While cannabidiol was discovered about 80 years ago, scientists and healthcare professionals didn’t know most of its benefits to human wellness until recently. The compound, which is primarily extracted from the hemp plant, has numerous uses for humans and animals. Some of them are already proven and many others are still under research.
Perhaps one of the most talked-about topics on CBD is its relation to traumas. Here you’ll learn everything you need to know about the link between the CBD and childhood trauma as well as the best CBD products you can buy on the market today.
What is Defined as Childhood Trauma?
Childhood trauma is defined as the experience of an event by a child that inflicts emotional pain or distress, which often leads to negative long-lasting mental and physical impacts. Many people who experience severe negative experiences during their formative years suffer from childhood trauma later in life.
As a child, witnessing or experiencing sexual or physical abuse, war, accidents, natural calamities, abandonment, among other stressful events, can lead to permanent effects on overall health and wellness. Sadly, childhood trauma is relatively common. According to BBC News, a recent study of 2,000 people aged 18 in Wales and England discovered that almost a third of the participants went through trauma in childhood.
Like other severe psychological disorders, childhood trauma does have significant effects on a person’s life in adulthood. It can affect everything from emotional, mental, and physical health to relationships.
Researchers conclude that exposure to trauma may result in severe mental illness. Also, according to CNBC, people who went through trauma in childhood are at a higher risk of developing mental health problems. This type of trauma has been linked to sleep difficulties, depression, anxiety, self-harm, alcohol/ drug abuse, grief, hopelessness, PTSD, among others.
How is Childhood Trauma Treated?
There are several ways this trauma is treated. The first is through therapy.
In this case, you visit a therapist, and they devise a treatment plan for you. According to Forbes, the most common therapy for trauma is known as behavior/ exposure therapy, which involves re-exposing a person to traumatic stimuli in a controlled setting.
Others include cognitive behavioral therapy, hypnotherapy, group therapy, etc. Therapy can help a person to overcome or manage various types of trauma. However, recovery depends on a variety of factors, including one’s support system and consistency.
The second method is the prescription of medications. Meds don’t usually make the trauma fade away. In most cases, healthcare professionals give trauma patients drugs to help manage and lessen the effects of childhood trauma.
CBD as a Treatment Option for Childhood Trauma
Despite the extensive use of the common forms of therapy and medication in treatment, childhood trauma is still challenging to treat. That is because it can stem from almost any adverse event, and people experience it in their own way. With such complexities, treatment is more of a matter of trials and errors until the right balance of approach is found.
But CBD is threatening to change how post-traumatic stress disorder is approached and treated. CBD’s therapeutic abilities have been long known. However, the use of CBD as a possible treatment for trauma is relatively recent.
So how does it work? Everybody has an endocannabinoid system, which produces cannabidiol naturally. Known simply as ECS, it is a complex neuro-transmitting/ cell-signaling system that regulates a variety of biological functions in the human body.
Though not fully understood yet, ECS has been linked to the human body’s internal stability, i.e., homeostasis. It does that by supporting different organs and functions including:
· Skin and nerves
· Sleep
· Appetite and metabolism
· Reproduction
· Mood/ stress
· Memory
· Fertility
· Inflammation
· Chronic pain
How do CBD and ECS relate? Well, cannabidiol helps in activating the ECS system, which in turn releases the needed neurotransmitters. When CBD is administered to a trauma patient, it goes to supplement the ECS in the body.
Many researchers believe that CBD works by minimizing ECS receptors responsible for anxiety in places within the brain where the memories of a traumatic experience are stored. When used to supplement ECS, cannabidiol prevents anandamide, a fatty acid neurotransmitter that regulates anxiety and mood, from deteriorating.
Often, childhood trauma victims end up developing PTSD as adults. That said, the same way CBD is used in treating PTSD; it can also prove to be just as useful in the treatment of childhood trauma. Moreover, it can be used as a supplement to other forms of treatment like therapy and prescription meds.
You can find CBD in various forms on the market. Perhaps, the best type is CBD tinctures and oils as they provide a purer form of cannabidiol. However, you can also find CBD as topicals, capsules, vaping, and edibles.
Best CBD Products to Buy
The good thing about using CBD in the treatment of childhood trauma is that cannabidiol is quite safe to use and doesn’t really require a prescription. It has very few non-serious side effects, and you get to experience additional benefits.
When buying CBD, it is crucial to consider the quality of what you settle on. The reason is it will determine how effective the CBD will be on your body and also whether the manufacturer delivers everything they claim to in their product.
As seen on CoolThingsChicago, this list of best CBD oils provides the best compilation of high-quality products you can purchase. All brands mentioned on it are reputable, and they used top-notch hemp to produce their CBD oils. Furthermore, the CBD products you’ll find on the list have been used by several people and reviewed favorably.
Wrapping It Up
If you are finding it hard to adapt to your current environment because of a horrific event you experienced during your early years, you most likely have childhood trauma. And while overcoming childhood trauma can be challenging, it all starts will acceptance and selecting the right treatment. CBD offers a viable solution to dealing with trauma, and regularly taking it can help to fight symptoms and effects.
Explore the CBD oils suggested here and start with a small dosage to see how it goes. If you are already o a treatment plan for your trauma, consult with your doctor to know how you can supplement it with CBD.