CBD For Anxiety & Self-Care

If you haven’t heard all about CBD oil lately, then where have you been? There seems to be more and more places that are stocking it, especially over here in the UK, than ever before. But is it worth the hype?

I am someone that does like to look for natural treatments to things where possible, and have seen some great results from using things like essential oils (don’t worry, I’m not trying to sell you any, but have definitely seen them work). So I have been intrigued about CBD, but honestly, had no idea where to start. I remember just messaging someone on Instagram asking how you even ‘take’ the oil, after hearing her say that she uses it for her anxiety. So yes, a real beginner. Plus, I had questions all about CBD itself; I mean, isn’t it from the cannabis plant?

For starters, I have learned that CBD oil (the full name of cannabidiol) is a naturally occurring extract of the hemp plant. CBD oil is extracted from cannabis plants, without the THC (Tetrahydrocannabinol). The lack of THC means that your body will not feel the ‘high’ or any psychoactive impact that is normally associated with cannabis. So you get the natural goodness of the plant, just not the addictive part.

It was so interesting to se how many ways the oil can be used in many different ways, from ingesting the drops straight into your mouth, to being in gummies that you can buy, used in skincare, as well as using the drops in things like a smoothie or getting capsules if you’d prefer. So fear not if the thought of just having the drops in your mouth puts you off.

Organic CBD Hemp Drops

As someone who has been in a pretty downward spiral for the past year or so, and have started to have pretty scary and debilitating panic attacks I was really intrigued to see if some CBD drops were going to help. When looking at which ones to get, it was brought to my attention that not all oils are created equally, and there are a few things to look out for.

look for organic brands, as the Cannabis plant is a bio-accumulator (meaning that is will suck up everything it can from the ground or the air). So at least when you choose organic, you can ensure that there high levels of heavy metals and pesticides won’t be in the oil.
source your hemp products from somewhere that looks to control the end-to-end process from the growing to the oil extraction, to reduce the chance of other contaminants getting in. BioBloom, the brand I have been using, follows this.

So how did I get on with the drops?

I chose to ingest the drops straight into my mouth, under my tongue. It is a little tricky to make sure that you don’t miss, so using a mirror was really useful. The dropper itself holds around 5 drops, which is a pretty standard dosage, so you can squeeze them out, and then you’re good to go. There is no real recommended dosage as such, as everyone will react differently. So if like me you are new to CBD, I’d start with the minimum that the bottle states to start with (some oils are stronger than others), and then build up and go from there.

I tended to ‘swill’ them around my mouth for thirty seconds before swallowing, but as stated, you can mix the oils with food or drink if you’d rather. I’m not going to lie, the taste is quite strong, pretty earthy, and it is quite a thick and viscous oil, so if you’re someone that gags quite easily, mixing in a drink may be better for you. It is bearable though, and I definitely did feel the benefit from the drops, especially around my anxiety. It just helped to chill me out and relax me quite quickly. I would still be thinking about what was causing the anxious feelings, but wasn’t feeling anxious, if that makes sense. I can’t speak for other things, but I have heard that it can help with things like depression and epilepsy too. The drops are something that I will definitely keep using.

Hemp Touch Ointment for Irritated Skin

There is such a huge range or ways to use hemp oil, and one of those is in skincare. I have been trying out a Hemp Touch ointment, and have been really pleased with it. The ointment is pretty thick, but it applies really easily and leaves my skin feeling really silky smooth (much like a makeup primer does).

We were away on holiday recently and it has worked wonders on skin that was a little sunburnt, really helping it to heal. I have made it part of my normal beauty regime though as I tend to have pretty dry and sometimes sore skin, especially in cold winter temperatures.

It also helps with:

alleviate itchy skin
increases skin suppleness and elasticity
prevents stretch marks

It is safe to use during pregnancy and all the family can use it too. You don’t need to use too much of it either; a little goes a long way. The product is another organic CBD one, and is a 100% vegan product. I have been using it quite a lot, and will continue to use it.