CBD as a treatment for obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD)

In a 2012 study in mice and rats suffering from OCD, CBD was found to inhibit symptoms of obsessive-compulsive behaviour.

CBD cannot be a first-line remedy for this type of personality disorder, without balancing and complementary treatment. However, supportive treatment may solve one or two of the symptoms characteristic of the disease and thus help the patient exit a cycle of other ceremonial obsessions.

• Using CBD for OCD: Why (and How) It’s Effective

• Plasma and brain pharmacokinetic profile of cannabidiol (CBD), cannabidivarin (CBDV), Δ⁹-tetrahydrocannabivarin (THCV), and cannabigerol (CBG) in rats and mice following oral and intraperitoneal administration and CBD action on obsessive-compulsive behaviour.

• Cannabinoid CB2 receptor-mediated regulation of impulsive-like behaviour in DBA/2 mice.

Speech Interruptions

There hasn’t been much research on cannabis and speech disorders such as steamer, but the internet is full of evidence from people from all over the world dealing with CBD treatment for speech disorders and the results are satisfactory and surprising. The ability of CBD to calm muscle spasms is the main cause of the disappearance of stuttering. Lowering the “anxiety level” that accompanies stuttering helps the positive action of cannabidiol.

Anorexia Nervosa

A serious and dangerous eating disorder that causes significant weight loss and in extreme cases even death. The term “anorexia” originates in Greek: αν-ορεγω = “non-appetite”, and it is slightly misleading since the person with the disorder usually does not lose his appetite but suppresses it voluntarily. The body image in most anorexics is extremely distorted, they consider themselves fat, afraid of food, and find it difficult to contain a feeling of hunger or satiety. The reduction in eating causes considerable weight loss and therefore the patients become extremely thin. The disorder leads to the link between self-worth with weight and therefore causes a reduction in eating. Extreme preoccupation with food as a defence mechanism against mental distress also exists in bulimia.

Anorexia is divided into two types – the first type is the limiting or narrowing type that is the most common. The second type is characterized by purging type/ binge type – reminiscent of bulimia – although most vomiting is both of all food eaten (small amounts of food) and is not necessarily related to binge eating attacks. Since 1976, anorexia has been recognized as one of the most dangerous mental disorders, as it can be fatal in about 5% of cases.

The symptoms associated with anorexia: Extreme weight loss, chronic fatigue, dizziness, pallor, depletion or hair loss, brittle nails, dry skin, low blood pressure, irregular heartbeat, insomnia, constipation, dehydration, osteoporosis (bone depletion), stroke, low blood count, amenorrhea (inhibition or cessation of menstruation), increase in liver enzymes that indicate damage to liver tissue, avoidance of appearance in society, low libido, irritability and fear of weight gain.

CBD as a treatment of anorexia nervosa:

In the mid-1980s, doctors began to diagnose that nearly 2/3 of patients undergoing radiotherapy and chemotherapy treatments for cancer, developed serious side effects that are mainly manifested in anorexia – extreme lack of appetite. Dizziness, vomiting, and lack of appetite were among the main factors that delayed recovery and hamper the treatment against cancer – even more than the pain from the treatment itself.

The development in cannabis research at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem by Prof. Raphael Mechoulam, which began to develop during those years, led to collaboration with the pediatric oncology department at Hadassah Hospital, and the first trials in cannabis-using cancer patients were done to encourage the appetite for preventing nausea and vomiting. The study used delta-8 THC, and it turned out that the treatment completely prevented nausea and vomiting, improved the appetite and the overall condition of patients.

Through cancer research, scientists began to recognize the qualities of CBD that increase and balance the appetite of patients. The study is still far from a full understanding of the endocannabinoid system [ECS] and its connection to eating disorders, but several studies have already shown the relationship between defects and dysfunction of the ECS system among patients suffering from eating disorders, including anorexia or obesity.

