How can CBD & meditation help to increase your mental strength?

Cannabidiol is lauded for its ability to calm the mind particularly for people dealing with anxiety disorders – or just about anybody looking to chill out. The link between CBD and anxiety dates as far back as ancient China (some 2700 years ago) and so the medical community already had an understanding of the therapeutic nature of cannabis even before the whole CBD movement came up.

Hemp was actually used in the Vedas meditation as a way to increase energy and promote feelings of calmness and bliss.  Even today you’re likely to find sadhus in India who still use cannabis as part of their meditation routine. If you also want to try it, always buy from reliable providers such as Cannabis radar.   For the vast majority of regular people who try meditation, the hardest part is almost always silencing the mind; and this is where cannabidiol comes in. Using CBD before meditation can reduce anxiety and allow the muscles to relax in a way that might be more challenging for a beginner.

To give you a better idea of how CBD works in meditation, we’re going to look at some of the ways cannabidiol interacts with the body to facilitate deeper meditation.

• Reduces stress

According to research, cannabidiol can reduce stress levels and cravings among people with opioid addiction, and generally for anybody who finds it difficult to be calm. In most cases, taking psychoactive drugs would be counterproductive if a person has anxiety. But the good news is, CBD doesn’t cause you to feel high; instead, it lowers the feelings of paranoia that one is likely to experience when high, or during withdrawal.

• Improves sleep

Cannabidiol also increases serotonin levels in the brain, which leads to better sleep/wake cycles. The value of a good night’s sleep cannot be ignored especially because of its direct link with mental health. When practicing meditation, you essentially create the conditions necessary for the body to heal itself and the mind to calm down. One of the things that happen as a result of meditation is improved quality of sleep. This is what eventually leads to more creativity, higher energy, and overall wellness.

• Helps with depression

According to this review from 2014, scientists have provided evidence to suggest that CBD can be used by people suffering from depression much in the same way that antidepressants are used. CBD was found to be a fast-acting antidepressant capable of increasing dopamine levels in the blood and elevating mood faster and for longer periods without any risk of addiction. More research is needed to establish long-term efficiency, however, from what clinical trials have shown, CBD is indeed a reliable treatment for depression.

• Enhances self- awareness

There is a long-held belief that using cannabis leads to self-awareness. However true this might be, one thing is for sure, taking CBD will increase cognitive function in a way that may help you identify patterns in your life and in the mind. Hopefully, this will allow you to make changes that lead to better health in body and mind.

• Decreases blood pressure

Some cases of hypertension are caused by the presence of stress hormones like cortisol, and CBD can be used to reduce blood pressure because of its activity in the endocannabinoid system. Apart from reducing stress hormones in the body, CBD also increases “happy” hormones like serotonin and dopamine. This is one of the ways CBD reduces hypertension.

CBD for mental health

A huge study has just been commissioned in the UK to study the effects of CBD on 2000 adults; and the main objective is to see how CBD can be used to promote mental health. Most of the trials that have looked at cannabis and mental health have found strong evidence to support the use of THC to elevate mood, and in that regard we can say that cannabinoids have a place in treating mental health disorders like depression. Another area of CBD that has been investigated in the past is the link between cannabinoids and neurological health – and especially for people with conditions like dementia and Alzheimer’s disease.

Brain scans show that using CBD does in some way contribute to cell regeneration in brain areas associated with basic cognitive function including language and memory. There’s even a CBD drug approved by the FDA to treat epilepsy, and if that’s not proof enough…

CBD can also boost memory for people with conditions like ADHD and PTSD; and in a country where a third of the population have anxiety problems, it makes sense to try a natural treatment for a disease that can last a lifetime.

Using CBD to treat PTSD

A significant number of adults in the U.S. have shown signs of PTSD according to data from the World Health Organization, and while some of these people have served in the military, there are many who developed the condition without experiencing overt trauma. Treatment for this condition involves using drugs like Zoloft, Xanax, andPaxil; but these meditations work by blocking certain brain transmitters without necessarily changing the conditions that led to the problem in the first place. CBD reduces PTSD through a number of mechanisms that involve the endocannabinoid system, hormones, and the immune system. Check out these articles on this topic: [1] [2] [3].

In conclusion

Combining the therapeutic power of CBD with the benefits of meditation is guaranteed to reduce symptoms of stress and other mental health problems that might be more difficult to treat with pharmaceuticals. Keep in mind that smaller doses are ideal; however, there isn’t any risk of overdose.