CBD for Generalised Social Anxiety Disorder (SAD)

Generalised Social Anxiety Disorder (SAD) is a very common and impairing condition and today – despite several guidelines or consensus statements issued over the past few years – its management still remains a huge problem. 

Social anxiety disorder (formerly known as “social phobia”) is a much more common problem than past estimates have led us to believe.  Millions of people all over the world suffer from this devastating and traumatic condition every day, either from a specific social anxiety or from a more generalised social anxiety.

Only around 30% of subjects truly recover from this condition,  without having to struggle with some kind of short- or long-term aftermath. So as you can see, there is clearly a need to search for new therapeutic agents to help these patients who are suffering from pathological anxiety disorders.

As CBD has been previously shown to reduce symptoms of anxiety in both humans and animals, this study was created to observe the effects that CBD had on simulated public speaking in SAD patients. 

Each patient either received a dose of CBD, a Placebo or nothing at all. The results from the study showed us that pre-treatment with CBD significantly reduced anxiety, cognitive impairment, discomfort in their speech performance and it significantly decreased alert in their anticipatory speech. It also showed that the individuals who received the placebo, had an increase in anxiety, discomfort and cognitive impairment.

CBD has the advantage of a rapid onset, making it an ideal medication for individuals suffering from episodic, performance related, social, or just general anxiety disorders. Individuals who are able to predict these symptoms before they are triggered stand an even better chance to fight the disorder. 

CBD holds important advantages, especially in comparison with the current pharmacological SAD treatments which are available.

Advantages such as quickly delivering its effects whilst lacking any major negative side effects both with acute and chronic administration has been highly noted.

Repeated treatment with CBD does not develop tolerance or dependence, and has the possibilities to reduce drug-seeking behaviours. All this points to its high levels of safety. 

The information that has been shown from this study, indicates that CBD is the cannabinoid that has the most potential to alleviate or control anxiety levels in clinical practice.

However, clinical trials with larger sample sizes are still required in order to confirm these statements further.

By Luca Marani from Piff Advisor

Links:

• https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20829306
• CBD as an anxiolytic drug
• Antidepressant-Like and Anxiolytic-Like Effects of Cannabidiol: A Chemical Compound of Cannabis Sativa
• 
  

  CBD reduces the anxiety induced by simulated public speaking in treatment-naïve social phobia patients

• Neural basis of anxiolytic effects of CBD in generalized social anxiety disorder
• Central anandamide deficiency predicts stress-induced anxiety: behavioral reversal through endocannabinoid augmentation
• Effects of CBD on regional cerebral blood flow
• The anxiolytic-like effects of cannabidiol injected into the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis are mediated by 5-HT1A receptors 
• The anxiolytic effect of CBD on chronically stressed mice depends on hippocampal neurogenesis: involvement of the endocannabinoid system
• Plant-based medicines for anxiety disorders, part 2 
• A systematic review of plant-derived natural compounds for anxiety disorders
• The Endocannabinoid System and Anxiety

Are you affected by SAD or another form of anxiety? Share your story with us by emailing [email protected] or join the conversation by tweeting @ISMOKEMAG