Today, when this link of “ECS signalling” is found, it becomes clear that it encourages or suppresses eating, the study can begin to focus on the potential of CBD to balance appetite and also treat the symptoms associated with the cancer disease, which also have many actions and effect options for CBD.

THC produces well-known cravings for sweet and fatty foods through several mechanisms. First, THC increases the hormone ghrelin, which causes you to feel hungry. If your stomach is empty, you produce more of the hunger hormone ghrelin, which tells the brain to generate the sensation of hunger. But THC can increase ghrelin and trigger the feeling of hunger even if your stomach isn’t empty. Second, THC hits a part of the brain that controls hunger. The appetite-promoting effect of THC (Munchies) is mediated by CB1 receptors located in areas of the brain involved in appetite control. And third, THC boosts dopamine [DA], the “feel-good” chemical in the brain, so you get more pleasure from eating. THC can increase the sense of smell and taste, so people are more inclined to want to eat.

CBD, by contrast, does not cause munchies. But it may boost appetite differently if it’s added to foods and beverages or taken as a medication. CBD helps relieve nausea and can calm your nervous system and digestive tract. If you feel less nauseated, you may eat more. CBD also quells pain and feeling less pain may also boost appetite. For that reason, it’s often used by people with cancer, chronic pain, or other medical issues.

If THC increases appetite, does that mean recreational cannabis users will weigh more than nonusers because they want to keep eating? You’d think so, but surprisingly the answer is no. Studies indicate that regular heavy cannabis users tend to be leaner than age- and gender-matched groups of nonusers, Overall, cannabis use in the general population is associated with a lower body mass index [BMI]. Interestingly, cannabis may help increase weight in those who are low weight, but not in those who are normal or overweight. The reason has not been definitively established but may involve the amount of THC that someone is exposed to. High doses of THC can suppress the number of CB1 receptors so that fewer receptors are stimulated, which could limit weight gain. THC’s hunger-boosting effect may signal hope for weight-loss efforts. Because researchers can figure out how cannabis increases appetite, it may help them develop products to reduce appetite, too. Some drugs are inverse agonists, which means that they bind to the same area in the brain but produce an opposite response. Using this theory, researchers are investigating how to reduce, rather than increase, appetite using CB1 receptors. CBD is a negative allosteric modulator of THC’s effect on CB1 receptors and therefore, can reduce appetite.

Anorexia often develops as a result of various factors:

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), low self-image (esteem), environmental social conditions like bullying and abuse, anxiety, depression, or impulse control disorder. CBD can dramatically alter many biological body systems that undergo a major enhancement during the disease to improve the mental system and at the centre of one’s self-image.

• Leptin, ghrelin, and endocannabinoids: Potential therapeutic targets in anorexia nervosa.

• Cancer cachexia and cannabinoids.

Mood changes (swings) and Irritability

It is difficult to define mood changes or hyper-irritability as a mental disorder. When this phenomenon is not accompanied by any other pathology, it may be possible to say that this is the nature of a particular person.

The balance to which CBD brings the body, with the help of the endocannabinoid system, its anti-anxiety properties, and its long-term calming & relaxing effect, leads many to seek for themselves in CBD as a solution for daily navigation between “triggers”, distractions or false thoughts.

• The endocannabinoid system and the treatment of mood and anxiety disorders.

• The endocannabinoid system in the regulation of emotions throughout the lifespan: A discussion on therapeutic perspectives.

• Endocannabinoid system dysfunction in mood and related disorders.

• Effects of cannabidiol (CBD) on regional cerebral blood flow.

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)

A neurodevelopmental disorder whose core symptoms are: difficulty in attention and difficulty in concentrating, hyperactivity, and impulsiveness. However, not all symptoms must appear to meet the criteria of the diagnosis of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. ADHD is a common phenomenon that exists in about 7%-10% of the population, it develops for the first five years of life and does not decline at a certain age, so it can be found in all age groups. ADHD can manifest itself in all areas of life, it can interfere with learning, work, interpersonal relationships, and self-care activities.

