Best CBD Oil For Anxiety & Depression: Top Brands For 2021

We all go through periods of high stress and low mood — that’s perfectly normal.

However, many people live with these negative emotions for months or years. Their anxiety and depression can affect all aspects of their lives.

If you think you’re suffering from anxiety and depression, CBD oil may be able to help.

In this article, we’ll help you understand how CBD (cannabidiol) affects stress and mood and how to choose the best CBD oil for the job.

Our Top Three CBD Oil Recommendations

• Royal CBD Oil — Editor’s Choice
• Gold Bee CBD Oil — Runner-Up
• Area52 — Best Budget Option

1. Royal CBD Oil — Editor’s Choice

Royal CBD oil is made from full-spectrum CBD extract suspended in MCT oil. Their CBD is sourced from non-GMO, organically-grown hemp and extracted using supercritical CO2 extraction.

These CBD oils are tested by a licensed third-party lab — the results are published live on the company website for the ultimate level of transparency.

What we love most about Royal CBD is that they give you four strengths to choose from — 250 mg, 500 mg, 1000 mg, and 2500 mg full-spectrum CBD oils in 30 mL bottles. The different potencies make it perfect for those with mild to moderate symptoms of anxiety and depression.

Royal CBD also gives you four flavors to choose from — natural as well as mint, vanilla, and berry for those who dislike the taste of hemp.

2. Gold Bee CBD Oil — Runner-Up

Another popular product for anxiety-sufferers is Gold Bee’s full-spectrum CBD oil. One 30 mL bottle contains a variety of different cannabinoids and terpenes suspended in MCT oil. The extract sourced for this oil is made from US-grown, non-GMO, 100% organic hemp.

Gold Bee CBD oil is laboratory-tested by an accredited testing facility. Results show that it’s free from all contaminants or solvent residues.

This full-spectrum CBD oil comes in three strength options to suit different needs — 300 mg, 600 mg, and 1200 mg.

As for its flavors, you can choose between natural and 0-calorie honey flavors. This does an excellent job at masking the natural hemp flavor — which many relate to grass or hay.

3. Area52 — Best Budget Option

Area52’s full-spectrum CBD oil is popular for its purity and potency. It comes in one single 1200 mg potency. Their full-spectrum CBD oil is extracted from natural, organically-grown hemp and contains no artificial flavors and preservatives.

What we love best about Area52 ’s hemp products is that you can always count on their quality and potency. They also offer one of the longest money-back periods we’ve seen to date — 90 days after the date of purchase. Most CBD brands only offer a 30-day guarantee on their products.

What we didn’t like, though, is that they don’t offer any flavored options — only raw hemp oil.

Using CBD Oil for Anxiety

According to the Anxiety and Depression Association of America, anxiety disorders affect 18.1% of the American population. This is roughly about 40 million individuals.

Anxiety disorders can be treated. Unfortunately, only 36.9% of the sufferers are receiving treatment.

What is Anxiety?

Anxiety disorders differ from normal anxiety in many ways.

Normal anxiety is our body’s reaction to stress. It may be financial difficulties, tight work deadlines, issues at home or in school, health problems, dangerous situations, trauma, or even the death of a loved one.

These stressors trigger our fight-or-flight response, but it’s not all bad. In a way, the stressors teach us to cope and look for solutions. The next time we encounter the same problems, we feel a bit more confident in solving them.

However, people suffering from anxiety disorders are in a constant state of fight or flight. Small issues easily trigger a strong anxiety response, and sometimes, there are no specific triggers at all to provoke their anxiety and fear.

Anxiety attacks are also hard to control, and the effects can last a long time. To prevent more anxiety attacks, people with this mental health disorder tend to avoid situations, activities, people, and anything else that may trigger their overwhelming fear and anxiety.

How Does CBD Oil Help with Anxiety?

Researchers haven’t yet found the exact cause of anxiety disorders, but many factors play a huge role in its development — genes, drug abuse, chronic health problems, trauma, and life events.

