The fear of going out in public, talking on the phone, making a speech, talking to the boss or presenting a presentation. People who suffer from a social anxiety disorder know what massive restrictions and psychological stress this causes. The central feature is an exaggerated fear of being in the centre of attention and of embarrassing or shameful behaviour. People who suffer from the so-called “social phobia” fear being judged, criticised or rejected by others, attracting negative attention or being perceived as strange, embarrassing or ridiculous.
The social phobia is not so rare at all. It is considered the most common phobia among anxiety disorders.
In Germany 7 – 12 % of the population are affected by a social phobia at least once in their life.
In situations where you appear in public, people with social phobia feel a strong fear. This fear goes far beyond the stage fright that everyone knows. Social anxiety manifests itself in everyday situations: Fear of making phone calls, of conversations with strangers or authority figures and even fear of a meal in a restaurant. Fear of public speaking and presenting makes education and professional life more difficult.
Typical symptoms of this fear reaction are blushing, trembling, sweating, palpitations, muscle tension, nervous vomiting, and a strong urge to urinate or stool. Speech inhibitions and thought blockades intensify the feeling of anxiety up to and including a panic attack.
Social phobia occurs in phases, but usually persists without psychological or medical treatment. Behavioural therapy, hypnosis and medication – usually antidepressants – are among the current treatment methods for a social phobia. The use of cannabidiol (CBD) could prove to be a new therapeutic approach.
Cannabidiol as an antidote from nature
For some time it has been crystallizing in therapeutic practice that the old cultivated plant hemp with its bioactive ingredients, especially the non-hallucinogenic and non-psychoactive cannabidiol (CBD), can be an effective remedy for a variety of diseases. Recent research regularly confirms these results. The use of CBD has also shown remarkable results in anxiety disorders and social phobias.
A study with anxiety patients who had to simulate a public speech shows that a single dose of 600 mg CBD significantly reduced anxiety, cognitive blockages and discomfort after 80 minutes. Physiological parameters such as the increase in blood pressure and heart rate could also be reduced.
The long-term regular use of low doses also has a positive effect on social phobias. In a cross-faculty and cross-university study, several teams investigated the effect of low-dose CBD on patients with social phobias. The placebo-controlled study investigated the effect of 50 mg CBD daily from a standardised hemp oil (with 15% CBD) in 37 persons with proven anxiety disorders. The duration of administration was 30 days. The extent, the circumstances and the severity of the social phobia were assessed by means of questionnaires at the beginning and end of the intervention. For this purpose, 12 fictitious scenarios were constructed, into which the test persons had to put themselves. The result showed a positive effect.
The anxiety values improved by 32% due to CBD
Whereas at the beginning the average anxiety values were 4.1 (1 = no malaise, 5 = very severe malaise), they fell to 2.8 in the CBD group. This corresponds to a reduction in perceived anxiety symptoms of around 32%. In the placebo group, however, there was no significant improvement.
In order to investigate the mechanisms on which the anxiety-relieving effect of cannabidiol is based, the neurobiological level must be considered.
CBD normalizes anxiety memory at the neurobiological level
The social phobia usually manifests itself after a certain traumatizing trigger, such as an embarrassing public appearance or bullying of classmates.
The excessive reactions are accompanied by an abnormal anxiety memory in the brain triggered by biochemical processes. Reflex-like reactions to certain situations are disproportionately strong with fear. CBD can regulate these misdirected anxiety memory reactions at the neurological level. By activating certain cannabinoid receptors, CBD modifies abnormal anxiety memory and anxiety enhancement in the brain. Studies have shown that CBD can also contribute to the eradication of anxiety memory, resulting in a sustained improvement in symptoms.
Conclusion:
The non-psychotropic cannabidiol from the hemp plant is not only effective in high doses. Even in nutritional quantities, as found in standardized hemp oils, CBD can achieve therapeutic effects. The example of social phobias, a disease for which there is currently no complementary medical approach, shows that the hemp plant offers an insufficiently used reservoir of helpful substances.
