Over 260 million people worldwide suffer from anxiety, depression and mood disorders. Patients suffering from depressive disorder experience emotional, cognitive physical and behavioural alterations such as sadness anxiety, guilt, irritability, impaired memory, thoughts of death and suicide, loss of motivation, disturbed sleep or appetite, tiredness, neglect of responsibilities, changes in personal appearance, and withdrawal from others.
CBD can help treat depression because of its ability to control the cerebral neurotransmission of serotonin and norepinephrine. Serotonin and norepinephrine are chemicals that contribute to mood, energy and stress in the human body. CBD has also been shown to stimulate synaptic plasticity and neurogenesis which plays a key role in development and treatment of depression. In some cases patients with a history of depression that were previously taking selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRI), CBD supplementation has successively shown to improve their depressive symptoms.
As with other treatments for depression, CBD does pose a risk of increased suicide ideation in about 1 in every 530 patients. More studies and trials are required for evidence to support CBD therapy for the treatment of depression.
An ongoing double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled clinical trial (NCT03310593) is evaluating the effects of CBD (150–300 mg/day for 12 weeks) to reduce anxiety and depression in patients with bipolar disorder (estimated enrollment: 100 participants) [176]. The estimated study completion date is April 2022.
Taken together, these studies provide preliminary evidence supporting the efficacy and safety of CBD on these pathologies, although larger, clinical trials are needed to reach definitive conclusions.
Source:
García-Gutiérrez, M. S., Navarrete, F., Gasparyan, A., Austrich-Olivares, A., Sala, F., & Manzanares, J. (2020). Cannabidiol: A Potential New Alternative for the Treatment of Anxiety, Depression, and Psychotic Disorders. Biomolecules, 10(11), 1575. https://doi.org/10.3390/biom10111575
Oberbarnscheidt, T., & Miller, N. S. (2020). The Impact of Cannabidiol on Psychiatric and Medical Conditions. Journal of clinical medicine research, 12(7), 393–403. https://doi.org/10.14740/jocmr4159