Our brain produces several hormones in response to stress, including adrenaline and cortisol. When we overcome our stressors, their levels go down.

People with anxiety disorders have very high levels of these stress hormones. Studies show that chronically high-stress hormone levels change our brain chemistry, altering some of the structures and affecting the way they function normally.

These structural brain changes make people with anxiety disorders more sensitive to stressors. It also makes their anxiety stronger and harder to control, the effects lasting for 10 to 30 minutes.

One of the functions of our endocannabinoid system is to control stress, fear, and anxiety. Unfortunately, chronic problems also affect the endocannabinoid system, making it harder for them to regulate these emotions.

CBD lends our endocannabinoid system a helping hand. It stimulates the endocannabinoid system and helps it modulate these negative feelings.

Additionally, CBD interacts with other systems in the brain responsible for controlling fear, stress, and anxiety.

Using CBD oil not only reduces your stress and decreases your anxiety but also eases fear and calms your nerves. These CBD properties benefit people with anxiety problems.

Using CBD Oil for Depression

Depression, according to the World Health Organization, is one of the leading causes of disability.

This common mental health disorder affects about 6.7% of the American population (16.2 million individuals) yearly.

Similar to anxiety disorders, depression is also treatable. Unfortunately, about 35% of sufferers remain untreated.

What is Depression?

It’s okay to feel a little lonely and dejected when we’re going through trials or lose someone we love. It’s our body’s way of responding to something that upsets us. As we heal and accept the new normal, our sadness fades away.

However, if the feeling of sadness and hopelessness begins to consume you and affects your day-to-day life, you might be suffering from depression.

Other telltale signs of depression include:

• Feeling depressed most of the day and this has gone on for more than two weeks
• Sleep changes (inability to sleep or sleeping too much)
• Appetite changes (weight loss or weight gain)
• Lack of interest in things and activities that you used to enjoy
• Chronic fatigue
• Mood changes (easy irritability, prone to anger, easily agitated)
• Poor concentration and inability to make decisions
• Feelings of extreme guilt or worthlessness (sometimes even without basis)
• Thoughts of dying or committing suicide

The exact cause of depression is unknown, but it has similar contributing factors to anxiety disorders. In fact, these two mental health problems seem to go hand-in-hand in many cases.

The best CBD oils for anxiety and depression contain a full-spectrum hemp extract, come with complete third-party testing, and offer at least 1000 milligrams of CBD per ounce.

How Does CBD Oil Help with Depression?

Some studies suggest that people with depression have low levels of serotonin and dopamine. These hormones help regulate mood and emotions as well as appetite and sleep.

The endocannabinoid system, in addition to its role in controlling stress, anxiety, and fear, also helps regulate mood, emotions, sleep, and appetite. However, chemical imbalances in the brain prevent it from doing its job well, resulting in dysfunction.

Now, there are several ways that CBD helps people with depression. CBD eases stress and anxiety, which worsen depression. It also enhances the way our brain cells respond to serotonin and dopamine.

Taking CBD oil also helps the endocannabinoid system function better. CBD’s anti-stress and antidepressant properties allow us to relax. It improves our mood and helps us sleep better.

CBD also helps improve other health concerns, which can aggravate depression.

How to Choose the Best CBD Oil?

If you have anxiety problems or depression, know that CBD has beneficial properties that can help you. You can buy CBD oil from your local dispensary or order a bottle online.

Be careful to read online research and reviews on buying CBD oil online, especially if it’s from an unknown brand.

When choosing the best CBD oil, take note of these five tips.

1. Opt for Full-Spectrum CBD Oils

There are different types of CBD oil — pure, broad-spectrum, and full-spectrum CBD oils.

These are all CBD oils, but they differ in content. Pure CBD (also called CBD isolate) contains CBD only. Broad-spectrum CBD oil has other cannabinoids and terpenes but doesn’t have THC, while full-spectrum CBD oil has THC.