Recent studies have shown a link between a decrease in the level of the endocannabinoid – anandamide in the blood of children suffering from ADHD. For decades, among recreational marijuana smokers, the image of cannabis has taken root as a drug that stimulates mental dissipation, dreaming, procrastination, and idleness, but veteran smokers knew that it was merely an image, and in practice, many used marijuana to concentrate and focus on daily tasks.

Some researchers argued that THC exacerbates other ADHD-related effects like anxiety and depression. The development of the study can be seen in the 2000s when the various components of cannabis were separated and tested separately. Also, the fact that cannabis varieties rich in CBD has begun to reach consumers, and slowly also shelf products of concentrated CBD oils become available.

The association between anandamide activity in the synaptic space and increased activity by CBD has long been known, but the fact that anandamide is low in ADHD sufferers is very important because anandamide increases memory and concentration in the hippocampus through the dopaminergic [DA] receptor. The DA positive reward system is directly related to a large number of mental and behavioural disorders including ADHD. Inhibiting the breakdown of anandamide as a result of inhibition of the activity of the FAAH enzyme by CBD is what allows anandamide to remain for longer in the brain.

In a 2012 study, the researchers found that CBD “normalizes” social relationships, modelling on mice suffering from ADHD. This normalization allowed ADHD sufferers to deal with obstacles and tasks that required memory, focus, and timing. Even though CBD seems to have started as a trend – it is certainly not a passing trend and today there is an actual trend in replacing Ritalin and pharmacologically effective “concerta” whose side effects are severe and overshadow their medical effects.

Since there is not enough research on this topic, consult your GP about providing CBD to children. Adults are advised to safely experiment with CBD in a controlled way.

• Effects of Marijuana on Mental Health: Attention Deficit-Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD).

• Disruptive Behaviour Disorders and Marijuana Use: The Role of Depressive Symptoms.

• Cannabidiol and clozapine reverse MK-801-induced deficits in social interaction and hyperactivity in Sprague-Dawley rats.

Organic Diseases

Symptomatologic, organic, and non-organic conditions are distinctive. While organic illnesses are characterized by physical and biochemical signs, non-organic disorders manifest only distressing experiences (as pains or anxiety) or undesirable behaviour (as abuse of alcohol)–phenomena that are inseparable from normal sensation, emotion, intentions, and actions.

Some mental disorders develop in patients who suffer from another disease. disruption of daily routines and dependence on medications and treatments leads to dysfunction and decreased mood. Metabolic syndrome is an example of one of the diseases that can directly or indirectly cause a mental disorder. Migraine, whose origin can be inflammatory or as a result of neurotransmitter release, causes persistent and intolerable sharp pain that can also cause a series of changes and shocks in the patient’s personality structure.

Treatment of organic diseases with CBD:

CBD’s positive, anti-anxiety effect will help those who suffer from organic diseases. Moreover, cannabidiol soothes inflammation in the brain and is also a powerful antioxidant thus protecting nervous system cells. Recent studies have shown that mental disorders are accompanied by inflammation within the brain.

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)

Post-traumatic stress disorder (in both women and men) is the most common disorder in the Western world. The symptoms of this disorder include dreams-horrors and nightmares, avoiding certain activities that are reminiscent of the traumatic event, irritability, flashbacks, high mental stress, depression, and anxiety.

The common treatment for PTSD is a drug treatment against sleep disorders and various psychiatric medications that usually carry with them a long list of side effects and negative effects.

The unique properties of CBD in the treatment of PTSD

CBD is a natural compound that can be extracted from the hemp plant. Although post-traumatic stress disorder is incurable, its symptoms can be treated, with the goal being that it will not “manage” the patient’s life. Already in the 1990s, medical marijuana was provided to PTSD patients as one of the indications for the treatment in many countries around the world (and Israel was the first in the field).

