Social anxiety is an extreme problem for many people. It can start small: you suddenly find that you’re not comfortable in a particular situation and then steadily become worse until one day, you find that your anxiety is so bad, you can’t leave your house.
Serious concerns connected to social anxiety include:
- A sense of extreme loneliness
- Depression
- Anxiety-related hypertension
- Substance abuse
It’s not entirely clear why some people develop extreme social anxiety. Some theories the mental health community has put together include the following:
- Inherited traits
- Trauma
- Family history (genetic and/or social)
- Brain structure
- Work or social demands that lead to feeling chronically overwhelmed
- Environment
- Temperament
Since social anxiety can devastate your quality of life, it is in your best interest to explore anything that could help. CBD is one such thing.
CBD May Play a Role in Social Connection
According to Psychology Today, “Initial research suggests that CBD may also play an important role in social connection. More specifically, there is evidence that CBD can reduce mental and physical anxiety. It also seems to dull our response to the anxiety expressed by others, so we may be less likely to “catch” the negative emotions of others.”
What that means is that not only can you use CBD to calm your social anxiety before you leave your home, but once you do engage in a social situation, you can also use the CBD to make yourself slightly less sensitive to the other person’s emotions, allowing you to continue the interaction longer, which in turn boosts your self-confidence, allowing you to further push through your social anxiety.
It’s important to note that we don’t feel that CBD will replace therapy and other treatment programs you’re currently using to help you cope with your social anxiety. What we do think is that it’s another tool that you can use to improve your self-confidence and regain your life gradually.
Have any questions about using CBD for social anxiety? Contact us today for answers.