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Sleepless nights. Constant overwhelming and intrusive thoughts. Nausea and headaches. These are just a few of the symptoms associated with anxiety and depression. Some days, it can feel like there is no solution, like no medication can help, and the light at the end of the tunnel will never come. But a recent study shows promise for the benefits of CBD.

In 2017, Susan A. Stoner, a research consultant at the University of Washington, found that some 22.2 million people 12 and older had used marijuana in the past month. Of the 1,746 patients sampled, 37.8 percent of them said to have used marijuana to relieve anxiety, 16.9 percent to relieve panic attacks, and 55.1 percent of them to improve relaxation.

The study found that CBD specifically decreased anxiety at various dose amounts and has been significantly helpful with people who have social anxiety disorder. Simultaneously, it is also recognizable that individual responses to marijuana can vary and sometimes lead to substance use disorders. Tolerance does develop over a short period of time, however, and when monitored, it can lead to extremely successful outcomes.

Over the years, more studies have come to fruition, arguing for the benefits of CBD in improving symptoms of anxiety and depression. In 2022, WebMD studies found that young people, specifically, found significant improvement in their day-to-day lives by using CBD as an antidepressant. Out of the more than 2,000 people surveyed, one in six said CBD helped manage their depression, with more than two-thirds of them saying CBD usage worked well or moderately well. On the other hand, those with anxiety, whose regular anxiety medicine wasn’t helping, found symptoms easing within four weeks after using CBD or other cannabis-infused products. The study found that CBD reacts with more than 65 receptors and brain pathways that affect levels of serotonin in other ways prescription drugs already being used to treat anxiety and depression.

However, despite there being anecdotes for symptoms decreasing with the use of CBD, there is insufficient evidence that marijuana has scientifically been able to help with anxiety and depression.th Because the ranges of conditions for those with anxiety and depression changes depending on the individual, according to the Anxiety and Depression Association of America, there needs to be more research conducted to evaluate CBD as a potential treatment. They also note that while CBD has not been scientifically approved to treat anxiety and depression, it has been approved to treat certain seizure disorders and has been helpful for those with bipolar disorder and chronic pain.

As research continues to develop, and different findings come from them, the impact of CBD on anxious and depressive symptoms will only progress, positively impacting the lives of those who live with anxiety and depression.