- Florida CBD Connection
How CBD Can Help Treat Schizophrenia
Updated: Mar 28, 2020
Schizophrenia is a health condition that impairs an individual ability to feel, think, and behave in what is considered the right manner. The cause of this disorder is not exact. However, environmental conditions, genetics, and brain structures are big influences.
Schizophrenia affects at least 1% of the world population. WHO reports that this 1% is estimated to be 20 million persons. That is, 20 million individuals suffer from brain impairment that distorts their perception of reality.
Mayo Clinic writes that schizophrenia is a severe issue, which makes individuals with the disorder to interpret reality unusually. What you see is different from what people with these conditions see even if this view is apparent.
For the men, the symptoms of schizophrenia become evident in their 20s, while that of women takes a bit longer to surface.
Psychotic symptoms of the schizophrenia condition typically range from cognitive impairment, memory, attention, to positive signs, hallucinations, and delusions, then down to the negative symptoms.
Unlike adults, for teenagers, these symptoms might be difficult to notice. Withdrawal from friends, lack of motivation, and insomnia are some of the signs that might be seen in a teenager with schizophrenia.
Schizophrenic treatments often last a lifetime. These treatments include medications, coordinated specialty care, and psychotherapy. Nonetheless, certain supposed drugs hamper the treatment worsening the condition.
For instance, epidemiology studies imply that use of tetrahydrocannabinol, THC, a major component of cannabis increases the risk of schizophrenia.
Although THC is capable of worsening the course of the schizophrenic condition, cannabidiol, CBD, another component of cannabis, can counter several of the symptoms of schizophrenia. CBD, a non-psychoactive cannabinoid, possesses antipsychotic, anxiolytic, and neuroprotective properties. You can get a variety of CBD infused products on the market these days, lab-tested CBD gummies being the most popular.
This combination helps it treat patients with schizophrenia when administered.
How CBD Helps Treat Schizophrenia
For one, CBD anti psychotic effects counter THC-induced psychosis. THC is shown to cause psychotic episodes in schizophrenic patients after the use of the compound, cannabis. This situation is due to the impact of cannabinoid type 1, CB1, and how it controls the neurons interact with one another. CBD, therefore, counteracts this control.
Two, at the same time the study showed this counteract effects of CBD oil improve the cognitive deficit
Three studies carried out on animals showed that administration of CBD Improves negative symptoms apparent in schizophrenia, including social interaction deficits.
Four, in 2012, Leweke and his colleagues published the result of a controlled clinical trial. The result states CBD compared to other antipsychotic drugs such as amisulpride has fewer side effects when taken. The clinical trial showed individuals experience fewer side effects with CBD, including weight gain and pyramidal symptoms.
Five, a study carried out to test the antipsychotic effect of CBD showed that patients with Parkinson's disease showed a boost in psychotic symptoms during the four weeks of study. Psychotic symptoms are both associated with Parkinson’s disease and schizophrenia.
CBD is very effective in treating schizophrenia. Nonetheless, it is important to arm ourselves with the right information on how exactly to use this antipsychotic drug towards its efficacy.
How to Use CBD to Treat Schizophrenia
You can consume CBD in different ways, meeting the recommended dosage daily with every intake. Through several studies, the required dosage of CBD for schizophrenia ranged between 600mg daily to 1280mg daily.
Note that it is crucial to consult your doctor first before choosing a dosage. Now let's take a look at the several ways you can use CBD for schizophrenia.
Edibles: The CBD drug can be incorporated into the food we eat. In most cases, this will not alter the taste of the food. CBD is soluble in fat, and when in foods containing fat, it increases the amount of CBD that goes into the bloodstream. CBD comes in varieties of edibles also, including truffles, mints, and gummies.
Inhalation: Inhaling CBD passes the drug into your lungs, which then finds its way to your bloodstream. Ways you can try out-breath is through vaping, pens, and dabs.
Swallowed: For treating schizophrenia ingesting the CBD drug, digests the substance. This is then absorbed into the bloodstream and flows through the body taking effect. Edibles also come here, CBD capsules, powder, and CBD oil.
Sublingual and Buccal: Orally, you can either swallow CBD drugs or absorb them in your mouth. You can do this under the tongue to optimize the effect of the drug along the cheeks and the gums. This method is useful as it passes the first metabolism, and the drug is sent through your bloodstream.
You can choose to try out any of these or one of them. However, for several health reasons, you need to be cautious.
Points to Keep in Mind When Using CBD for Schizophrenia
Check the dosage in each product: With each packed CBD concentrate product, check the dosage of the drug. You need to meet up with your required daily dosage and not exceed the dosage also.
Lab-tested: Any CBD product you buy must also be lab tested by a third party. Third-party lab tests confirm that the product is grown ethically and contains whatever is there on the label. You must look out for this because, currently, the FDA doesn't regulate CBD products. This responsibility now falls on you.
Broad and full spectrum: You can also go for either the full range or broad-spectrum product. The full spectrum products contain all the various kinds of cannabinoids, including the CBD.
For the broad spectrum, some cannabinoids are isolated like THC. However, studies carried out show that consuming CBD and THC gives a kind of "entourage effect." It simply means that they work well together.
Enhancing absorption: You can also try out some tricks to improve the absorption of the CBD in the body. Like consuming it sublingually and holding it in your mouth for a few seconds before swallowing.
Final Thoughts
Studies have proved and illustrated how we could take advantage of the growing benefits of the cannabis plant, in this case, CBD.
We can take advantage of the CBD plant to treat schizophrenic symptoms, which would immensely help the patient. With this, they have a chance of living a life free of health complications and debilitating symptoms.