One of the biggest problems that a lot of Americans face in our world today has to do with mental health. While it seems that the quality of living seems to improve with each generation, it is fair to say that our mental well-being is taking a step in the opposite direction. As of right now, there are more people in the United States that suffer from some sort of mental illness than ever before. Can marijuana be a good treatment option for some of these individuals? We are going to talk about that today. One of the main problems with mental health is that it is not well understood and often overlooked regarding its significance in our overall well-being.
Anyone who has struggled with mental health issues will tell you that these problems can be just as debilitating as other diseases and can leave the patient who is struggling in a world of hurt. Not to mention, the current prescription medications that are commonly used to treat mental illness leave much to be desired. Many of these prescriptions lose effectiveness at some point, provided that they are actually effective at all. Plus, there are often a lot of side effects to thes popular medications that can be harmful to the patient who is already struggling with the symptoms of their mental illness. So what do I mean by mental illness?
Mainly, I am talking about conditions like depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder, and schizophrenia, but there are plenty more out there that I will not be touching on. The main question we will be discussing today is how medical marijuana can actually be used to manage and treat some of the symptoms related to these mental health disorders. So if you or a loved one falls into any of those mental health categories, keep on reading to find out more about how cannabis could potentially help!
When it comes to mental health use and cannabis, depression has been studied and researched the most. This is because depression has been rampant in our society for so very long, and there is often no way to treat it for good. Many people that struggled with depression very well deal with it for their entire lifetime, and are only able to somewhat get rid of it throughout the years. Many people originally thought that depression was increased by the use of marijuana, but plenty of medical research and studies have shown that misconception to not be the case in a controlled study. It is actually suggested that, when depression is the only mental health disorder that is being addressed, THC can actually alleviate symptoms of depression and increase levels of dopamine and relaxation throughout the body and brain. MRIs that were done on patients with depression that used medical marijuana also showed that the part of the brain responsible for negative emotion was also dulled with the use of medical marijuana. This means that levels of depression can actually decrease in patients who are using cannabis with THC.
Another form of mental health disorders fall into the category of anxiety, like generalized anxiety disorder, obsessive compulsive disorder, PTSD, social anxiety, and many others. While it is true that for some people, THC can actually increase levels of anxiety. However, this is not the case for everyone. Research also shows that patients who use medical marijuana with higher levels of CBD also experience less symptoms of anxiety and also feel more calm and relaxed overall. Medical marijuana could very well be the secret to living a healthier and happier life, free of debilitating mental health dissorders.
