Can Marijuana Ease Mental Health Conditions?

Medical marijuana has become an increasingly popular way to treat underlying health conditions. For example, medical marijuana is an effective treatment for chronic pain.

A study on the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) database suggests that medical cannabis can replace opioids for successful pain management.

A study published in the BMC Psychiatry journal, for example, suggests that benefits from using medical marijuana as a mental health treatment are promising as more researchers begin to study the topic. Thus, many doctors suggest cannabis for patients struggling with mental disorders.

Due to predominantly positive results in preliminary research, we can suggest there are medical marijuana benefits for mental health.

Anxiety Treatment

Patients who suffer from anxiety can experience feelings of helplessness. The National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) defines symptoms of anxiety as feeling restless, easily fatigued, or worried. Patients with anxiety can often suffer from insomnia as well.

According to the American Psychological Association, researchers are currently performing studies through a private organization called Marijuana Investigations for Neuroscientific Discovery (MIND). These studies aim to find the medical benefits of marijuana for mental function, sleep, cognitive performance, etc.

MIND has run studies on medical marijuana users since 2014, and their overall results are positive. MIND’s studies indicate that medical marijuana users with anxiety exhibited reduced clinical symptoms and relied less on conventional medications.

Patients can use cannabis in place of traditional medications to treat anxiety symptoms and help with peaceful sleep.

Medical Marijuana as a Sleep Aid

One of the major causes of anxiety and depression is a lack of sleep. According to the Sleep Foundation, symptoms of clinical depression are often linked with negative sleeping patterns, such as sleeping too little or too much during the night.

The Sleep Foundation further comments that 85% of long-term medical cannabis users report sleeping better during the night.

Furthermore, another study in the Frontiers in Psychiatry journal also revealed that patients using medical marijuana reported lesser levels of depression. Cannabis users reported a higher quality of life and improved sleeping patterns.

Thus, medical marijuana also alleviates symptoms of insomnia. The NCBI database published another study in which 23 of 24 patients reported increased sleeping time, a better quality of sleep, and increased feelings of restfulness.

If you struggle with any of these mental health problems, you should consider medical cannabis as a natural way to treat your disorder.

Can Cannabis Help with PTSD?

PTSD can cause symptoms such as nightmares, panic attacks, overwhelming emotions, intrusive thoughts, etc. According to Forbes, patients who suffer from PTSD and use medical cannabis report that it mitigates many of their symptoms.

Forbes also reports that two recent studies link physical reactions to how medical marijuana helps PTSD patients.

The first study indicates that marijuana reduces activity in the amygdala. The amygdala is the part of the brain that processes strong emotions like fear and pleasure.

PTSD patients suffer from triggers that affect the amygdala, setting off an involuntary fear response. THC allows the medical cannabis user to connect to the moment, thus reducing the effects of triggers.

Both the reduction of activity in the amygdala and easing of traumatic memories help PTSD patients effectively manage their symptoms. These solutions directly contribute to lessened feelings of anxiety and more ability to control adverse effects of PTSD.

PTSD patients can significantly benefit from the use of medical marijuana in controlling the disorder. This allows more independence and the ability to adapt to life outside of their trauma and have post-traumatic growth. If you suffer from PTSD, medical cannabis may be a life-changing solution for you.

Overall Benefits of Medical Marijuana

Overall, medical marijuana has incredible mental health benefits. It can effectively replace traditional medications and reduce the pharmacological load.

Though experts continue to conduct formal research, many patients with chronic pain reported a reduction of anxiety and insomnia with the use of medical marijuana.

This is promising for those using medical cannabis with the sole purpose of easing mental health conditions. Benefits such as increased sleep quality and reduction of activity in certain areas of the brain are effective treatments for mental health disorders.

A study published on the NCBI database also states that due to prolonged study on chronic pain patients, medical marijuana is safe for long-term use.

Such research is proving that medical marijuana has promising benefits for insomnia, anxiety, depression, and PTSD.

Medical Marijuana for Mental Health

If you believe that medical marijuana is the answer to easing your mental health disorder, TeleLeaf can help.

We offer telemedicine visits to help you get a recommendation from the best medical marijuana doctors. We also help you obtain a medical marijuana card online.

Our mission is to connect doctors with patients to make them happier, healthier, and more productive.

Let us help you by calling (504) 500-4842 today!