Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a mental health problem largely associated with veterans and other victims of war, but the disease is much farther reaching than most people realize [1]. While PTSD rates are undeniably higher among military veterans, countless studies have shown that the disease can impact anyone who has endured severe life trauma in any form.
PTSD affects millions around the globe, and many remain undiagnosed. Essentially anyone subjected to an unusually traumatic life experience, either singular or prolonged, can potentially suffer from PTSD. Trauma, in the context of mental health, is any event that causes you to perceive your life and livelihood as being under imminent threat.
In today’s society, traumatic experiences are hardly rare, and the impact and severity of these events vary from person to person. PTSD can affect anyone. According to the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs, up to 60% of all men and roughly half of all women will encounter at least one significant traumatic event during their lifetimes (1). A quarter of all people exposed to a traumatic experience develop PTSD, while several contributing factors can substantially increase these odds.
Managing The Symptoms Of PTSD
What makes PTSD so serious is that the disease can occur at any age, and it’s a prospectively lasting condition that can significantly impede one’s ability to lead a normal, healthy lifestyle. Saddled with debilitating depression and anxiety, undiagnosed and under or untreated PTSD victims struggle to manage some of the basic aspects of their lives. When patients eventually do seek medical care, the most common approach to treating PTSD involves some combination of therapy and prescribed pharmaceutical medications.
This path to recovery might work for some, yet many others have reported physical and psychological side effects after seeking conventional treatments for PTSD. When conventional treatment plans cease to be effective, or the costs simply outweigh the benefits, severely affected patients may, and often do, begin self-isolating before turning to alcohol and illicit drugs in search of relief. The inadvertent findings of this, we’ll cover in more detail below.
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Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), Cannabis, and Cannabidiol (CBD)
Veterans and other post-traumatic stress disorder victims may have turned to recreational drugs as a means of self-medication or even for personal reasons apart from their PTSD symptoms. But as these patients sought treatment for the disease, medical observations and research gradually revealed that cannabis in particular could yield favorable results and specified levels of improvement in patients who began consuming the drug recreationally.
Diagnosed PTSD patients have for decades reported that the effects of cannabis helps them manage their disease symptoms [2]. Until recently, however, its Schedule I classification in the U.S. has presented multiple challenges and barriers to producing reliable research on cannabis as an effective treatment for PTSD. Much has changed over the past decade, however, and cannabis is now widely prescribed across several U.S. states and around the globe to treat the mental health conditions associated with post-traumatic stress disorder.
Although many medical professionals argue that the high THC (the active compound with the C. Sativa plant known for creating euphoria), others claim that it could worsen mental health conditions in some and even lead to addiction. On the other hand, cannabidiol, or CBD, the second richest compound contained within the typical C. Sativa plant after THC, doesn’t produce the sensation of being high that many associates with cannabis use.
For many suffering from PTSD, the effects of THC are unpleasant and may even hasten symptoms of anxiety and paranoia. This has led many physicians to believe that THC is not an especially safe or effective treatment for mental health disorders. However, PTSD researchers at VA San Diego Healthcare System have begun conducting a VA-funded study that’s anticipated to show that the CBD compound derived from cannabis plants could potentially relieve symptoms of PTSD in some patients [3]. The estimated completion date of this trial is September 2024, and final conclusions are still pending.
The randomized controlled study will evaluate the efficacy of the non-intoxicating cannabinoid CBD for augmenting prolonged exposure therapy treatments for PTSD victims. While most existing studies confer that substantially more research is required to determine the precise value of CBD for treating PTSD, some studies suggest that the compound may be effective at acting on the endocannabinoid system to reduce the symptoms of a patient suffering from PTSD.
How Might CBD Oil and Other CBD Compound Derivatives Treat PTSD?
The scarce research available has concluded that, in addition to regular psychiatric and therapeutic care, CBD oils and other CBD products could potentially help PTSD patients manage their symptoms by reducing anxiety, improving sleep, and even working to disrupt or eliminate intrusive memories of their trauma. The chemical process starts by interacting indirectly with CB2, serotonin, and dopamine receptors in the brain. A 2019 study published in the April edition of the Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine suggests CBD’s activity at the 5-HT may reduce anxiety while rendering neuroprotective and antidepressant benefits [4].
However, unlike THC, the CBD compound doesn’t instigate an increased release of dopamine and neuron activity, nor does it elevate the brain’s serotonin levels. Most physicians and psychiatrists view this as a positive, given that long-term THC consumption, like other recreational drugs, alters dopamine levels in the brain and may blunt the dopamine system, preventing it from performing as it should. Ultimately, this can contribute to long-term and potentially irreversible cognitive effects [5].
At the moment, researchers have placed a keen focus on whether or not CBD can activate the endocannabinoid system via the CB1-receptor agonist agents and contribute to a diminished behavioral response to traumatic memories. Thus far, early trials are promising, possibly showing that the indirect activation of the endocannabinoid system could be effective at reducing symptoms in PTSD patients.
General Types Of CBD Products for PTSD
While research as to whether CBD products are useful for treating PTSD is still underway, several safe options for determining if the compound can help you personally are widely available. Many customers prefer what’s known as a full spectrum product that contains all the natural compounds in the C. Sativa plant, including a small dosage of THC, not to exceed 0.3%, per FDA regulations [6].
Products such as these are completely legal in the U.S. and in full compliance with the FDA. And full spectrum CBD products still provide a trace amount of THC, which could benefit some patients. Sugar Bottom Hemp customers who prefer products with no THC elect for a broad-spectrum CBD product that removes all or most of the THC compound. Although it may still be present, the amount is extremely small and certainly not sufficient enough to mention.
Another patient option includes CBD isolates, the purest form of CBD you can purchase. These products should contain no THC at all. When researching a reputable CBD supplier, check for a certificate of analysis (COA), an indicator that the products you are interested in trying have undergone an independent, third-party lab verification.
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Bibliography
1. Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) – Symptoms and causes. (2022, December 13). Mayo Clinic. https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/post-traumatic-stress-disorder/symptoms-causes/syc-20355967
2. Hill, M., Loflin, M., Browne, K., & Norman, S. D. (2022, October 6). Cannabis Use and PTSD Among Veterans. US Department of Veteran Affairs. Retrieved December 16, 2022, from https://www.ptsd.va.gov/professional/treat/cooccurring/marijuana_ptsd_vets.asp
3. San Diego VA study testing cannabidiol—a compound derived from cannabis—for PTSD. (n.d.). https://www.research.va.gov/currents/0219-San-Diego-VA-study-testing-cannabidiol.cfm
4. Elms, L., Shannon, S., Hughes, S., & Lewis, N. (2019). Cannabidiol in the Treatment of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder: A Case Series. The Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine, 25(4), 392–397. https://doi.org/10.1089/acm.2018.0437
5. Bourque, J., & Potvin, S. (2021). Cannabis and Cognitive Functioning: From Acute to Residual Effects, From Randomized Controlled Trials to Prospective Designs. Frontiers in Psychiatry, 12. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyt.2021.596601
6. Office of the Commissioner. (2021, January 22). FDA Regulation of Cannabis and Cannabis-Derived Products, Including Cannabidiol (CBD). U.S. Food And Drug Administration. https://www.fda.gov/news-events/public-health-focus/fda-regulation-cannabis-and-cannabis-derived-products-including-cannabidiol-cbd
