Your introduction to CBD and anxiety began in a unique way. Can you tell us about that?
Prior to 2018 I was a solo-traveler, hiker, and loved exploring the world when I wasn’t working my day job as a Naturopathic Doctor. I was outgoing, loved a challenge, and had a zest for life. I was building my business with fierce tenacity, grit, and willingness to sell everything I owned and moved cross-country to make it happen. I loved uncertainty and the magic in writing my own story.
On July 4th, 2018 I went wakeboarding and ended up busting my head open with the board. After some staples and less-than-stellar emergency care, I was sent home and told that I was ‘fine.’ I didn’t know where I was, the time of day, what day it was, or who the people around me were. I wasn’t fine, but within a few days, although fatigued and achy, I was back up and running in my business.
Two weeks later, I started having extreme anxiety and panic attacks, seemingly out of nowhere. I was having upwards of 50 panic attacks per day, unable to care for myself, or figure out what was happening.
“After almost 6 months in a horror-film of despair, terror, and complete panic I saw a neurologist who put the pieces together. I had suffered a traumatic brain injury and my brain was going haywire.”
The long journey back to myself was peppered with fear. My injured brain interpreted any noise, the flip of a light, or movement as a threat. I had a myriad of other symptoms that went unnoticed in the first year, due to the intense anxiety.
“I tried several anxiety solutions, some helped – momentarily, but none seemed to have a lasting effect.”
Being in the field, I utilized all the professional-grade CBDs I could find, full-spectrum, top-rated, and best-reviewed from my colleagues. Still, I noticed no significant improvement.
“I tried Soul CBD and within seconds, my anxiety improved.”
I started off with the 500mg bottle and I swear I drank that tincture up in less than a week. After that, I started dosing the 1500mg bottle twice daily, and then as needed throughout the day. The anxiety wasn’t erased, but it was more manageable than ever. After a few months of using Soul CBD while healing my brain through other therapies, I was able to start dosing only as needed. In the beginning, this was still daily, then weekly, now I dose every 1-3 months when I’m feeling brain fatigue, and anxiety symptoms rear their head again.
WOW. What a powerful story. What are the top 4 causes of anxiety you see in your patients?
First of all, it’s important to know that anxiety is a symptom of an underlying condition. It’s our brain’s way of alerting us that something isn’t right. Having a diagnosis of anxiety doesn’t give us the full picture. It doesn’t tell us the how and why or what is going on inside our bodies.
This is similar to a fever alerting you your temperature is high but doesn’t reveal what is the source of that fever. We can’t draw a blood test and confirm, “Yep, you have anxiety.” It’s simply an observational diagnosis that indicates a more in-depth evaluation is needed.
“So when we’re discussing causes or reasons for anxiety, there’s always an underlying cause at play.”
Here are four of the top causes of anxiety I see with my patients…
1. Nutrient Depletion:
So many factors contribute to nutrient deficiencies such as medications, chronic illness, poor diet, stress, and lifestyle. Healthy levels of nutrients keep our body and nervous system running as efficiently as possible. Deficiencies can lead to reduced levels of helpful neurotransmitters or hormones, and can lead to symptoms of anxiety, depression, and fatigue.
For example, magnesium is a nutrient that I see depleted in most of my patients due to high-stress life, certain medications, and low dietary intake. Magnesium is like fish food for the organs that tackle stress. It is the main brake pedal for the nervous system and is involved in over 300 different enzymatic reactions in our body. When we are deficient in magnesium we aren’t sleeping well, we’re constipated, our muscles tense up and we can’t think clearly. Low magnesium levels are also linked to inattention and high-stress states, both commonly seen in anxiety patients.
