Every human being is unique and so is their psychological conditions. Some people have stage fright, while others have speaking anxiety in public. Well no medicinal solution has been found for stage fright, but fortunately researchers have discovered solution to reduce speaking anxiety. It is proven that CBD oil for public speaking anxiety can cure this problem of anxiety forever.
If you’ve ever had to speak in pubic or in front of a large audience, you’ll know scary it can be. Your hands get sweaty, your voice starts cracking, a sense of panic consumes you. Corrrrrrr, I’m getting jittery just thinking about it. With that said, can we use CBD oil for public speaking anxiety?
Table of Contents
What are the options?
Avoid public speaking – Don’t talk in public, don’t feel anxiety… yay! But do you really want to be hiding away for the rest of your life? Like it or not, public speaking is an important skill to have and something everyone has to contend with. Whether that’s a best mans speech, a funeral, or a work presentation.
Anti-anxiety drugs – Valium, Xanax, Klonopin, etc. These drugs can all be effective at stopping anxiety, but if you’ve tried them, the chances are that you’ve also experienced some negative side effects.
CBD – Cannabidiol is a cannabinoid compound that isn’t psychoactive. With no side effects or addictive properties, but with many benefits for anxiety, CBD is the ideal supplement for those dealing with public speaking.
CBD Vs Benzodiazepines for public speaking
If you’ve been searching for a solution to speech-anxiety, you likely came across countless suggestions for benzodiazepines, like diazepam. As one of the most prescribed medications, it’s estimated that Diazepam is issued to 15 million people annually, and that’s just in the United States alone!
Diazepam works, but it’s not without its side effects. In fact, the drug comes with a black box warning from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). This warning tells doctors and patients about drug effects that may be dangerous. Common side effects of diazepam include: fatigue, headaches, tremors, and drowsiness.
But did you know that CBD has been shown to have the same positive effect as benzodiazepines, just without the side effects? In fact, the results of this study suggest that CBD has anxiolytic-like properties similar to those of diazepam in a rat model of conditioned fear to context.
Backed by science
This study on using CBD oil for public speaking anxiety had some interesting results.
To induce anxiety in the participants, they were told to prepare a 4 minute speech. To make matters worse, the participants were told that the speech would be filmed for later analysis by a psychologist. The anxiety levels were measured using something called the Visual Analogue Mood Scale (VAMS). The volunteers were randomly given one of four drugs: 300mg of CBD, 5mg of isapirone, 10 mg of diazepam (Valium), or a placebo.
- ALL participants, apart from those on a placebo drug, showed a decrease in anxiety
- Participants who took the diazepam experienced feelings of physical sedation
- Participants who took CBD and isapirone did not experience sedation or any other negative side effects
TLDR – CBD can be an effective way to manage anxiety, without sedation side effects.
HOW does CBD oil work for speech anxiety?
Right, so we know that CBD works in reducing public speaking anxiety, but HOW does it do this?
This study found that “CBD exhibits a broad range of actions, relevant to multiple symptom domains, including anxiolytic, panicolytic, and anticompulsive actions, as well as a decrease in autonomic arousal, a decrease in conditioned fear expression, enhancement of fear extinction, reconsolidation blockade, and prevention of the long-term anxiogenic effects of stress”.
Taking CBD before a public speech also allows for elevated anandamide levels. Anandamide is a cannabinoid that has a positive effect on fear-related behaviours.
Conclusion
If you’re like me and get anxious at the best of times, you may want to try CBD for public speaking. Taking CBD oil before public speaking can defeat fear and allow your mind to relax. Have you used CBD before a big speech? We always love to hear from you. Leave a comment below or reach out on one of our social channels.
