It is estimated that about 300 million people suffer from depression worldwide. Stigma suggests that depressed people are sadder than their peers who are considered “normal” to society. However, depression is caused by the disruption of brain connections. For this reason, a vast majority of those who are diagnosed (or not technically diagnosed) with this ailment cannot simply “think away from the sadness.”
Depression is also a lot more complicated than just being sad; there’s much more going on. Depression also includes lack of motivation and social withdrawal. It is much more debilitating than just being sad, because how can you do the things that make you feel at least a little better if you don’t have the motivation to get out of bed.
Trying to Fix the Said Depression
Once you’ve landed yourself the diagnosis of clinical depression, doctors start throwing meds at you. Usually, they will begin with an SSRI, a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor. This kind of medication will chemically go into your brain and fix the synapses to allow serotonin (“the happy chemical”) to move through your mind more easily.
Sounds Great, Right?
Wrong. Although on paper that sounds great, messing around with brain chemicals like that can have debilitating effects. When you first start taking an SSRI, the doctor will explain that SSRIs come with a “black box warning.” SSRIs can, for some people, worsen the depression. On television commercials for antidepressants, they usually say to “contact your healthcare provider if you suffer from worsening depression or new suicidal feelings.” Also, often when it comes to teenagers and young adults, SSRIs can be even more dangerous.
CBD Oil— A Different Kind of “Cure” For Depression
All the potential risks of taking medications to overcome your depression could be enough to scare you right out of treatment, and sometimes rightfully so. For many people, the risks of trying to medicate away the symptoms of depression aren’t worth the chance of reward.
Fear not, though. If you happen to live in Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Hawaii, Illinois, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Utah, Vermont, Washington, or West Virginia, you are very much in luck. These are the states that cannabis is legal for medical use. In some of these states, marijuana is also legal to take recreationally, meaning that you don’t need permission from a doctor (often called a weed card) to purchase cannabis at a dispensary.
What Are All Those Letters Anyway?
When you start learning about cannabis, and it’s used medically to help those suffering from depression return to baseline, you are going to run into a lot of words and letters that in the beginning won’t make much sense. “Indica” or “Sativa”, are the two names for the different categories of strains. Indica and Sativa also have varying amounts of the two main chemicals that make up cannabis, CBD and THC.
When it comes down to it, the reason most people are scared of marijuana and feel it is a “dangerous” drug that should be shunned, is the effect that “THC” has on the body. THC is the chemical that makes you high. THC has most of the substances that cause chemical “addiction” to the substance, although those who smoke or otherwise ingest weed are often also smoking “addicts”.
CBD Oil and Depression and How it Works in Your Brain
I’m not saying that CBD oil cures depression. I don’t think anything ever really cures anything anyway. But that doesn’t negate the fact that CBD can help you deal with those problematic symptoms of depression. CBD works on those same serotonin synapses in the brain but works in a different, more holistic way. CBD opens up the pathways to allow serotonin to move through the synapses easier. SSRIs add manufactured serotonin.
So, do I Need to Smoke CBD Oil to Get the Benefit for Depression?
It is not necessary to smoke anything to reap the rewards of ingesting CBD. The other methods of getting it into one’s body are safer and more socially acceptable than smoking a bong or a joint. A lot of people use CBD oil, which you may hear it be referred to as tincture drops. These can be purchased in a little vial with a dropper. One or two drops under the tongue are all it takes.
A different option is using CBD oil to cure depression is in vaping. Vape pens, which are known to be slightly dangerous, are attachable to a cartridge with CBD oil. These don’t include the nicotine, nor is it “dabs” which also includes THC.
Another way to ingest CBD is through edibles. CBD gummies are quite popular, and you can buy them at smoke shops and gas stations alike. There are also options like CBD honey, which you can add in tea or coffee. You can also turn CBD into butter, and use it for baking cookies or brownies just like regular butter.
How Much CBD am I Going to Need?
Everyone is different, and the amount of CBD that each person needs is going to be different for everyone. So, there is no way anyone can tell you right off the bat how much you should use. Your doctor should work with you with this. Also, please remember that although it may be recreationally legal in your state, if you are using it medically, then please realize that it is a medicine and you should follow your doctor’s instructions as you would for any medication. As for pricing, you can get 20 CBD gummies for about $40. That’s not too much more than some of my prescriptions. You can also get CBD oil for depression for ten cents per milligram.
At the end of the day, when used as prescribed and under close supervision by your doctor, CBD can be an incredibly useful medication to assist with all common diagnoses of depression. CBD can help overcome this with fewer side effects than synthetic medications created in a lab. CBD can be used in many different forms, be it oil, edibles, or vaping.
Thank you for reading with us today! Let us know in the comments below if you are using CBD oil to treat any difficulties in your everyday life, we’d love to hear from you. Check us out on Facebook or Instagram for more CBD and medical marijuana inspiration for you.
Be sure to also check out “Everything You Should Know About CBD Tolerance Build-Up” or “CBD Oil Won’t Get You High But Here’s What to Expect” for more amazing insight to the CBD scene.
I love it when people come together and share opinions, great blog, keep it up.