These days, the majority of patients are contacting me for three reasons: 1) insomnia, 2) anxiety 3), and managing PTSD (trauma) symptoms, all of which can be stress-related. So I thought it was an excellent time to address the impact of COVID-19 on everyone’s stress levels and the ways cannabis and other plant medicines can be mindfully used to alleviate some of the symptoms. Used correctly, cannabis can help put you in a relaxed state, which makes it a key ally in fighting stress. There are several biochemical reasons why this so please read through these questions. It is my hope that the answers within will guide you to less difficult days and nights!
Q: Why do I feel so out-of-focus? I was going to use all of this extra time to learn tap dancing and read Proust, but I’ve never been less productive.
I’m not sure cannabis can help you finish Proust, but it can certainly soothe your stress responses, which could encourage your productivity.
Intense trauma can temporarily rewire the body’s nervous system and trigger our sympathetic nervous system, which activates our “flight or fight” response. Keeping up with the sheer amount of COVID-19 information (and misinformation) coming at us can put your nervous system into a constant white-knuckled response. Hyperarousal means higher blood pressure and adrenaline release, shallow breathing, and rapid heartbeat, all of which translates to short-tempers and blown fuses. It can also cause people to re-experience traumatic memories that create a cycle of being too agitated to relax and too stressed to sleep. These changes can impair the immune system’s ability to respond to acute and chronic infections and can disrupt digestion, sleep, focus, and libido. It can also make people feel like they are in a fog or that everything is moving in slow motion. Sound familiar?
Q: But I haven’t been traumatized. I’m just worried about my health, my family’s health, the health of the economy…
You don’t have to be directly exposed to a traumatic event. Right now, fear is more prevalent than the virus. Simply contending with overwhelming situations and information overload can affect some people so profoundly that they develop symptoms of PTSD, which can include:
Cannabis is a holistic, integrative plant medicine that can ease the body into a state of calm. When used correctly, it can:
Q: How can cannabis help anxiety and stress?
Did you know that our brains make their own internal cannabis molecules? It’s true. And one of them, anandamide (named after the Sanskrit word for bliss, ananda), helps temper stress and balance the nervous system, so we are not spiraling out of control on high sympathetic overdrive.
Take, for example, forgetting. Forgetting is a crucial aspect of treating anxiety, stress, and PTSD. Trauma survivors have been found to have problems with neurotransmitter signaling of serotonin and glutamate, which also correlate with the fight-or-flight response. Excessive glutamate signaling will lock in painful fear-related memories. Cannabinoids can help release these painful memories by facilitating memory extinction. This helps survivors switch off those traumatic memories.
Here’s the chemistry behind this. Cannabis mediates the neurotransmitter GABA. GABA signals to our body that we are safe and directs the body to relax. It helps to reduce anxiety, foster sleep, and relax the muscles. CBD and THC tell the brain to increase the flow GABA, which creates the calming effect. My patients report it taking the edge off and turning down the volume on anxiety and stress. Once their racing thoughts and the “fight or flight” response tail off patients say they feel better, or “more comfortable in their own skin.” They can often quell racing thoughts that paralyze them at work or cause them to lie awake at night.
If you’re not an experienced cannabis user, I recommend starting with CBD, which can ease the body into a state of calm focus, or very low amounts of THC in conjunction with CBD. Sometimes, just a few puffs on a vaporizer or no more than 2.5 mg of THC will do the trick. You can always add more if you want increased relief.
Cannabis mediates the neurotransmitter GABA. GABA signals to our body that we are safe and directs the body to relax. It helps to reduce anxiety, foster sleep, and relax the muscles. CBD and THC tell the brain to increase the flow GABA, which creates the calming effect.
Q; How much cannabis should I use to keep my stress at bay?
That’s the big question with cannabis meds. Everyone’s endocannabinoid system is different, and people’s experience with cannabis also makes a difference when it comes to dosing. My 15 years of treating patients with cannabinoid medicines have taught me that patients who are willing to experiment to create their own personal dosing regimen get the best results.
The “Start Low, Go Slow, Stay Low” dosing method begins with a CBD product, which you take in low doses (5-15 mg) two to four times daily. You can very safely increase that dose every 1 or 2 days until you feel relief. If you get no relief after a few weeks, try adding in a small amount of THC (2.5 mg of a tincture or a few vapor puffs) to activate the CBD. Escalate your dose or increase the frequency of dosing until you find relief. Inexperienced users may want to work with a health coach to get started. Experienced users will be more familiar with adjusting their doses to find optimal relief. Refer to our dosing guide to get started.
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