A 2012 study examined CBD’s anti-anxiety activity in a model of risk exposure and determined that a regular dose of CBD significantly reduced persistent signs of distress after exposure to this danger, through activation of the 5-HT1A receptor. (CBD is a potent agonist of this serotonin receptor). In this study, the researchers discovered both the effect of CBD as an agonist of the receptor and its action as a deactivator of distress. A 2016 study, on the effectiveness of cannabidiol oil in the treatment of anxiety and insomnia in children suffering from PTSD, examined several dozen case studies of parents and children who sought self-treatment with CBD after withdrawal from conventional addictive treatments. The main findings were that CBD can be most effective in reducing anxiety and insomnia in children, and without the intoxicating effects of medical cannabis oil (which also contains THC). These studies have indicated that CBD is the preferred and safe option of many in the treatments of various post-traumatic stress disorders and anxieties.

Is CBD oil recommended for all PTSD patients?

Various studies show that daily consumption of 25 mg of CBD leads to significant relief of symptoms. If relief is not felt in this dose, add between 10-5mg for a period of three to four days and then rise again, until the expected relief in symptoms is achieved. The duration of the calming and mitigating effect can reach a few hours – some people report that the relief continues throughout the whole day.

Is there anything to be done to prevent acute flare-ups?

Many PTSD patients still need a safe way to deal with acute flashbacks, whether they have been “activated” by an event or smell/noise/memory or without a trigger. Pure CBD evaporation gives an almost instant sense of calm and relief, and the soothing effect can be felt throughout the body. Despite the above, some PTSD patients do not feel the therapeutic effects.

• Effectiveness of Cannabidiol Oil for Pediatric Anxiety and Insomnia as Part of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder: A Case Report.

• Cannabidiol blocks long-lasting behavioural consequences of predator threat stress: Possible involvement of 5HT1A receptors.

Psychosis

An extreme state of partial or complete loss of connection with reality manifests itself in the harm to the real examination. Psychosis is characterized by behaviour that is experienced as strange or abnormal and incomprehensible, and sometimes provokes feelings of anxiety and rejection on the part of society.

By a broad definition, the sufferer of a mental disorder is in a psychotic state when due to the lack of real self-criticism he has difficulty functioning in daily life, false thoughts and hallucinations appear for at least a month, and there is a serious disorder in thinking, perception, and behaviours necessary for the management of a normal lifestyle. Psychotic disorder always indicates the existence of brain dysfunction in one or more of the following areas: sensation, perception, communication, thinking, emotion, or in all these areas together. Sometimes the reasons for this are known and sometimes not.

CBD as a treatment of Psychosis

The first studies to examine CBD’s effect on psychosis began about 30 years ago when researchers first injected a high dose of a ketamine drug into rats and mice, triggering an outbreak of psychosis. The control group received a placebo and the treatment group began injecting a controlled and consistent dose of CBD. Cannabidiol was found to prevent the outbreak of psychosis in mice and rats. In a study involving mice already contracting psychosis, the study found that CBD was able to prevent activation of microglia [MG] cells, which provide the brain’s first line of defence against injuries. CBD treatment helps preserve homeostasis in the body. In psychosis, microglia cells are activated, releasing cytokines and monokines that damage other nerve cells in the brain. CBD has been found to reduce the number of active and destructive cells in the frontal midterm cortex.

CBD repairs physical structures in the brain (both white and grey matter), and once these structures change, the symptoms typical of the outbreak of psychosis are reduced dramatically. Many aspects of these studies also point to the fact that CBD is capable of reconstructing and healing areas of the brain already affected by psychosis. This is very important news for millions of people all over the world suffering from an outbreak of psychosis.

• Preclinical Trials Investigate CBD for Psychosis Treatment.

• A Critical Review of the Antipsychotic Effects of Cannabidiol: 30 Years of a Translational Investigation.

• Study: CBD From Marijuana May ‘Reset’ The Brain To Counteract Symptoms Of Psychosis.

• Is Cannabidiol (CBD) an effective antipsychotic?

