In this post, I’ll tell you all about my experience using CBD for 30 days to try and tame my anxiety and insomnia. CBD is a compound that is found in both hemp and marijuana plants and it’s supposed to help with anxiety, depression, chronic pain, arthritis, and many other conditions. The CBD oil that I tried was derived from hemp, so it had less than 0.3% THC (THC is what gets you high when you consume marijuana).
More information about CBD:
What is CBD? Here is The Complete Guide, Forbes
Cannabidiol (CBD) — what we know and what we don’t, Harvard Health Blog
CBD vs. THC: What’s the Difference?, healthline
I am generally an anxious person and constantly worry about everything – from really, small insignificant things to major global issues. I’m not always in that state of mind, I’d say my anxiety is periodic, it comes and goes depending on the overall state of my life. Usually, I have a few calm months and then something triggers me, and I fall into this dark whole of repetitive, scary thoughts and fear of everything.
I decided to test out the CBD oil in a month that was very challenging for me mentally. I had a lot of negative feelings surrounding my job and, as you can imagine, spending the majority of the day in a place that you dislike, can really take a toll on your mental well-being and mood.
Prefer to watch a video of my experience? Check it below:
WEEK 1
I took CBD for the first time one day after work. On the bottle it said to take twice a day, but I decided to start slowly with just one serving per day which was one full dropper. I first had to shake it gently, fill up the dropper, and place it under my tongue for 60 seconds before I swallowed.
It was mixed with mint oil, so it tasted a lot like herbal tea without any sweetener – the taste was pretty pleasant.
When I first took the CBD oil, my anxiety was maybe at 6 or 7 on a scale from 1 to 10. I had some anxious, repetitive thoughts, but I was able to somewhat control them.
The CBD started working within a few days and the main sensation was just a feeling of normalcy. I didn’t feel a deep relaxation or any profound feelings, but it was nice to feel like my normal self.
Another thing that I felt almost right way was the improved quality of my sleep. I was able to fall asleep pretty quickly and my sleep was very deep and almost felt healing.
There were a few times where I took melatonin because I wasn’t tired, but I had to wake up early the next morning, so I had to make myself fall asleep as quick as possible. Other than that, I didn’t take any other sleep supplements while I was testing the CBD drops.
WEEK 2
I was taking one serving of CBD every night before bed and it helped me sleep well and wake up well rested and in a great mood. I was also feeling much better in terms of my anxiety – it felt like it was decreasing.
WEEK 3
I was doing really well. It seemed like my anxiety was completely gone. My thoughts were very normal and balanced. I was really enjoying that state of mind where I can just be a normal person and not freak out about every small thing that crossed my mind.
I experimented with taking the CBD twice a day for a week, but didn’t really feel any difference, so I went back to once a day.
WEEK 4
Somewhere between Week 3 and Week 4, I had a really bad day out of the blue. My heart was racing all day and I felt hopeless, sad, and scared for no particular reason. My negative thoughts once again revolved around my job: “What if I’m never able to find a job that makes me happy? Is this how my life will be forever? Every day is the same. I’m stuck. I have nothing to look forward to…” It’s not like something had happened that caused me to feel this way. All of a sudden, my worst fears about my career were rushing into my head at the same time and I was feeling very overwhelmed and basically had a mini mental breakdown…
This is not to say that ultimately CBD didn’t help me. The way I see it, it’s normal to have bad days and still feel anxious or sad sometimes even for no apparent reason – that’s how anxiety works.
This was the first time in weeks where I felt like I’m back to my anxious self, but it was just a temporary feeling. I truly believe that CBD impacted me in a positive way but living with anxiety and learning how to manage it is a constant battle. Some days are harder than others and it’s normal to feel like you can’t always control these thoughts and feelings.
FINAL THOUGHTS
Overall, I can say that I really do believe that this product decreased my anxiety and improved my sleep which is something that really impacts my mental well-being. When I’m not getting enough quality sleep, I immediately feel my anxiety getting worse.
If you’re struggling with anxiety, I think it’s definitely worth trying CBD for at least a month or two to see if it works for you the way that it did for me. Obviously, no one can guarantee 100% that it’s going to work because we’re all different and our bodies respond differently to different things. But, you’re not losing anything by trying a natural option like that: CBD has helped many people and I think everything that has the potential to help you is worth trying.
For this experiment I used CBD drops by the brand Dollar-A-Day CBD. If you want to try it for yourself, you can get $10 off your first purchase with code AVOCADO.
Disclosure: Links included on this page might be affiliate links. If you use these links to purchase a product/service, I may receive a small commission at no additional cost to you.
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