Depression is more than a disorder for about 7 percent of American adults who have Major Depressive Disorder (MDD). The WHO estimates that one in four people around the world will also experience depressive episodes either chronically or in response to certain situations.
You might MDD, persistent depressive disorder (dysthymia), postpartum depression, bipolar disorder, seasonal depression, psychotic depression, or simple episodes of depression in response to an event. In any case, it can be overwhelming and difficult to treat.
Many people don’t realize they have depression because of long-held misconceptions about the illness. Many believe that it’s characterized by grief or sadness. While sadness can be a symptom of depression, the more likely description is that of feeling numb. There’s no motivation to do normal activities, a disinterest in activities once loved, heightened anxiety, sleeplessness, oversleeping, and feeling generally “blah.”
Symptoms may also vary from person to person, so it’s hard to say how it might affect you and is therefore hard to treat. It’s important for anyone suffering from depression to be in tune with their bodies and recognize what helps and hinders your mental state.
There are many treatments that can be employed to target depression including eating healthy, exercising, sleeping regular hours, and going outside in the sunshine. There are also clinical treatments like therapy and prescription anti-depressants.
However, therapy is expensive, and anti-depressants come with uncomfortable side effects, including increased thoughts of suicide for some demographics. They’re also a dependent drug in which side effects occur when you try to get off of them without proper channels.
As a result of the problems with treating depression, many patients are now turning to CBD, especially CBD gummies. You can find CBD gummies for sale online, from sites like Penguin CBD, that can be shipped to you basically anywhere in the U.S., and they are working wonders in the lives of those who need a new solution for their depression.
CBD gummies have the active ingredient CBD, which is a derivative of the hemp plant. It does not contain THC, so it can’t make you high, but it does deliver natural cannabinoids to your body’s endocannabinoid system to help this essential hormone-regulating structure reach homeostasis.
The Endocannabinoid System and Depression
To see how CBD could help with your depression, it’s important to first understand the body’s endocannabinoid system. CBD is loaded with cannabinoids that bind with naturally occurring cannabinoid receptors in your body. They activate the endocannabinoid system, which has been associated with the regulation of hormone production and immune responses.
There’s been a great deal of research to show how your endocannabinoid system might affect feelings of depression.
“There are many indications that the eCB/end vanilloid system is involved in the pathogenesis of depression, including the localization of receptors, modulation of monoaminergic transmission, inhibition of the stress axis and promotion of neuroplasticity in the brain,” explains a study published in Current Neuropharmacology. (Note that cCB is short for endocannabinoid system.) It’s one of many studies that has researched the endocannabinoid’s role in feelings of depression.
“Preclinical pharmacological and genetic studies of eCBs in depression also suggest that facilitating the eCB system exerts antidepressant-like behavioral responses in rodents,” the study continues, pointing out that a drug that activates the endocannabinoid system could have a powerful role in combatting depression, and they recommend pharmaceutical companies further research this.
It turns out that there’s already a strong substance that can help to activate the endocannabinoid system and promote relief from depression in the form of CBD. CBD gummies could be all a person needs to combat their mental health disability.
The Benefits of CBD for Those with Depression
If you experience depression, it comes with many different side effects that CBD can treat. CBD could be a holistic treatment plan for those truly suffering from the disorder thanks to the following benefits.
CBD has been known to boost a person’s mood. This stems from research that a balance endocannabinoid system reduces the production of the stress hormone cortisol and increases the production of happy hormones like serotonin and dopamine. Naturally, the production of these happy hormones is a key combatant to feelings of depression.
CBD could help to restore sleep patterns. Depression is known for wreaking havoc with a person’s sleep patterns. It might cause them to feel fatigued or lethargic and crave more sleep or it could result in insomnia, which, ironically, makes the condition worse. It’s believed that CBD can help to influence a person’s circadian rhythms and restore dysfunctional sleep patterns that hinder a restful night’s sleep.
CBD can also target anxiety. In the majority of cases, depression and anxiety go hand in hand. They’re so similar that researchers believe they’re caused by the same overproduction of hormones, and they’re often treated using the same SSRIs. CBD is one of the best natural anxiety treatments around, and many who suffer from chronic or situational anxiety swear by its effects.
CBD could boost focus and energy in the right doses. The lack of motivation and desire to do anything is one of the most common and debilitating symptoms of depression. CBD could help provide that burst of energy and concentration needed to get up and get something done. You may not feel 100 percent, but at least you’ll have the motivation to go to work, interact with others, and have a shot at pulling yourself out of the funk your hormonal imbalance has put you in.
CBD could target acne and skin problems associated with stress and depression. Your skin can tell a lot about your overall health and wellbeing. If you’re not sleeping well, eating junk food, failing to exercise, anxious, stressed, and not exercising proper hygiene (all common symptoms of depression), you’re more likely to develop skin problems like acne. CBD is an active ingredient in many acne creams and lotions because it’s believed to target inflammation and the overproduction of sebum to reduce acne flareups and improve skin health.
Depression is not an easy health disorder to treat, but CBD is helping many patients gain more control over their lives, despite the negative emotions that arise from the condition.
