We live in an anxious world. Political fights on social media. Glass ceilings at work. Kids who won’t stop yelling. The world keeps on turning and we’re just getting more and more anxious. Over one-third of the world’s population suffers from a form of anxiety. That is an excess of 40 million people!

Anyone with anxiety knows that not being alone doesn’t make coping with the condition any easier. In 2015, the mental health industry hit $195.5 billion in revenue. That’s a lot of people seeking help. However, 40 million plus will attest that anxiety medications fall short of the desired results.

Luckily, there’s a supplement coming to the forefront of mental health treatment. It’s a supplement that the healthcare industry has been dreading. You may have heard a thing or two about it recently. This special supplement is known as full spectrum hemp oil.

That’s right. The once-criminalized plant that people were too anxious to own is now a crop that in a growing number of states (including Massachusetts) is legally acceptable for use to soothe anxiety. So, how does full spectrum hemp oil help with anxiety? Let us take a look!

Welcome to the Endocannabinoid System

For those who suffer from anxiety, it is as involuntary as breathing. So, where does this creature manifest and how on earth can full spectrum hemp oil help? Let’s take a journey deep inside of your body toward a galaxy of synapses and receptors known as the endocannabinoid system.

The endocannabinoid system governs an area of the body called the limbic system. Our limbic system is home to the amygdala, hippocampus, and hypothalamus. These are three areas of the brain that are responsible for emotional responses.

Full Spectrum Hemp Oil and the Endocannabinoid System

We gave you this science lesson so you can understand just how full spectrum hemp oil interacts with our emotions. Anytime we ingest anything our stomach acids break down the source. Upon combustion in the acid, nutrients oxidize and permeate through the bloodstream.

When we consume full spectrum hemp oil, the primary nutrient entering the system will be CBD. CBD is a cannabinoid that has one goal. That goal is to bring homeostasis to the system.

It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to know that when we suffer from an episode of anxiety, something’s amok inside. What is amok are receptors within the limbic system. With the goal of homeostasis in mind, CBD makes its way into the endocannabinoid system to calm these anxious receptors.

When the central nervous system (CNS) receives the message that all is well, the rest of the body soon follows suit. This includes the overly-anxious friends hanging out in the limbic system.

Furthermore, research indicates there are also neuronal tissues within the hippocampus and amygdala. These are two areas of the brain that store our emotional responses to particular situations. That way when that specific situation rears its head again, your instincts will know how to react. This is why people who have been in car accidents may be anxious when they drive or those who had extended hospital stays in the past get anxiety when they go to a doctor.

Seeing as there are cannabinoid receptors in these areas, full spectrum hemp oil may be able to alter the way you perceive scenarios that you once deemed stressful.

How Full Spectrum Hemp Oil Eases Anxiety

When bouts of anxiety strike, our body goes into fight-or-flight mode. This is partly due to how your limbic system remembers the way similar situations caused you to feel. As soon as you face adversity, the adrenal glands start to pump out the hormone, cortisol. The rest is history.

While cortisol can help us make adrenaline-laced snap decisions, it can also cause us to have anxiety attacks. When we find ourselves in situations where stress becomes commonplace (such as a dead-end job or bad relationship), cortisol becomes the primary hormone in our body. That means your on-edge instinct will outnumber melatonin (sleep hormone), reproductive hormones (testosterone/estrogen), and other beneficial neurotransmitters.

To combat cortisol, your body needs to sway the pendulum back on the side of the “good hormones.” As you might recall, full spectrum hemp oil is all about helping to find that balance.

Full Spectrum Hemp Oil and Serotonin

The best Kryptonite for cortisol is to increase your serotonin production. Serotonin is known as the “happy” hormone. It gives us a calming feeling that leaves us exhibiting more joy and less anxiety. When it comes to those who live an anxious existence, many studies point to a lack of serotonin as the primary cause.

This is why many mental health drugs are called Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitor (SSRIs). These pharmaceuticals introduce a bunch of serotonin to the system, causing the person feeling anxious to switch over to feelings of elation.

The problem with SSRIs is that after the initial boost, then what? The serotonin gets gobbled up and it’s back to the anxious void. Supplementing with full spectrum hemp oil may be the solution to this temporary fix.

By calming over-excited receptors in the limbic system, your brain will get the memo to “shut off the cortisol!” As a natural reaction, your body is free to produce other hormones. One of those is the anxiety-reducing serotonin.

Full Spectrum Hemp Oil and Sleep

As you may remember, we said cortisol prevents other hormones from shining bright like a diamond. One of those is melatonin. Think about it. When you are rolling back and forth in your bed are you happy? Probably not. Instead of relaxed you’re feeling anxious. What happens when you’re anxious? Your body produces cortisol.

Cortisol in the midnight hours is not good news. That’s because it inhibits the pineal gland from producing melatonin. Melatonin is the hormone responsible for our sleepy eyes. Two hours before bedtime, this endocrine gland secretes the hormone and within a bit, we are ready to hit the hay. That is unless cortisol is reigning supreme.

We need sleep to function. It’s during this time that our body creates the most hormones. Sleep gives our immune system a break and our mind a rest. When our body lacks sleep, it does nothing but add more coal onto the burning fire that is anxiety. Luckily, full spectrum hemp oil can help put that fire out!

Don’t Get Anxious, Get Full Spectrum Hemp Oil

Anxiety may affect a third of the population, but it doesn’t need to rule your life. While there are many prescriptions out there to remedy this problem, these are just quick fixes. Pumping yourself full of serotonin only masks the issue temporarily. For a more permanent solution, you need to go deep into your CNS and straighten out the endocannabinoid system.

The most effective way to communicate with this complex area of the body is through full spectrum hemp oil. Unique phytochemicals in hemp have exclusive access to receptors that other plants simply don’t. By using full spectrum hemp oil, you are offering long-term solutions to a lifetime battle of anxiety.

Do you suffer from anxiety? What are some of the mechanisms you use to cope with this condition? Discuss your remedies in the comments section below!