Medical marijuana has been shown to lower stress and anxiety. But first, we need to know what stress is to understand its serious effects on the body.
What is stress?
Stress is a psychological and physiological state of readiness. It is the body’s reaction to any demand placed upon it. Stress isn’t good or bad, but people tend to have an emotional response that makes them feel like they are being threatened. Stress is useful for short bursts of time since it helps us perform at our best when we need to deal with a challenge or pressure–usually called acute stress. Some examples include giving a speech, playing sport, or performing music–these require you to engage several different areas of your brain and body to make sure you do the task well. These situations are stressful if you don’t believe you handle doing it well or have too much pressure to succeed.
In contrast, chronic stress is when a person feels under pressure for a long time and their normal abilities are adversely affected. Many different things cause chronic stress, such as a traumatic event in your life (work-related stress, loss of a loved one), physical health problems (cancer), or living in poverty. When we suffer from stress chronically, it starts to involve the parts of our brain that deal with emotion and decision-making, deciding our feelings.
It means that if we feel stressed daily for whatever reason, our brains will always interpret situations as stressful even if they aren’t.
What are the physical symptoms of stress?
The physical symptoms of stress include:
- Aches and pains.
- Chest pains.
- Constant worry.
- Digestive difficulties.
- Feeling isolated, lonely, or overwhelmed.
- Getting too little or too much sleep.
- Inability to concentrate/focus
- Loss of sex drive/low libido.
- Negative thoughts.
- Nervous habits–nail-biting, tapping fingers, etc.
- Rapid heartbeat.
- Sleepiness/fatigue.
- Voracious appetites.
- Withdrawing socially.
The good news is that medical marijuana lowers stress and anxiety, potentially treating all of these serious symptoms.
How can medical marijuana lower stress and anxiety?
Medical marijuana lowers stress and anxiety–even if Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) or depression causes that stress. A recent study by Washington State University examined patients at home inhaling different strains and quantities of cannabis to determine how cannabis affects stress, anxiety, and depression. The study found that 93.3 percent of tracked sessions had reduced stress symptoms, and 93.5 percent had reduced anxiety symptoms.
Medical marijuana patients commonly report that the benefits of marijuana include:
- An increased sense of calm.
- Better sleep.
- Greater peace of mind.
- Improved relaxation.
In addition, medical marijuana may also help relieve symptoms of:
- Anxiety-related sleep disruptions.
- Panic disorder.
- PTSD, including flashbacks or trauma responses.
- Social anxiety.
If you’d like to lower your stress and anxiety, too, get your medical marijuana card today at Medwell Health and Wellness.
Aaron Bloom serves as the CEO, overseeing the mission and growth of DocMJ and Medwell Health and Wellness Centers. Aaron’s passion for improving patients’ lives comes from his background in health care. For more than 20 years, Aaron owned, operated, and represented traditional healthcare organizations. This experience created a passion for finding improved ways to relieve suffering. His goal as CEO is to work daily to relieve all patients who seek better health and wellness through the medicinal benefits of medical cannabis and evidence-based alternative medicines.
