CBD Oil for Mental Disorders – Studies on Antipsychotic Properties

Today we will be looking into the applications of CBD oil for mental disorders, and what current research has to say on the topic. Nearly one in five people worldwide suffer from some kind of mental disorder, the most common illnesses being anxiety, depression, and schizophrenia. While it is possible to treat mental disorders with medication, managing their symptoms is quite a challenge. Research suggests that treating mental disorders with CBD, and CBD oil in particular, maybe a viable alternative to help alleviate even some of the more troublesome mental health issues.

What is CBD?

CBD oil is extracted from the Cannabis Sativa L. plants, more commonly known as hemp and marijuana. CBD is a type of chemical compound known as a cannabinoid. Cannabinoids react with the central nervous system and are said to have numerous positive effects. Please refer to some of our previous articles on CBD oil for more information on its curious and amazing properties.

What are Mental Disorders?

Mental disorders manifest themselves in a variety of different ways and affect a person’s mood, thinking, and behavior. Common symptoms include depression, schizophrenia, and anxiety. As we have already covered the topic of using CBD for depression in a previous article, we will look into CBD oil and schizophrenia today and will dive into using CBD oil for anxiety next time.

Schizophrenia is not just a single condition, but rather a group of conditions that impair brain function and cause the patient to suffer from psychosis and disconnect from reality. Schizophrenia tends to affect men more than women and often starts when a person is in their 20s. While psychosis is one of the main features of schizophrenia, its symptoms are complicated and classified into three types: positive, negative, and cognitive.

Despite the name, positive symptoms are anything but good. They include delusions, hallucinations, and altered and incoherent speech associated with psychosis. This is traditionally treated with antipsychotic medications. The negative symptoms are categorized by a depressed emotional state, a lack of pleasure and motivation in daily activities, and an urge to withdraw from society. Finally, cognitive symptoms negatively impact a person’s memory, attention span, and logical thinking.

CBD Oil for Mental Disorders like Schizophrenia

CBD oil has shown some potential to help with the positive symptoms of schizophrenia, but research often produces mixed results. Some studies claim CBD oil does indeed have antipsychotic effects, while others come up short on findings. One large study reported reductions in psychotic symptoms, but another study that used patients who responded poorly to traditional antipsychotic treatment did not show any signs of improvement in their psychotic symptoms after taking CBD.

A CBD clinical study, which included a placebo group, showed potential antipsychotic effects in a rather short amount of time. When compared to the control group, the CBD group reported lowered levels of positive psychotic symptoms just six weeks into the treatment. In addition, the CBD group’s overall condition was reported as improved by the clinician and showed improvements in cognitive performance as well.

Furthermore, in a double-blind study conducted in 2012, 40 volunteers were given either CBD or an antipsychotic in order to identify CBD’s potential psychosis-reducing effects. Patients showed equal signs of improvement from both the traditional and CBD treatments. However, the CBD group had fewer side effects usually associated with antipsychotics, such as mobility issues, weight gain, and hormonal imbalance.

CBD oil also shows great promise to help with schizophrenia‘s notoriously difficult-to-treat negative symptoms. Preclinical animal studies and clinical human studies both revealed CBD to be helpful in reducing feelings of isolation and even relieving symptoms of PTSD. CBD’s calming effects are often reported, and it shows signs of supporting the brain area responsible for memory and emotion-based mental health, the hippocampus.

It should be noted that THC, another cannabinoid found in the cannabis plant and commonly known for its psychoactive effects, has been shown as a potential risk factor for inducing schizophrenia. CBD on the other hand has shown antipsychotic potential as mentioned above and has been credited with neuroprotective properties.

Conclusion

It seems that more research is still needed before we can come to a hard conclusion on CBD oil for mental disorders like schizophrenia. However, with the current literature’s mounting results, more positive research is sure to follow. If you have any questions about CBD or any other health-related topic, please feel free to contact us by making use of the site chat feature on the bottom right of the screen.

Before you go, just remember:
● Nearly 20% of the population suffers from some kind of mental disorder
● CBD oil has been shown to help with certain mental disorders, particularly anxiety, depression, and schizophrenia
● Schizophrenia causes an array of issues leading the sufferer to lose connection to reality, become depressed, and affect memory
● CBD seems to help with both positive and negative schizophrenia symptoms