Which is better?

Pure CBD and broad-spectrum CBD oils can already help you. However, if you want stronger effects, opt for full-spectrum CBD oils instead. All the cannabinoids and terpenes found in this type of CBD oil work together to relieve your symptoms.

This synergistic action between the different compounds is called the entourage effect. They boost each other’s beneficial effects, enhancing their healing properties.

Don’t worry about the THC content though. Full-spectrum CBD oils won’t get you high. The THC level is just enough to help with anxiety and depression but not trigger any psychoactive effects.

2. Choose CBD Oils That have Undergone Third-Party Testing

Full-spectrum CBD oil may be the best, but it doesn’t mean that all full-spectrum CBD oils are created equal.

The popularity of CBD has given rise to unscrupulous manufacturers who create substandard oils. To differentiate between a high-quality and a substandard product, you have to look for their laboratory test result.

Trusted brands send samples of their products to approved laboratory testing facilities. Here, the samples are tested for their potency, quality, and safety.

The tests look for the presence of contaminants, heavy metals, pathogenic microorganisms, harmful pesticides, and toxic residues. Samples that tested positive for contamination won’t be allowed in the market.

Reputable manufacturers upload copies of their products’ laboratory results. You can find the test results on their website and in the product label itself.

When choosing the best CBD oil, always make sure that it’s been tested by a licensed and accredited testing facility.

3. Read Reviews and Customer Feedback

Laboratory test results help narrow down your list of full-spectrum CBD oils. The next step is reading reviews and customer feedback.

Don’t just rely on the reviews and feedback found on the manufacturer’s website. Instead, look at other reviews from social media platforms, forums, and top cannabis sites.

You’ll find great customer reviews on these sites. These reviews give you an idea of what to expect from a specific brand. Customer feedback can also give you valuable information not only about the product but its manufacturer as well.

You can even ask around. Someone from your circle may have already tried the product and give you its pros and cons.

Customer feedback and reviews help you reach an informed decision and make it easier for you to choose the best CBD oil.

4. Speak with Your Doctor

Before trying CBD oil, be sure to speak with your doctor first. He knows your medical history very well, including the medications (if any) you’re taking. This is especially important since CBD interacts with other drugs.

Your doctor can recommend a good CBD oil for your symptoms. He can also help you with your starting dose.

Generally speaking though, most CBD oil products tell you to start with a full dropper. However, since CBD is more of a personalized treatment, you can start with half a dropper at first. Simply adjust the dose based on your body’s response.

For example, you didn’t notice any improvement on half a dropper even after three to five days, then increase your dose.

If, on the other hand, you developed some side effects, then lower the dose.

Be patient and be consistent. You’ll soon find the perfect dose that works best for you.

5. Consider Using Other Herbal Supplements

CBD works great in combination with other health supplements for managing symptoms of anxiety and depression. Look for supplements with relaxing benefits, such as kava kava, ashwagandha, L-theanine, or passionflower.

It also helps to incorporate other lifestyle changes that help promote optimal mood and stress levels — such as daily exercise, ensuring you get 8 hours of sleep each night, and learning to unwind at the end of the day.

Final Thoughts: Can CBD Oil Help with Anxiety and Depression?

Millions of people suffer from anxiety and depression each year. Sadly, not all sufferers are receiving treatment for their condition.

Maybe it’s the stigma associated with these mental health problems or the cost of the medications, but whatever their reason is, it’s keeping them away from much-needed help.

CBD is a powerful cannabinoid with anti-anxiety and anti-depressant properties. It helps relieve other symptoms associated with these mental health problems as well.

Not only can CBD relieve stress and anxiety, it also stabilizes mood and emotions. Additionally, CBD relieves pain, reduces inflammation, aids sleep, and improves poor health, all of which are contributing factors that worsen anxiety and depression.

Taking full-spectrum CBD oil can help you take control of your life and improve your overall well being.