CBD and Depression

Depression and anxiety disorders are common mental health conditions that can have lasting effects on a person’s health, social life, ability to work, and overall well-being.

A doctor may prescribe pharmaceutical drugs to help a person treat or manage depression. Many of these drugs have difficult side effects, such as mood swings, sleeplessness, and sexual dysfunction.

When it comes to treating depression, CBD does appear to have some benefits over antidepressant medications.

Most antidepressant medications take weeks to start working. However, a 2019 animal study found that CBD has a fast and sustained antidepressant-like effect.

CBD may also result in fewer side effects than antidepressant medication. Insomnia, sexual dysfunction, mood swings, and agitation are common side effects of antidepressants. CBD has not shown similar issues.

The compound exhibits a clear anti-stress effect after short- or long-term use. In certain tests, CBD acted as an antidepressant.

The authors also found that the compound worked without activating the brain’s endocannabinoid receptors directly, which may indicate that there is less risk of CBD becoming habit-forming, or addictive.

Potential Side Effects

So far, CBD doesn’t appear to cause many side effects. But some people may be more sensitive to it and experience:

• diarrhea
• fatigue
• changes in weight or appetite

It’s hard to know if CBD causes any long-term side effects due to a lack of research. So far, experts haven’t identified any major long-term risks.