Clinical Depression

A mental disorder, which is characterized by a widespread and continuous pattern (usually weeks and months) of poor mood, to which low self-esteem and loss of interest and enjoyment of fun activities (anhedonia), anxiety, sleep, and appetite disorders, lack of vigour, pessimistic thoughts of varying degrees – to the point of suicidal thoughts. Sometimes also appears with a feeling of emptiness and lack of emotion. This collection of symptoms received its professional name, described and classified as a mood disorder in a 1980 edition of the Diagnostic book of the American Psychiatric Association (DSM).

This disease is common and now even appears in younger people. Depression occurs in 15-20% of the population. The disease can erupt at any age. According to research, women are more depressed than men.

CBD as a treatment of clinical depression:

There is a model of hereditary depression in rodents and rats with which comparative experiments can be performed. Recent studies have found that CBD lowers depression in these rats and mice without side effects associated with conventional synthetic antidepressants.

This is a very important finding. The fact that the depression examined in the study is hereditary, and not caused experimentally and with the help of CBD treatment there has been a marked improvement, indicates that CBD treats the cause of the defect and not only its symptoms. The results suggest that the antidepressant effect of CBD is due to its ability to significantly increase serotonin and glutamate levels in the blood in a dose-dependent way. This operation passes through the 5-HT1A receptor and presents a completely new mechanism for a future drug. Prolonged CBD treatment has shown that changes in cell structure and both pre-and postsynaptic receptors are involved.

One of the main properties of CBD is inhibition of the enzyme FAAH that degrades anandamide and as a result its soothing duration of activity increases. Studies conducted in epilepsy patients have also been found that CBD encourages the regeneration of neurons in the hippocampus (an area of the brain and the largest structure of the limbic system) that is found to be one of the main degenerate regions of the brain in cases of clinical depression. Studies conducted in the context of CBD as an anti-anxiety treatment are also encouraging in more than one way and sometimes high anxiety and mental stress are among the main causes of depression.

• Antidepressant-like effects of cannabidiol in mice: Possible involvement of 5-HT1A receptors.

• Prohedonic Effect of Cannabidiol in a Rat Model of Depression.

• Cannabidiol induces rapid-acting antidepressant-like effects and enhances cortical 5-HT/glutamate neurotransmission: Role of 5-HT1A receptors.

• Antidepressant-like and anxiolytic-like effects of cannabidiol: A chemical compound of Cannabis sativa.

• Endocannabinoid signaling in the etiology and treatment of major depressive illness.

• The therapeutic potential of the endocannabinoid system for the development of a novel class of antidepressants.

• Antidepressants and changes in concentration of endocannabinoids and N-acylethanolamines in rat brain structures.

• Circulating endocannabinoids and N-acyl ethanolamines are differentially regulated in major depression and following exposure to social stress.

High Mental Stress

Cannabidiol calms social anxiety (crowd fear, self-confidence) and allows social interaction. One of the benefits of CBD is its ability to control anxiety characteristics due to its effect on the central nervous system. CBD activates the 5-HT1A serotonin receptor found in the cerebral cortex, hippocampus, and amygdala – the same areas of the brain responsible for mood and anxiety disorders.

Animal research has found that CBD helps reduce anxiety by:

• Stress relief

• Reducing signs of anxiety such as heart rate acceleration

• Helping to fall asleep and sleep continuously for those suffering from lack of sleep (insomnia)

In a comparative new study conducted with a placebo group in humans, CBD was found to be effective in treating anxiety in comparison to drugs such as diazepam and Ipsapirone that have severe side effects.

• Cannabinoid-related agents in the treatment of anxiety disorders: Current knowledge and future perspectives.

• Neural basis of anxiolytic effects of cannabidiol (CBD) in generalized social anxiety disorder: A preliminary report.

• Using CBD Oil for Treating Anxiety.

• Cannabidiol as a Potential Treatment for Anxiety Disorders.

• Study: CBD Dosing Relieves Symptoms In Patients With Anxiety Disorders.

• Cannabidiol as a Potential Treatment for Anxiety Disorders.

