A sexually abused child at the age of ten suffered from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). She took pharmaceuticals, and they helped a little but not for long. They also noted that the side effects would become too much. In the study, they gave the little girl cannabidiol (CBD) and her anxiety levels lowered, and she was finally able to sleep restfully at night.
In a perfect world, brain chemistry would be regulated, the body would function normally, and children wouldn’t have to endure abuse. Unfortunately, our world is far from perfect. Our children are suffering, and not just at home but all over the world. And they don’t deserve it. What they deserve is to live their lives as children and learn the wrongs and rights of the world and have fun and play. But not every child is so lucky.
The whole point of childhood is getting the hang of this crazy world and having fun while you still can. Burdens and worries should not fall on their shoulders, but they do. Many families are seeking help any way they can, any way to make their baby right as rain. With all this research coming out about CBD, it’s only natural to grab at that straw as it becomes available, but is it safe?
Mental Health In Children
The adult mind can be traumatized easily with the right storm. A children’s brain is still developing, learning what trust and love are. They are extremely fragile, and it is no surprise that they suffer heavily when they go through something that an adult can barely handle. One thing we do learn from these kids is how strong we are capable of being, but it’s not fair that they are the ones giving that lesson at such an early age.
The most common form of abuse is maltreatment. These are children who are underfed, left in hot cars, or abandoned. Many are taken away from their parents and go through a complicated process of adoption. Children's Advocacy Centers helped over 300,00 children, and they reported two-thirds of them were sexually abused.
Sexual abuse is almost always someone the child knows, about 32% of the perpetrators are friends, neighbors, teachers, and other people who can get close to the child without anyone thinking anything of it. Often it could be a parent, and the other one has no idea. However, in the end, the question is, how can you help?
Then there are the children who get a disorder from just how they are developing. It can be hard and confusing trying to follow what is happening with your child when you’re only on the outside looking in. And the question remains the same, how can you help?
Not everyone has experienced abuse, and not everyone has a mental disorder they have mastered. It can be difficult to guide someone through their feelings when they are so extreme and traumatic you can’t fully understand them. It is always a good idea to seek professional help when your child is experiencing ill mental health. Doctors are trained to get to the bottom of feelings, hash them out, and work on a road to recovery.
That road is treacherous, though. Any adult who has overcome their mental disorder can tell you, it isn’t easy. The constant stress, the lack of sleep, the flashbacks, the fear, it follows them until they find a way to defeat it. Alternatively, they have to learn to cope and live with their disorder for the rest of their lives. What many people of all ages do is seek out help through medication for temporary relief while they go through their therapy.
How CBD Helps
We have an endocannabinoid system in our body that regulates all of our functions. One way it does this is by using chemicals called endocannabinoids, which are similar to the chemicals found in cannabis. Endocannabinoids are unique because they travel backward between cells, which is called retrograde signaling. This feature is one reason medical marijuana is so diverse.
Typically, when a neuron needs to send a message, it uses an electrical pulse to send out neurotransmitters to a receiving cell. The receiving cell has receptors that bind to the neurotransmitters, and this is how the communication happens, and you are able to feel, think, and do.
Endocannabinoids are sent out from the receiving cells towards the neurons that are sending the message. If the neuron is over excited and is transmitting too much information, the endocannabinoids tell the neuron to chill out.
The most popular endocannabinoid, anandamide, helps to regulate the metabolism, sleep cycle, pain, and mood. This endocannabinoid is almost identical to THC, which is why THC can bind directly to cannabinoid receptors. THC can give you the munchies, make you feel silly and euphoric, drowsy and can reduce pain because it mimics this endocannabinoid.
If the endocannabinoid system is damaged, the endocannabinoids might not be produced at the right level. The metabolic enzymes might not clean the protein build up around cells or repair cells that have been damaged. The endocannabinoid system is the reason our body’s run correctly, and CBD is what has proven to regulate the system when it starts to malfunction.
(Anxiety and Depression Association Of America)
Anxiety Disorders
This Includes:
- Post Traumatic Stress Disorder
- General Anxiety Disorder
- Social Anxiety Disorder
- Panic Disorder
- Obsessive Compulsive Disorder
Children with anxiety have an overactive brain. We want them to have an overactive imagination, of course, but we want their brains to be healthy. One of the culprits behind anxiety in the brain is the amygdala. When it is overactive, it sends constant threats to the brain making the person feel an extreme anxiety that could last for hours or days.
CBD can target the amygdala and calm it down, making it stop sending threat signals to the brain. This regulates their heart rate and helps the mind stop racing. CBD Tinctures are excellent for panic attacks because they work so quickly to eliminate the feeling of panic.
Many children with anxiety cannot sleep well, and it only exacerbates the problems. How cranky are you when you don’t have a good night’s rest? Anxiety can make the brain overactive when it needs to rest, which results in waking up exhausted. Treating the anxiety with hemp oil will also help the mind get a good night’s rest.
Depressive Disorders
This Includes:
- Major Depression
- Dysthymic Disorder
- Psychotic Depression
- Seasonal Affective Disorder
- Bi-Polar Disorder
Depression in children happens when their brain is underactive, damaged, and doesn’t send the correct signals. There is a reward system in our brain that pushes us to survive. Anytime we do something where the brain sees it as good, it gives us a good feeling so we want to do that again. When we eat, sleep, and have sex, our brains recognize that as survival. However, sometimes, the brain won't see anything. With depression, your brain doesn't produce those feel good chemicals when it should. It becomes hard to eat, games aren’t fun, and kids with depression just appear to be lazy and uninterested.
CBD works with the brain in a unique way that many medications can’t compare. It acts as a regulator, so when there are too many chemicals buzzing around hemp oil will calm it down. However, when the chemicals aren’t flowing the way they should, CBD gives a little nudge, and the brain starts producing more of that chemical.
Protecting The Brain
Stress and depression could be the reason the hippocampus shrinks in people with depression. It’s vital that you take care of your children’s mental health now because it will be easier to get their biology back to normal during their developmental stages. CBD helps promote healthy cells and acts as a protector for neurons. Taking CBD can help protect your child’s brain from damage while it is going through the circus act of mental health.
Is CBD Safe?
There are side effects with CBD that you should know about just like with any other medication. The difference between CBD’s side effects is they tend to be less risky than standard pharmaceuticals. The most dangerous side effects happen with CBD when you mix them with medication. It can cause their symptoms to get even worse.
Studies have shown that CBD is well tolerated even at high levels when not mixed with certain medications. However, there have been reports of some subtle side effects that you should be aware of.
- Dry Mouth
- Low Blood Pressure
- Light Headedness
- Drowsiness
Talk To A Doctor
If you are thinking about checking out this whole CBD thing for your kids because they aren’t doing well in school or living with them is becoming difficult, discuss with a doctor what plan you have to make sure it’s best for your child. Therapy is also essential because this medicine isn’t supposed to fix everything. It’s only an aid for treatment. Mental Disorders rarely go away on their own, and it is imperative you take care of it now. If you’ve decided that CBD is the route you want to take, check out our shop. We’ve got some great tinctures and isolates that you can use to make your own snacks that make it easy for the kids to take. Medicine is fun when it’s yummy!
