeth Phillips
We must remember, however, that this is still a small-scale pilot study with only 31 participants. Therefore, this trial should be followed up with a larger study population (eg, 200–250 adolescents).
Furthermore, anxiety is a multifactorial condition. I would always recommend using CBD as a tool in your self-help toolkit to help manage symptoms like anxiety and improve sleep, which is always a mood stabilizer, but you should combine CBD with a holistic health program.
Switch to mood-boosting foods like eggs, avocados, vegetables, nuts and seeds, avoiding foods high in sugar, alcohol and caffeine, as well as processed foods that affect your health and mood ‘spirit of your brain.
I also always recommend omega-3 fish oils and biotic supplements to support gut health, as the gut and brain are directly related and both play a role in anxiety. This approach of diet, lifestyle and food supplements, including CBD, can have great results in stabilizing mood and anxiety-type conditions.
It is worth noting that these studies often use a much higher dose of CBD than is currently suggested in the UK CBD and Food Supplement Guidelines. On average, most clinical studies use around 200-800 mg per day, which is higher than the recommended dose of [70mg].
This shows how safe the right CBD products are and gives us hope that UK food and supplement guidelines will soon change to reflect this.
Dr. Elisabeth Philipps is a clinical neuroscientist and leading expert in the endocannabinoid system (ECS) and cannabinoid medicine, including CBD and medicinal cannabis.
She is an industry thought leader and in-house expert for the UK CBD company four five and was recently appointed as a clinical advisor to the Center for Medicinal Cannabis.