Anxiety that comes from Pain

Sometimes anxiety is not a phenomenon that stands on its own and sometimes it arises from pain. Those who suffer from anxiety and/or depression experience feelings of chronic pain that last longer than those who do not suffer from anxiety/depression. The aforementioned relationship is extensively studied and documented in the medical literature.

In such cases, many patients must decide between treating symptoms of pain and anxiety at the cost of twice the risk (of pain and anxiety) in relation to the expected side effects of synthetic sedatives. These patients now have a better and safer option thanks to the pain-soothing properties of CBD. In a study published in 2013 in the British Journal of Clinical Pharmacology, CBD showed a large number of beneficial properties similar to the effects of many anti-anxiety drugs, including its anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, anti-nausea, and antipsychotic actions.

Schizophrenia

A medical study examining the effect of CBD on schizophrenia patients showed that cannabidiol caused increased levels of the endocannabinoid anandamide, resulting in medical improvement in those patients. The CBD and schizophrenia study was one of the first studies since it is easy to induce schizophrenia situations in mice and rats.

The results are documented and are indisputable, but it is important to remember that there is still no evidence of CBD’s ability to cure schizophrenia by altering and restoring brain structures. Today several studies work in this direction. Daily consumption of CBD can help reduce risk factors for schizophrenia, especially in people whose family has a medical history of the disease.

• Cannabidiol enhances anandamide signaling and alleviates psychotic symptoms of schizophrenia.

• Cannabidiol Counteracts Amphetamine-Induced Neuronal and Behavioural Sensitization of the Mesolimbic Dopamine Pathway through a Novel mTOR/p70S6 Kinase Signaling Pathway.

• Cannabidiol enhances anandamide signaling and alleviates psychotic symptoms of schizophrenia.

• Opposite relationships between cannabis use and neurocognitive functioning in bipolar disorder and schizophrenia.

• Researchers Find CBD May Be Safe for Schizophrenia Patients.

Bipolar Disorder [BPD]

Manic depressive disorder is a mental disorder characterized by waves (episodes) of alterations, sometimes very extreme, in mood, regardless of the necessary environmental circumstances. The mood disorder is severe enough to cause pronounced impairment of social and occupational functioning or the appearance of a real need for psychiatric hospitalization to prevent self-harm or harm to others.

CBD as a treatment of Bipolar Disorder

In the early 1990s, a lot of evidence of a manic depressive reduction in the context of self-treatment with the cannabis plant began to accumulate. Some have reported great success, however, some strains of cannabis have not always had an as expected effect. In a large comparative study conducted in 2010 on approximately 300 subjects, schizophrenia patients and bipolar disorder patients, cannabis was found to positively & prominently improve the necessary functions of patients with bipolar disorder: focus and attention, versatility abilities, memory, and logical learning.

Since THC in the cannabis plant may worsen mental disorders like bipolar disorder, the focus is on cannabidiol is that does not cause the intoxicating sensation.

• Opposite relationships between cannabis use and neurocognitive functioning in bipolar disorder and schizophrenia.

• Cannabidiol as an Adjunctive Treatment for Bipolar Depression (CBDBD).

• Cannabinoids in bipolar affective disorder: A review and discussion of their therapeutic potential.

• Effects of cannabidiol on amphetamine-Induced oxidative stress generation in an animal model of mania.

• How CBD’s Can Effectively Treat Bipolar Disorder Symptoms and Manic Episodes.

Summary – CBD As A Treatment Of Mental & Behavioural Disorders

More than twenty years of research in the field of medical cannabis as a treatment of mental and behavioural disorders have led to great progress in understanding the mechanisms of action of cannabinoids in the various body systems. In recent years, the study has begun to focus on cannabidiol (CBD) as having the greatest potential of the rest of cannabinoids.

CBD works similarly to other antipsychotics, but without potential long-term damage and no adverse side effects while protecting from seizures, convulsions, nausea, and balancing mood. Therefore, CBD can be a supportive and helpful non-toxic treatment for many mental disorders.