Cannabis has a very rich history when it comes to being used for medicinal purposes. Glad to know that the medical field across the globe is beginning to see the many potentials that it has and gradually tapping into it. In recent times, CBD has grown to become one of the most popular variants of Cannabis has it has proven to be effective in treating many illnesses. For several others, it's been the go-to medication for effective management. With several types of research, CBD can be used to treat illnesses that relate to the brain, pain, or inability to sleep.
One of the known illnesses that CBD can be used to manage is psychosis. As we will come to see later on in this article, CBD can be used to either prevent psychosis or treat it. However, before we get to that, it is important to understand what CBD is and what it contains that has made it a notable variant of Cannabis.
Cannabis and CBD
Cannabis was openly prohibited in the UK in 1928 because of the many side effect it can have on individuals and their behavior. Despite this prohibition, cannabis has still been used across several regional for several medicinal purposes to address physical, emotional, and psychological challenges. The known variant of Cannabis for many is the marijuana and that's because it is used by many to get high. Marijuana makes people high because it contains a high level of a psychoactive compound known as tetrahydrocannabinol (THC).
Even though marijuana is helpful to treat many diseases, this psychoactive compound makes it also harmful to the body. This is why scientist conducted more research into finding a non-psychoactive variant of Cannabis with the same medicinal benefits as marijuana. It was this research that led to the discovery of Cannabidiol which is popularly known as CBD.
Cannabidiol is a phytocannabinoid that acts differently from the THC. The similarity that exists between these two Cannabis plants is that they both interact with the body via the endocannabinoid system. With established proofs of effectiveness, the interest in CBD has grown remarkably over the years.
Having known what CBD is as a type of Cannabis hemp plant, the next question to ask is what is psychosis? How does psychosis exhibit itself in humans?
Understanding What Psychosis Is?
According to experts, it is difficult to refer to psychosis as an illness because it is more of a collection of symptoms. All of these symptoms could form the build-up to several chronic diseases if not diagnosed and treated. This is, perhaps, what makes psychosis deadlier than it appears. Several actions or inactions could bring about this collection of symptoms and they range from brain damage, excessive stress, lack of sleep, illegal use of drugs to many of the known mental disorders.
The characteristic feature of psychosis is that victims tend to hallucinate a lot. These hallucinations start causing the victim to see or hear things that only exists in their imaginations and not in reality. After a while delusions from strongly held beliefs starts creeping in and if not immediately managed, such a person can suffer a mental breakdown. Other known expressions of psychosis are not being able to concentrate or have clear thoughts consistently.
When any of the aforementioned expressions of psychosis is discovered, you must begin to take steps to manage them. Failure to manage it at its early stage could become very dangerous to your physical, psychological, and mental wellbeing.
CBD for Preventing Psychosis
One of the major questions asked by many scientists is can CBD be used to prevent psychosis? Though there is limited research across a broad range to validate this claim, from known outcomes, CBD can prevent psychosis. If you start experiencing drug-induced symptoms of psychosis that begins to affect your cognition, CBD can be a good treatment for managing such a condition. This is because CBD is said to have pharmacological effects on both humans and animals. When you make use of CBD, you can alter the activities of neurotransmitters in the brain without necessarily having to get high.
When treated with CBD, the collection of symptoms that form a build-up to psychosis can be effectively managed. The cognitive abilities of victims can be largely improved allowing them to concentrate more on tasks and have clearer thoughts.
CBD for Treating Psychosis
It is possible to wave off all the known symptoms of psychosis because how they manifest differently from one person to another. For patients who have been unlucky enough to have this collection of symptoms degenerate into full-blown psychosis, the question is can CBD be used for treatment?
CBD as a non-psychoactive agent targets the release of certain neurotransmitters in the brain. These neurotransmitters are responsible for the faulty responses of patients from time to time. CBD targets these neurotransmitters and alters their activities. One of the many neurotransmitters that are released in the brain is dopamine which when excessive can cause psychotic symptoms. CBD works to reduce the release of this dopamine by binding to its receptors. When dopamine production is reduced in the brain, the manifestation of psychosis can be reduced drastically ensuring the stability of patients.
After a while of using CBD to treat psychosis, the visible outcome will be that the cognition and quality of life and living of patients will drastically increase over a defined period. It is, however, important to state that CBD does not immediately treat psychosis. The response time to treatment of psychosis making use of CBD varies from one patient to another. This is why you need to speak to a doctor to ensure you can measure the impact of CBD treatment on your health
Also, using CBD for the prevention and treatment of psychosis does not come without its side effects. If at any point you notice any negative change while on a CBD treatment, make sure to contact a doctor immediately.